They say there are snake pits on Wall Street.
Chase has learned there are snake pits on Main Street too.
Last year, the J.P. Morgan Chase banking unit foreclosed on a home near Rexburg, Idaho, that is infested with garter snakes.
They slide through the yard, the crawl space, the walls, the ceilings, even across the floors. Sure, they're harmless, but there are perhaps thousands of them. They give off malodorous secretions when alarmed, and can even leave the well water tasting a bit like the way they smell.
Two families have fled the house in scenes reminiscent of horror-film classics. One turned to a local TV station in 2006 to document the infestation, complaining of not being able to sleep at night.
The next family appeared on TV's "Animal Planet" earlier this year. They said they were told the previous owners came up with the snake story to explain why they stopped paying their mortgage. But, it turns out, the story was true.
Search "Idaho snake house" on the Internet and several intriguing posts emerge. Zillow.com offers a sales description that mentions "a large kitchen with center island," but nothing about snakes on the kitchen floor.
The house, built in 1920 and remodeled about five years ago, has somehow become a hibernaculum, where snakes gather en masse for winter. It's so famously infested that Chase has taken it off the market.
Earlier this year, the five-bedroom home at 675 W. 5000 North was listed for $109,200. That's about $66,000 below its market value. But somehow there were no takers, even in a region known for its Snake River.
Chase is now in the unenviable position of having to be delicate with snakes that continue to live in the home despite a defaulted mortgage. Once a house has been featured on "Animal Planet," you can't just burn it down or otherwise slaughter its reptilian residents. You have to be nice to snakes. It's just good business.
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