Historic Victorian Home Listed At $1 Comes With A Catch
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — You can't get much for a dollar these days, but that's all you need to buy a Victorian home in Riverside.
The city is trying to pass a 4,800-square-foot home off to someone who will turn it back into a beauty.
So what's the catch?
The new homeowner has to move the five-bedroom house or buy the land, according to Emilio Ramirez of Riverside's community development department. They'd also have to preserve the structure and restore it to its original condition.
"It has a lot of character. It has a lot of history," Ramirez said.
City leaders bought the blighted property a few years ago in hopes of developing the land and improving the neighborhood.
Attorney Boyd Jensen bought a historic home, also located in downtown Riverside, for approximately $200,000. He says it's taken a lot of effort to restore the 2,500-square-foot home.
"It would cost over $100,000 to bring it up to where it is now," Jensen said of the house currently on the market.
Jensen says refurbishing one of these properties requires plenty of cash and lots of love.
"A home like this, a person's got to care more than just about flipping the home," the Riverside resident said.
Some estimate the cost to relocate and rehab the Victorian home could run up to $1 million.
City officials say they do have one very interested buyer.