House for $1 in Bay Area

[Davon Blackwell]

Good evening BP,

A developer in my area (SF Bay Area) is selling a Victorian home for $1. The catch is the home needs to be moved to another lot and plans need to be approved by the city to place the house on the new lot. The house is a 3/1.5, 1350SF, and probably needs a total rehab. The lot I'm looking at is $195k. I would budget $150k for rehab. Homes in the area are selling for $650k and up.

I have a contractor and a lot lined up, but I don't I'm not sure how much it would cost to transport the house and if there are any finance companies that can help. Does anyone in the Bay Area have experience moving a house? Can someone give me a ballpark price for moving the home? Are their any finance options that would help with the move?

[Chris Mason]

Originally posted by @Davon Blackwell:

Good evening BP,

A developer in my area (SF Bay Area) is selling a Victorian home for $1. The catch is the home needs to be moved to another lot and plans need to be approved by the city to place the house on the new lot. The house is a 3/1.5, 1350SF, and probably needs a total rehab. The lot I'm looking at is $195k. I would budget $150k for rehab. Homes in the area are selling for $650k and up.

I have a contractor and a lot lined up, but I don't I'm not sure how much it would cost to transport the house and if there are any finance companies that can help. Does anyone in the Bay Area have experience moving a house? Can someone give me a ballpark price for moving the home? Are their any finance options that would help with the move?

 Hi Davon,

I looked into this extensively a few years ago and found exactly one loan processor in California (no idea who the LO was) who had done a single renovation loan that included the financed cost of moving the house from Point A and plopping it down on Point B (which was zoned residential and had historic utilities, etc, from a past home). So it's possible, and has been done.

In order for it to be a "renovation," something from an old house needs to remain on the land you are acquiring, such as the foundation. A scenario that might work would be a home that's burned down. 123 Main St burnt down, and you're "renovating" it by taking a random $1 house and plopping it down on the existing foundation. 

And, actually, now I just typed that... I realize I'm an idiot for not putting two and two together and previously (to this post) realizing what NorCal currently has a lot of... plots of land with foundations remaining from burned down homes. I even remember, years ago, saying to people "ya this is all great in theory with the $1 house and financing the relocation of it + hooking it up to utilities etc at the new location, but where are you going to find a bunch of residential plots of land with homes that have been burnt down selling at cost-effective price points?" 

And, thinking out loud more, a lot of built up urban areas being revitalized have these "$1 home, just take it away" deals on a not infrequent basis.

Maybe this needs to be a thing. Maybe Sonoma and Napa counties are going to be re-populated using Victorians from SF, Oakland, and the greater East Bay, that would otherwise get torn down by developers!!! The history nerd in me loves the idea of saving Victorians. Hell, stack FHA 203(h) "disaster relief" (if you lost the apartment you were renting, or your home that you own, to the fires) on top of FHA 203(k) reno and boom we're doing 0% down relocated Victorians left and right.