Originally published at: House crushed by tree on market for $500k - Boing Boing
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The real tragedy is the loss of that ca. 1980 Ford Econoline. Man, I wish manufacturers had the guts to paint vehicles like that these days (though Ford is killing it with stripes lately).
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House crushed by tree on market for $500k
Why was the tree valued at $500k, and what was the house worth? 
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About 10 years ago I saw a water meter for sale in Bolinas CA for 6 figures. They weren’t going to let someone rebuild their house that burned down. The town had and probably still does have a water crisis.
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And conservatives wonder why there’s homeless people in the US lol
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Google Maps still shows the “before” view, which looks really ominous now that we know the fate of both the house and the van.
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Half a million for an empty lot in (sub)urban California is practically a steal. Having a foundation to build on? Bonus!
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I love having a mature tree on my property. If it was leaning like that, though, after years of being trimmed on the side of the powerlines, I’d be bringing it down in a controlled fashion at the first opportunity. The power company arbourists have kind of hacked it, it seems.
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Yeah - I know my tree surgeon friend would have described that as a ‘time bomb’ and told me to take some weight off the side of that tree, post haste, or even take the whole thing out.
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This is about 1 mile from my house and I drive by it daily.
I believe that they kept some of the walls up because if you do that then new construction counts as a remodel rather than a new house. Makes getting permits easier and in some cases will also be a lower tax assessment than a brand new house.
Property certainly is expensive in the area and I love my town but I would hate to live on that street. It’s one of the busier streets in the area. 4 lanes wide and constant traffic.
You know, considering what you get for the money, this other house in my area almost seems like a bargain in comparison at just 4X the price:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Monrovia/150-N-Myrtle-Ave-91016/home/7972441
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Possibly makes it easier to qualify for a mortgage as well. Typically the requirements are much higher to get a loan for a vacant lot than one with a house on it.
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I suspect the foundation alone is enough for that, depending on how zealous local enforcement is - someone bypassed regulations on new buildings near me by building a house on the foundations of what had previously been a shed. (And if I remember correctly, they lifted up the shed, added the foundation, then removed the shed and built a house there.)
But yeah, I’ve seen empty lots with no structures go for (at least) half a million.
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The specific rules vary from locality to locality, but there are definitely cities in California that will treat rebuilding a home that still has standing walls differently than they will treat building a home that has been demolished to its foundations. Even when the tax implications are the same it can be much easier to get a “remodeling” permit than a “new construciton” permit.
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I’m thinking it might be cool to integrate the fallen tree in the new design of the house. Looks like it would need to be dragged a bit further into the structure. Seal the ends to prevent insect and water ingress, cut passageways through the trunk as needed and you now have the most unique home in your zip code, maybe area code!
The Pine Tavern in Bend, OR has several living ponderosa pines growing out of it. If they figured it out, it’s got to be even easier to incorporate a tree that is no longer growing.
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Ok, the listing agent for the property in the post definitely needs to add “predisastered” to the description.
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The house – envious of the tree – was crushed by what it saw as a gross overvaluation.
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