Vice President of Portfolio Enterprises, Sal Salafia tells Spectrum News his property management company recently made a deposit on the property at 64 Illinois Street that exploded Wednesday.
As a family run business, Salafia says the company often tries to establish a face-to-face connection after purchasing home under foreclosure to offer the previous owner the chance to rent or buy back their home.
"My father knocked on the door and nobody was home so he figured he would go another day," said Salafia.
The following day the home was leveled by an explosion.
"This is by far the strangest situation we've seen and we're very shocked to be a part of it," said Salafia. "As long as I can remember we've been buying and rehabbing homes. This home obviously is going to be a bit of a situation for us."
The family says its next step is to get back the $10,000 deposit and donate $2,500 to four charities that assist those displaced in housing.