Can you believe you can buy this house for just $1? Source: House Beautiful

The San Francisco Bay Area is notoriously not a cheap place to live in. Even the smallest homes will demand a six digits value or more… but how about this for a surprise: there’s a house in the Bay Area on sale right now for 1 dollar.

Sounds too good to be true, right? And it is:

Even with the ridiculous asking price, no one seems to want it.

You’ll find this house in the city of Hercules located in the East Bay, and it’s for sale from the city council. It was purchased by the city back in 2010, and its price was already $1 back then. At the time it sat on a hill just behind the famed Hercules Powder Works Clubhouse.

The aim of this purchase was simple: buy it, renovate it, and convert the historic home into a visitor’s center. However, things did not go as planned.

The house requires an extensive renovation work. Source: House Beautiful

The town realized that it couldn’t dedicate the required resources for the renovation. In order to get rid of this burden, they’re now selling the house for 1 dollar.

However, before you jump in for the deal, there is a small condition: the person who buys the house will indeed be required to do the renovations themselves. The Victorian style home was moved a few years ago and in the process, it was literally cut in half (image above).

The renovation works needed to get the house back to a livable state are monumental and this is what the new owner will have to commit to after the $1 purchase. The house is yet to attract a buyer.

The planning director at Hercules County said the goal is to ensure the house is preserved. Even if this is done in a different town, that would still be a success. However, the town has also made it clear that since the home has already become an eyesore for the community, if there is no buyer soon, it will have to be demolished.

The renovation it requires is making potential buyers look away. Source: House Beautiful

Real estate analysts have argued that while the 1 buck price may appear a bargain, the amount of money needed to move the house and renovate it to a residence is quite huge. This could be the main reason why potential buyers are looking away.

However, this is the Bay Area. You don’t often get cheap homes in the area and when you take in consideration the $1 purchase plus the renovation work, perhaps the deal evens itself out.

Sadly, it appears no one has seen it that way and the home will have to wait a little longer for a buyer - or be demolished for good.