“A mansion is on the market for ten dollars, and nobody wants to buy it. Only a few of us will ever have the privilege of owning a mansion. It’s fun to picture ourselves lounging by a huge pool or at a movie theater that happens to be in the basement. That being said, what would you do if a multi-million dollar home was on the market for less than $20.00?
A one hundred eleven-year-old mansion in New Jersey has been put on the market for ten bucks. The only thing is, there is one gigantic catch. It’s beyond hard to find a reasonably priced house in the New York metropolitan area.
According to recent Zillow listings, the median price of homes currently listed in the area is three hundred forty-two thousand dollars. It’s not exactly pocket change for most people. So, when a gorgeous mansion went on the market for ten bucks, people flocked to the open house. Weirdly, no one made an offer on the suburban monstrosity. You won’t believe the reason.
The mansion, a one hundred eleven-year-old colonial-style mansion, is located in the suburban town of Montclair, New Jersey. It’s the ideal location for any family looking for their forever home. The area is surrounded by great schools, country clubs, shops, and restaurants, and not to mention, it’s all very green. The mansion is even located on a road called Pleasant Avenue. If that’s not a selling point, we’re not sure what is. The Essex County township of Montclair boasts a population of 37,669 people. That’s a perfect number if you’re not too much of a city person but you don’t want to live in a tiny suburban bubble. Not to mention, Manhattan is a short 45-minute car ride away.
So, why aren’t people jumping at the opportunity to live so close to the city and yet still be able to come home to a quiet town? Keep watching to find out. Renowned local architect Dudley S. Van Antwerp built the mansion back in 1906. Van Antwerp opened his design practice in 1900 and from there went on to build the famous Montclair Walk, Tung Avenue Congregational Church, as well as the Yacht Club in Bayside, Long Island.
So, what’s so special about this residential mansion? It’s beautiful and set on a great plot of land. But why go to all the trouble of listing it for only $10? The mansion is nearly 4,000 square feet, so it’s not exactly what one would call tiny. That square footage does not even include all the amenities around the property. The inside consists of six bedrooms, three and a half baths, meaning there’s no lack of space. The new buyers could make those rooms into anything they want; the possibilities are endless. If the mansion doesn’t already have one, they could build a library.
Aside from the actual mansion, the grounds are something else altogether. The home sits on about two and a half acres of land, which is plenty of room to put a few fun features around the property. The mansion comes with its own private tennis court and gazebo, as well as a carriage house. Renovations to make a game room in the carriage house would be amazing.
Needless to say, the property has some definite selling points, considering the northeast suburban location and not to mention the town the mansion’s located in. It should be on the market for a bit more than what it costs to go out for a fast-food dinner. The fact of the matter is, the mansion should technically be listed for about one point three five million dollars.
That may sound steep, but considering the neighborhood and these surrounding multi-million dollar homes, the price is pretty spot-on. Aside from the famous architect, the mansion was home to the first African-American athlete to become captain of the Notre Dame football team, Aubrey Lewis. The Fighting Irish halfback is recognized as one of the state’s greatest athletes. His old high school is Montclair, even naming their field house the Aubrey Lewis Sports Complex.
Due to a heart murmur he’s had since birth, Lewis didn’t pursue a career in football. Instead, he decided on a different career path. Being the first African-American captain wasn’t enough; Lewis went on to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of its first training class to include African-Americans. Even after his storied career, Lewis made his way back home to Montclair to settle down with his family.
When he passed away in 2001 from heart complications, BNE Real Estate Group purchased his estate, planning to build eight homes on the property. The plan quickly fell through. When BNE Real Estate Group purchased the property, they made an agreement with Montclair Historic Preservation Commission to preserve the estate due to its historical significance and celebrity status. Therefore, they weren’t able to build on the land, and their original plan for the property fell through.
Real estate agents are smart though, and they had a plan B. They listed the mansion for a total sum of $10, but with that price came a huge catch. What deal could possibly be bad enough for people to turn down the opportunity to own a gorgeous piece of property? Well, as it so happens, the mansion can’t actually be lived in where it currently rests at Montclair. This means that whoever buys the mansion is also going to have to move the entire thing to a different location. Now it makes sense why no one’s jumping on the opportunity. Talk about a plot twist!
Carmen Warren of Montclair says it best: ‘Where are they going to put it? Why would I want to buy such a monstrosity of a house and don’t know where to put it? That’s a lot of house to move.’ We couldn’t agree more. The problem is that whoever purchases the residence doesn’t have a choice. Montclair town officials approved that subdivision application under the strict term that the mansion had to be sold and relocated.
Whoever purchases the mansion is going to be responsible for not only moving the residence within a quarter mile of its current home, but they must pay all of the costs that come with buying a new home. The buyer is also going to be required to go through all the necessary renovations before lifting the mansion, which all needs to be paid out of pocket. That’s gonna get real expensive real fast.
Due to the old age of the mansion, the sellers are offering $10,000 to help with any renovations that need to be made throughout the property. That’s a generous offer at first glance, but when you think about all the necessary repairs on top of the relocation, the cost is gonna be astronomical. The total effort is estimated to cost around $200,000, which is still less than what the mansion is worth, but it’s a great deal of money. Not including the moving cost, the buyer will have to do lead paint and asbestos checks considering the age of the mansion. There are very real concerns.
Larina White, a real estate agent from Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, said: ‘In addition to moving it, the cost of any kinds of repairs and renovations require that it be done to historic guidelines. That tends to be expensive.’ Whoever buys this home has got to be the world’s biggest history buff. Pretending there was no price involved and no renovations to be made, how on earth do you even start moving a house this size?
There are definitely going to be some mailbox casualties. Not to mention tree branches are going to be falling down left and right.
As odd as it sounds, picking up and moving an entire house is not exactly unheard of, and in some cases, can be financially beneficial to the owners. In 2007, Julie and Randy Olson of Brook Park, Minnesota, uprooted their entire home after the value suddenly plummeted and they couldn’t secure a loan to build a new one. Luckily, one of their friends was selling their home for a dollar. And we thought ten dollars was cheap! Talk about a future wildlife reserve! The Olsens bought the property and had their Brook Park home moved for $22,000, a fraction of what the property was worth.
If the Olson story’s any indication, relocating a house is possible and can be made financially beneficial if you go about it in a smart way. In some cases, it actually might be a sensible thing to do. Not to mention that once it’s relocated, you’re not gonna have to worry about those costs ever again. Maybe a fix here and there, but nothing like the initial cost of renovations and uprooting an entire home. Just think about it.
If you have the money, you can have this gorgeous mansion valued at one point three five million dollars, as well as a little piece of American history. All of it at a startlingly low price. Nonetheless, big picture, a beautiful home, great suburban location, a nice story to tell friends at any gathering, and a whole lot of room to entertain. All you need to do is skip buying a movie ticket every week.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of buyers, the house was demolished in May of 2018. Because of the subdivision agreement, the Historical Society had no ground to stand on, and therefore they had no choice but to let the town take over the land. Where the once colonial-style mansion stood, there’s now a more modern development consisting of eight single-family homes. They did keep a bit of history; they’re renaming the road Louis Court.
A pair of real estate agents, sisters named Gladys and Carla Missouri, got the shock of a lifetime when they showed up at one property they had heard rumors about. And now, the time had come to see if it were true. The property, located at 148 Jane Street in Toronto, Ontario, was completely normal-looking from the outside. Neighbors said that not many people had been inside to see the residents at 148 Jane Street. The same family lived there for as long as anybody could remember. No one thought much about the place until a day came when the real estate agents received an unusual call about the house.
Veterans in the real estate industry, Gladys and Carla Missouri knew the housing market like the back of their hands. They thought they’d seen it all, and on this particular day, no different than any other day at work, they weren’t expecting anything to surprise them. But that was all about to change as the office phone suddenly rang. The voice on the other end of the line had an interesting proposition for the two seasoned Realtors.
The two enterprising sisters hadn’t always worked together, but they eventually decided to join forces and become a team since they got along well professionally too. They divided their work evenly, with one actively finding new clients and listings while the other was handling closings with existing clients. The pair were used to having to work hard to close sales, but something about this specific phone call made them feel like the work would be even harder.
The caller’s name was Joyce, and she said that she was considering putting her house on the market. Maybe Joyce’s voice sounded hesitant, maybe even unwilling, but the words she spoke insisted that she would like to sell her home. It was obvious to the Realtors that Joyce hadn’t done much research and simply called the first place she could. They asked why she was hesitant, and Joyce insisted the Realtors come to see the house before she decided to list it.
Some of the things that Gladys and Carla Missouri had seen and experienced in their work as real estate agents would send other people running in the opposite direction, and Joyce’s house was no different. But they were seasoned veterans and were prepared for anything that a client threw their way, or so they thought. Once they finally got to see Joyce’s home, they realized it wasn’t their typical day at the office. Now, usually, people are excited when they contact a real estate agent.
A move is likely a good thing, and people are optimistic about entering a new life period. But Gladys and Carla didn’t detect anything close to excitement as they spoke to Joyce. In fact, they got the impression that the woman on the phone might even be keeping something from them. Some people try to hide problems with the house they’re selling in order to get a better price. The sisters were curious about what Joyce might be hiding from them.
Joyce had told the sisters that she lived in her modest home for the past 70 years, but that she hadn’t updated it much during those decades. There had been one kitchen remodeling years back, but that was it. This was an immediate red flag for the Realtors. A good approach to just about anything in life is to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
As longtime real estate agents, Gladys and Carla Missouri were used to adopting this attitude when viewing a home for the first time. Still, they worried about walking into a dump that was dated and ugly. Usually, when a homeowner tries to hide something about the house they’re selling, it’s along the lines of a mold or a leaky basement. It’s not really unusual for someone to try and keep little problems like these a secret from real estate agents. This was no ordinary real estate transaction though. The secret that Joyce was keeping from Carla and Gladys was actually much bigger than normal, and it was one that the agents had never experienced in their years in real estate.
What would Gladys and Carla find when they finally opened the front door of the house on Jane Street? They grew increasingly worried as the date of their inspection neared. The fact that 96-year-old Gladys had lived alone for so long didn’t help, as she probably wouldn’t have been able to maintain the property very well. These busy Realtors prepared themselves for the worst-case scenario, one where the house was in such bad shape it couldn’t possibly be sold.
The day finally arrived, and these Missouri’s traveled to 148 Jane Street in order to finally see what mystery Joyce’s house held. Nothing could have prepared them for this astonishing sight as they opened the front door and peered inside. In fact, this scene would be a completely unexpected surprise to anyone who saw it, especially since the outside of the house was so nondescript.
So far, the only information Gladys and Carla had been able to get about the home was an address and a photo of the front. Nothing about it seemed remarkable, except for the potentially huge sum that they could sell the house for if it was in decent shape. They never could have expected to be faced with such an unusual sight once they finally had the chance to see the interior of the house in person. Gladys and Carla had expected one of two things about Joyce’s house.
The first option, and the one that seemed most likely, was that the house would be in terrible condition. Perhaps it might even be full of junk, as in a hoarding situation. The second possibility was that the house would just be completely ordinary, just as it appeared from the outside. But the sisters had been completely wrong. The house was in great shape, and it was anything but ordinary.
Needless to say, Gladys and Carla were over the moon with excitement after finally viewing Joyce’s home. It was bound to sell for a lot more money than they could have ever expected. Joyce was an impeccable housekeeper, and her home was practically a time capsule from the 1940s. This was the decade when Joyce had first moved into the house and began decorating and furnishing it.
Everything looked absolutely pristine and unchanged as Carla and Gladys giddily explored the house at 148 Jane. They realized something: each room was even more impressive than the one they just left. In fact, it was the most well-preserved home either had ever been witness to. The house was practically a Museum of Joyce’s life, and now the sisters understood why she’d been reluctant to part with it.
There was one potentially huge drawback to Joyce’s immaculately preserved home. She decorated the house in a very feminine style, with plenty of pink and purple color splashes, as well as silky and lacy fabrics. The house was definitely not a style that would appeal to a majority of men. What were the real estate agents to do? It would cost a fortune to redecorate the entire home and cut deeply into the sales profit.
After seeing room after room of pinks and purples, Gladys and Carla were about to be stunned again as they entered the basement. Lo and behold, Joyce’s stunning home had a man cave down in the basement. This space was probably her husband’s escape from the frilliness of the rest of the home. It featured wood paneling, a wet bar, and neutral furniture. Surely Joyce’s husband must have enjoyed hours spent down in this spectacular and masculine area.
You might expect this house to have a spectacular backyard, maybe a secret garden of sorts. Not so. Just like the rest of the home’s exterior, the backyard was completely ordinary, even plain, with astroturf instead of real grass and one small storage shed. This disappointing yard wasn’t a deal-breaker though.
Now Gladys and Carla just needed a professional home inspector to come back and check for any flaws in the home. Any real estate professional can tell you that even the best-looking houses can have a whole lot of problems lurking under the surface, from minor problems to big ones like flood damage or unhealthy mold. Almost any home has a flaw. Carla and Gladys were fully confident that Joyce’s house was in great condition, but even so, they knew they had to wait for the inspector’s official findings. You just never know.
After a nail-biting wait, the home inspector finally arrived at 148 Jane Street and got to work. The team thoroughly checked out every inch of Joyce’s home, looking for any hidden surprises that could derail their house’s sale. There’s no need to worry, though. The house was in near-perfect condition, with the inspector saying that it was in about the same state as it had been when Joyce had first moved in 70 years earlier. It was time to list the house and find a buyer for it. As you can imagine, Gladys and Carla were eager to get this gem of a home on the market as soon as possible. In fact, they listed it the very same day as the inspection. Their asking price: $699,000.
A bidding war started. Everyone who saw the house was astonished by its interior and wanted it for themselves. As word spread about the condition of Joyce’s home, the story began to attract some major attention. It was picked up by news outlets and became a huge story, eventually going viral. People were absolutely obsessed with the house. In fact, a lot of people who saw the home felt that it should be preserved as a 1940s Museum rather than somewhere to live.
But then Joyce revealed that she had, in fact, made a change to the home when she lived in it. Many of the home’s new fans were flabbergasted that it had been kept intact since the 1940s. Some of them were disappointed when Joyce revealed that she had actually had the kitchen renovated in the 1960s. The reason for the update was that she wanted to upgrade her appliances to the more modern ones that had become available, which of course is perfectly reasonable. And the current kitchen was still exactly the same as it had been in the 1960s.
Joyce had always enjoyed interior design and had furnished her home at 148 Jane Street exactly the way she wanted it. So why was she willing to leave it after 70 happy years in the house? Well, Joyce was finally ready to retire. She was going to move into a retirement community and enjoy her golden years in comfort and relaxation.
Even so, it must have been difficult for her to leave her home behind. When Joyce and her husband moved into the home in 1942, it was a different time. Things have changed a lot in the ensuing 70 years. So, one question that everyone has about Joyce’s house is whether the new owners will keep it as a time capsule as it was or whether they’d want to renovate and modernize the place.”
