If you were to ask Karey Brown with Re/Max Associates in Topeka, Kansas, how to describe the process of dealing with REO properties, she would tell you to remember that “It takes all kinds” in her line of work.
At least that’s what Karey discovered when she recently was called into a foreclosure property in Auburn, Kansas. Unfortunately, the previous owner had created some type of animal refuge within his $200,000 home. When Karey arrived, the rarest family pet – a tiger – had already been transported to a refuge in Arkansas.

Another strange family pet—one that is generally considered public enemy number one—managed to escape the clutches of the REO clean-up crew.
“When we got there to re-key the property, we were told by the former agent that they had a boa constrictor that had gotten loose, but he was never found,” Karey recalls. “They believed he crawled into the air ducts.”
Karey says the most amusing part about the whole incident wasn’t the missing snake, but everyone’s reaction to it.
“The entertainment was watching everyone tip-toe through the house, hoping they wouldn’t be the one to find the snake. One of the maintenance guys opened a freezer. Although it was hilarious later, we hear a scream. It wasn’t a boa, but it was a large iguana that had crawled into the freezer, defrosted and smelly.”
Karey says a “professional” snake hunter was called in to find the missing reptile, but he eventually concluded that the home had too many “live” mice running around for the snake to still be there.
“Wouldn’t you love to be one of those guys neighborsx” Karey says humorously when reflecting on the incident.
Despite all the time and energy spent on the snake hunt, the reptile’s whereabouts are still unknown to this day.