She’s a bit of a fixer-upper, and that’s just a minor thing—in the words of those Frozen trolls. Participating in their own version of a Disney sing-along, California real estate agents would like you to believe as much about the heavily damaged house that was listed for just shy of half a million dollars.
This past May, a rental property in Los Angeles County was crushed by a large fallen pine tree. No serious injuries were reported, but a neighbor told local outlet KTLA at the time that the crash sounded “like a bomb had exploded.”
Located in the city of Monrovia, the property was recently posted on Zillow for $499,999 with pictures that show the wreck—complete with rooms without walls and a torn roof. Know your worth, I guess. The property was listed as having one bedroom and one bathroom, but in reality the land the house is sitting on is what's in demand.
“The inventory is low and the demand is high, and that's what's creating this,” listing agent Kevin Wheeler told Fortune of the price. "It isn't really dependent on the interest rates going up or down like it would be in a normal, sane situation because the properties along the foothill are just really high in demand.”
He added that he already has offers for $500,000, noting that the area had a "renaissance" around 20 years ago and now boasts a great school system and vibrant town.
Indeed, Monrovia is a hot market with the median sales price of a home topping $1 million, per Redfin.
Wheeler told the Los Angeles Times that the $500,000 price is low for the area and described the home as having an “open-concept floor plan.”
The housing landscape has become so tight that more than one person contacted the homeowners of the now-famed property with lowball offers for $250,000–$300,000 just days after it was damaged, he added.
The lot is described as a “miracle on Mountain [Street]” on the Zillow listing, referencing the news of its wreckage. Named a “partial structure ready for new construction or rebuild,” the house was apparently red-tagged and a century old.
As the Times noted, the city requires reviews for demolitions to properties more than 50 years old. But Wheeler told the outlet that a review isn’t needed because the damage was caused by a so-called act of God.
For their part, the owners are going to make most of their money from "carrying the note," Wheeler told Fortune, meaning they will act as a lender rather than a bank doing the main business.
"You can't get a normal loan on this," he said, explaining that mortgage brokers will likely look at the property and say there's not enough collateral to loan it.
Meanwhile, trees don’t really have to go through bureaucracy, they just fall. That could an incentive for buyers looking to avoid red tape.
The Zillow listing says there’s “lots of meat left on the bone for investors,” and a construction loan might not be needed.
“Already a great location and as Monrovia rezones could this be next,” the Zillow writer almost shrugs. “Build your dream. It was always destiny.”
