New London, CT House: Buy it for $1 or $170,000

By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | October 30, 2008

Want to buy a 140-year-old, 5,000 sq ft home in New London, CT for $1? That’s the deal, according to Hartford, CT television station WFSB. A church that owns the home is willing to sell it for $1, but you have to move it to a different location. If you don’t want to do that, the asking price is $170,000. Located at 121 Hempstead St, New London, CT, the home belongs to the Shiloh Baptist Church, which bought it (as a gift, most likely) for $1 back in January, according to records. For architect and history buffs, it’s quite a desirable piece of architecture, with huge windows and a winding staircase. It was even featured in a print edition of This Old House last year. Obviously, it’s in deep need of repair and restoration, but the local preservation society would be tickled if someone saved it.

Another factoid worth sharing: According to WFSB, this home “… sits just a few doors away from another famous landmark: the Suzette Kelo House that was moved from Ft. Trumbull last year.” Remember Kelo v. City of New London, CT? It was an eminent domain thriller that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

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Categories: Real Estate Oddities

Comments

3 Comments so far

Jonathan Blackwell on November 3, 2008 6:17 pm

Sounds like someone needs a FHA 203K Loan. You can pay for the move and the new setup with one of those.
A List Price that Would Make P.T. Barnum Proud… « Clark County Real Estate and Home Blog on December 1, 2008 8:25 pm

[...] there have been real, stupid-cheap real estate deals out there (usually with some big strings attached), but in some cases, listings seem priced simply to pull buyers out of the woodwork, with no true [...]
MA Young on June 13, 2009 7:04 pm

Jonathan is very knowledgeable with regards to the 203k… this would be a bear to move at 5000 SF. Might have to take it out in sections… this could be a real money maker for someone. Quite often homes are offered like this in all states. Keep your eyes open for lots that aren’t too far away from them. I have a client that made that his mode of operation in Berkeley CA. He would buy a large older home move it to the back of the lot, buy a large home around the corner or a few blocks away and move it to the front of the lot and place a parking garage under it… NOT a 203k but same idea. Then he had a lot to build a new structure in the heart of Berkeley.