Though some expected this notable 1904 Queen Anne Victorian at 152 Fourth Avenue in the desirable Lake District to fetch as much as $2.5 million despite its disturbing past, that now seems less likely, which is probably small relief. A new listing puts the home at just $928,000, and included in the "Major-Fixer's" low, low price are "Lots of Vintage Charm/Details" and "a real News Worthy History" (!). Yes, it's got that history in spades.
In April, after the home was foreclosed upon following years of unpaid property taxes, a hazmat team entered the building to clear its floor-to-ceiling junk and debris. Living there was Carolyn Ragin, a woman suffering from mental illness who had for years compulsively hoarded objects and belongings. Sadder still, the team discovered and exhumed a mummified corpse presumed to be that of homeowner Anna Ragin, Carolyn's mother. Anna had gone unseen for years while Carolyn, who was hospitalized after the grim revelation, lived in the home infested with rats and black widows and full of mold and old bottles of urine.
SFPD on scene with reports of a body in a house (right) on 4th avenue in the Richmond District @SFGate pic.twitter.com/Zvq6MW4LSa
— Jessica Christian (@jachristian) April 5, 2015
Socketsite, which has some deeply depressing photos of the bathroom and kitchen, explains that because "The mother’s death was never reported nor was probate settled... the sale will require court confirmation and the property, the exterior of which has been repainted, is being offered 'AS IS.'" Yikes.
Speculation on the price of the house began before the body — okay, the body had been cold for multiple years. Curbed currently estimates that the home "almost definitely calls for a down-to-the-studs reno that will undoubtedly leave it with flat fireplaces, soaking tubs, and a price well, well into the millions." Sounds pharaonic!
Previously: House Where Mummified Corpse Was Found Likely To Fetch $2.5M