Anaheim Businessman Offering $10K And A Free House — But There's A Catch
ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — An Anaheim developer is offering a free home and $10,000 cash — but there's a catch.
Businessman Bill Taormina says it's not about profit when it comes to the four residences adjacent to Anaheim High School he's desperately trying of offload.
Rather than selling them at market value, Taormina says he's selling the land with the homes to Anaheim Union High School District for exactly what he paid so the district can expand their new campus.
"It's our city, it's our hometown and we just want to put back in everything we can to keep lifting it up so that our heritage lives on," he explained.
The problem is Anaheim High School doesn't need the homes and Taormina doesn't know where to put them.
"We don't have home sites available to us because the state of California... took the land and the funds to the redevelopment agencies and put it in the state treasury," he said.
In a rare move, Taormina is offering $10,000 and a free house to anyone who wants one. But that doesn't mean high costs won't be involved.
"It's about $200,000 to bring the house back to a usable shell and about $50,000 to move the house and build a foundation to set it down on," he explained, adding the offer may appeal to those with a vacant lot.
"You couldn't build the house for what it will cost to restore the house," he said.
It's not the first time Taormina and members of the Five Points Historic District in Anaheim have moved houses. The developer and a team of community members have relocated and restored 50 homes in the city, including the flagship Ruby's Diner.
But without land for these four homes and funds from a redevelopment agency, for the first time he's asking the public to step in and save them.
"We have about five months to go before the bulldozers come to build the new school as a result of the bond issue that was passed by the voters last November. If we can't get these houses sited, they're gonna disappear," he said.
For more information about the houses, contact Taormina at bill@mycleancity.net.
