A historic home in Montclair, N.J., is turning heads with a very tempting list price: $10.
The 3,912-square-foot home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, built in 1906, is one of 500 properties in the area designed by architect Dudley S. Van Antwerp. Historic homes designed by famous architects usually fetch high prices. In fact, the home was purchased in May 2015 for $1.4 million.
So why the low list price now? Here’s the catch: The buyer must agree to physically move the home from its foundation to a new location.
In April 2016, the home was sold to BNE Real Estate Group, a development company that had plans to demolish the home,
NorthJersey.com reports. The developers reportedly intended to subdivide the 2.7-acre property into eight lots for single-family homes.
The Montclair City Planning Board approved the developer’s plans, but under one stipulation: They had to make a 60-day attempt to first try to sell the house. The buyer would have to be willing to move the home a minimum of a quarter-mile from where it stands currently.
The deadline for offers is Aug. 31. The home will be destroyed if no buyer is found by then. As of Friday morning,
the listing for the home had been changed to “off market.”
The developer is willing to kick in $10,000 to help move it. The total cost to move the house would likely fall between $75,000 and $100,000, says Ben Brovont, an estimator with Wolfe House & Building Movers. The buyer would also need to buy a plot of land for the house.
Physically moving a home from one location to another is not uncommon. In the past, homes have been physically uprooted and moved to new locations. The home is dug up at the foundation, and steel beams are then placed under the home’s frame to lift it about 4 feet. The home is placed on a trailer bed, moved to a different location, and placed on a new foundation.
Source: “This $10 Historic House Can Be Yours – But There’s a Catch,” realtor.com® (Aug. 3, 2017)
