EXCLUSIVE: Zombie House Flippers Encounter a ‘Very Stinky’ Nightmare Inside Abandoned Ohio Hoarder House

To be successful at house flipping, real estate investors must have a nose for sniffing out properties with the potential to turn a profit once they’re renovated, no matter how they look—or smell—to begin with.

It’s a skill “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” star Tommy Harr, 31, has honed over the course of completing some 400 house renovations, many of them at abandoned "zombie" properties that are stuck in the foreclosure process.

On his A&E show, which premiered in May, Harr hunts for hideous homes to overhaul in the Columbus, OH, area alongside his team of family members, which includes his youngest brother, Will, who is training to be a project manager.

Harr’s other younger brother, Jake, and their father, Chris, tag team the pre- and post-construction inspections, while Harr’s mother, Katie, acts as interior designer and real estate agent.

In an exclusive clip from the forthcoming episode, “Smells Like Money,” the Harrs are seen entering a
potential investment property where they come nose to nose with a particularly rancid red flag: the ranch-style home's “very stinky” aroma.

Walking across light wood-patterned plank flooring and past the tan walls of the living room, there’s plenty for the Harrs to lay their eyes on, from a discarded front door to a full trash can, empty boxes littered everywhere, and a thick layer of dust that’s accumulated on one of the leftover furniture pieces.

Yet, it’s not what they see that commands their attention. Rather, it’s what they smell.

“Ew, very stinky,” starts one of the Harr brothers as another continues, “It’s got a decent little stench to it.” 

“Yeah, it smells for sure,” confirms Chris.

Undeterred by the unpleasant fragrance, Tommy turns the perceived negative into a positive, joking that the home "smells like money."

Behind the scenes, Tommy gives a possible explanation for the rotten scent.

“This house has sat empty for at least decade. That’s a lot of time for problems to develop,” he reasons, before detailing the basic stats of the residence.

“It’s about 1,000-square-foot, three bed, one bath, no garage, so it’s pretty much just everything we’re seeing here.”

While the odor will indeed need to be dealt with if the Harrs attempt to flip the house, they momentarily put it aside and focus on evaluating the home’s other elements.

The team agrees the living room floor “feels solid,” so they head to the kitchen, where black-and-white appliances sit atop tile flooring and are surrounded by wood-toned cabinets.

The group is also greeted by piles of debris covering nearly every inch of counter space as well as the top of the fridge. 

Despite determining it to be “a tight kitchen,” all the Harrs pile into the room to continue their inspection of the place.

“Let’s check out, like, the plumbing and electric,” directs Tommy.

Unfortunately, when Will leans into the under-sink area, it’s difficult to decipher what’s there.

“Can’t really see much of the plumbing underneath, there’s so much garbage,” notes Chris. 

Will pushes aside the overstock of cleaning solution bottles to confirm there is an “ABS drain” and “PVC” piping. 

Meanwhile, Chris relies on his outlet tester to check the condition of the home’s electrical system behind a country-style wooden faceplate.

“We have grounded power. We just need to replace the outlets around water,” he reports.

When one of the brothers notices that it “sounds like the fridge is on,” the siblings take the opportunity to tease one another as they inspect its contents.

“Is there some tasty goodness in there?” asks Will, as they swing open the refrigerator door to reveal overflowing shelves of food and condiments.

“Ooh, it’s got some chocolate for my fat brother,” adds Will.

Perhaps hungry from the adventurous house hunt, Jake shocks the group when he reaches for a chocolate bar and declares he’s down to eat some leftovers.

“I’ll probably take that,” says Jake.

“I knew you would,” replies one of his brothers.

“You seriously gonna eat that, man?” questions Chris.

Following Jake’s bite of the discarded dessert, the team erupts in a chorus of disgust:

“Oh, no, that’s kind of nasty. You are disgusting. That’s pretty gross, bro. Big bite, why would you do that?”

Jake defends his decision, reiterating “it was sealed” and a “man’s gotta eat.”

Once the nauseating snack break in the kitchen concludes, the Harrs get themselves back on track with the remainder of the house tour.

“All right, let’s check out the rest of this house,” leads Jake.

Behind a wood-toned door, there’s a “decent-sized bathroom” featuring a yellow-tiled shower stall and mauve walls. Storage bags and trash bags fill the bathtub, and an over-the-toilet standing shelf is oddly placed on the wall opposite the toilet.

Nevertheless, the bathroom’s disheveled state doesn’t worry the Harr family. The restoration experts believe the bathroom is only in need of quick cosmetic fixes and not any major plumbing work.

“No backups, just needs a little bit of love,” comments Jake.

Next up are the bedrooms. The first appears to be adorned with two different wallpaper patterns on two of its walls. The second has been painted pink. 

Both bedrooms are packed with so many miscellaneous items, it’s hard for the Harr brothers to make their way inside. 

“There is some debris in here, huh?” notes Chris.

Referring to the plastic bins, lamp shades, pillows, frames, hand weights, box of yarn, puzzle, Care Bear stuffed animal, and Halloween decor that have created a mountain of junk on each of the floors in both rooms, Tommy puts the mess into perspective and takes the predicted workload in stride.

“The house is filled with personal property but with a half-day of clean-out, this place will look brand new,” says Tommy.

Plush pink carpeting is revealed to be below the giant piles of stuff, and there is apparently evidence of wear and tear by a former four-legged tenant.

Carpet’s beat, like they had animals in here,” claims one of the brothers.

At this point, the Harrs finish up the discovery phase of their prepurchase process, and Jake offers his official recommendation that they take on the seemingly straightforward and simple flip.

“Yeah, I mean it looks like carpet, paint, switches, and outlets. Barring the basement, this is it. Great deal,” he affirms.

Upon receiving that post-inspection endorsement, Tommy starts to anticipate the sweet smell of success he anticipates will waft over him after flipping this aromatic abode.

“Walking into this house, it’s pretty much a cakewalk,” concludes Tommy, “I mean, we do these types of rehabs every day,” 

“Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. on A&E’s Home.Made.Nation.