America Votes Sarasota Home "Ugliest House of the Year" for HomeVestors™

Posted on December 13, 2007 by Bill Dube

DALLAS – Sarasota, Fla., has the ugliest house in America.  That’s according to thousands of people who voted online at www.theugliesthouse.com in HomeVestors’ ‘Ugliest House of the Year’ contest.  The results were revealed today at the company’s annual convention at the Hilton Hotel at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

 “People know us for our famous ‘We Buy Ugly Houses’® billboards, and this contest is proof that we mean what we say,” said John Hayes, president and CEO of HomeVestors of America.

The winner of the contest was a home at 1916 32nd Street in Sarasota.  It was bought by HomeVestors franchisee Gregory Weinstein of Goldmine Properties, LLC.

“The filth, trash and remnants from squatters left this house totally repulsive and a menace to the community,” said Weinstein.  To remove all “tenants,” Weinstein was forced to enlist the help of local law enforcement.  He purchased the property, sold it to a real estate investor and renovations are already underway to completely renovate the home.

“It may have been an ugly year for residential real estate, but our business is ugly every year,” said Hayes.  “This Sarasota winner is a perfect example of how HomeVestors is the catalyst to turn communities around.  That means we buy houses that nobody else would ever dream of buying and either renovate them or sell them to investors to renovate.”

In total, more than 260 HomeVestors franchisees across America will purchase nearly 7,000 homes this calendar year.  

The Ugliest Top 10

America voted for houses in these cities in the following ugly order:

Sarasota, Fla.

Fort Worth, Texas

Phoenix, Ariz.

Salisbury, Md.

San Antonio, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Cincinnati, Ohio

Montgomery, Ala.

Detroit, Mich.

Philadelphia, Pa.

About HomeVestors of America, Inc.

Founded in 1989 and franchising since 1996, Dallas-based HomeVestors® of America, Inc., has more than 260 franchises throughout the United States. The first franchise company of its kind, HomeVestors® trains and supports franchisees who specialize in buying homes in need of repair. Most commonly known as the "We Buy Ugly Houses"® franchise, HomeVestors® strives to make a positive impact in each community.