Florida alligator caught by our long-time member Brain Treaton from Port St. John had been looking as usual in his home county auction in Pinellas for his niche properties, that he likes to buy. 

“I went to look at a Tampa Foreclosure and when I arrived it was obviously vacant. I went round the back of the property which abuts the lake and found the side yard door open. I took my opportunity to look around”. Treaton told PropertyOnion.com.

PropertyOnion.com does not condone trespassing to view inside of auction properties, there are better legal ways to do your due diligence on properties. 

Treaton continues: “The Property was in really good condition except for some unusual ‘droppings’ on the floor, and as I approached the kitchen island bar my peripheral vision caught sight of some form of greyish black mass sticking out from under the counter.”

This is the time where he should have left the property, but Treaton continues:

“I immediately thought it was a dead or a sleeping iguana, so I leaned over from the other side of counter to take a peek holding my camera out to snap a picture. My heart pounded out of my chest as I looked at my screen and saw the business end of a 5’ alligator that seemed to be asleep! I jumped out of that house so fast my feet did not touch the ground!”  Treaton Said.

Brian said he then called the Nuisance Alligator Hotline after looking up what to do if you find an alligator in Florida on Google.

Treaton said  “when they got there, they called me back and asked me exactly what length it was, I told them I was not going back to measure the damn thing,  this is the address, this is where it is located, good luck!” and he ended the call. 

Laughingly I  asked Treaton if he bid on the property in the end, “Hell No!” he said indignantly “and anyway it was redeemed” Brian said he never followed up to find out what happened but said “ I have been doing this for a few years now, I have been chased by a family of squatters, screamed at in Spanish by a very large lady and threatened by a toothless home owner but this is by far the scariest thing that has ever happened to me!”

Experts say if you come across an alligator in a house, it is best to not approach the animal, and to immediately leave the premises and call The Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).   Stay a safe distance away from the house until wildlife officials make it there.   You should never try to feed the alligator, never try and take pictures, and never approach them or try and trap them in any way.  Last year over 14,000 nuisance alligator complaints were made in Florida resulting in 8,139 alligators being forcibly removed.

There you have it, a Florida alligator caught on film by one of our members, property investment deals by the rest!