Snowball Mansion Lives Again

I have received a few inquiries concerning the status of Snowball Mansion. Information had suddenly fallen silent…that is until now. Mike and Nancy Stevens bought the house a few weeks ago.

About three years ago, the mansion was involved in a little real estate scam. The Fuhrings who ran the establishment as a bed and breakfast put it on the market for $1.9 million, initially. The expected buyer put down $1 million on the Snowball Mansion and financed the remainder with two loans. She never made a payment on those loans nor moved in. It turned out the buyer was part of a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud scheme, and the house was tied up in an F.B.I investigation. Those involved were arrested and charged. Finally, earlier this year the mansion was returned to the lender and placed on the market.

So for three long years it sat vacant, waiting for new life. Vandals broke windows and doors. The copper wiring and air conditioning unit was also taken. Graffiti covered the walls. Windowpanes were cracked. Fences needed mending. Despite its slight decay, the Stevens still snatched up the property for $470,000 with hopes of restoring it.

It’s bed and breakfast days may be behind it for now. Mike and Nancy along with their two teenage children and Mike’s elderly mother have moved in to the five bedroom house. Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, says it’s not required by law to disclose a house’s haunted status to potential buyers. However, Gena Riede, the real estate agent who represented the new owners, was kind enough to inform them of Snowball Mansion’s ghostly secrets.

The family has only lived in the house for a few weeks but so far only the elderly mother has experienced anything out of the ordinary. She occupies the “granny apartment” on the ground floor and often complains of furniture moving on the floor above her during the night. The rest of the family is asleep two floors above and knows nothing concerning the sounds. However, Mr. Stevens believes his mothers sensitivity to noise is to blame…not ghosts.