A rundown mansion built more than a century ago has gone on the market for just $80,000, but it needs a lot of work to restore it.
The 4,305-square-foot, six-bedroom home sits in a quiet corner of Frankfort, Maine, and was built in 1864.
However, the house has been empty for years and is falling on hard times after the previous owner planned to restore it and turn it into a bed and breakfast.
Following his death in 2022, the property passed into the hands of a relative, who is now preparing to sell it.
The home, plagued by water damage and structural deterioration, was recently branded a “ghost house” by one wary resident.
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The six-bedroom, 4,305-square-foot home sits in a quiet corner of Frankfort, Maine, and was built in 1864.
However, the house has been empty for years and is falling on hard times after the previous owner planned to restore it into a bed and breakfast.
“Please someone save this house,” the neighbor wrote, sharing The list in a community Facebook page.
“It’s a total remodeling job,” real estate agent Suzanne Chase added of the home, in a Friday interview with the Bangor Daily News.
Two days before, she told him Fox ABC Maine Standing outside the dilapidated home, “It’s the only one left in this architectural design.”
To save it, “you’d have to fix the roof first,” he said, citing the “funnel” of water “that’s putting all the (rain) on the third, second, first floor and even the basement.”
“Fix the roof and then everything else comes,” he said, admitting that such a task would be both costly and time-consuming.
The asking price of $79,900 reflects this, he said.
The listing adds that “the materials used and the craftsmanship can still be vaguely seen, but decades of neglect and lack of maintenance have taken a heavy toll.”
The historic estate is listed as a “former beauty currently in need of massive cleanup (and) extensive renovations and repairs.”
The home is listed for $79,999
His death in 2022 caused it to pass into the hands of a relative, who is now preparing to sell it.
The listing adds that “the materials used and the craftsmanship can still be vaguely seen, but decades of neglect and lack of maintenance have taken a heavy toll.”
The listing, which promotes the historic property as a “former beauty,” further states that the home “currently needs a thorough cleaning and then extensive renovations and repairs.”
Plagued by water damage and structural deterioration, the home was recently branded a “ghost house” by one wary resident.
To save it, “you’d have to fix the roof first,” said the real estate agent who sold the property, a task that would be as costly as it would be time-consuming.
A tour of the property by Chase and Fox ABC Maine showed some of the damage inside the home, which included sagging ceilings and graffiti.
Meanwhile, the exterior has improved a bit over the years, but it is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, not to mention some home improvements.
“You know, it’s a story,” said Michele Christle, who lives near the house built 160 years ago by famed shipwright Franklin Treat.
Located at the end of the street, she said, ‘When I tell people where I live, they always say, what’s wrong with that house?’
Apart from an architecture that reminds us of an earlier era, the house has quite a bit of history.
Treat, a Maine shipbuilder and merchant, commissioned it from Boston architect Calvin Ryder, Christle told the Bangor Daily News, citing features such as a mansard-style roof and a foundation made solely of granite sourced from a nearby mountain.
A grand staircase, plaster moldings and arched windows were also commissioned, all of which still stand today.
The carpenter sold his creation to Louisa T. Peirce, the wife of the late granite baron George Albert Peirce. From there, it changed hands several times, before being abandoned for more than two decades.
“It’s a total remodeling job,” real estate agent Suzanne Chase added of the home in an interview Friday.
“It’s a story,” said Michele Christle, who lives near the house built 160 years ago by famed shipwright Franklin Treat. “When I tell people where I live, they always ask me what’s wrong with that house.”
A tour of the property conducted by Chase and Fox ABC Maine showed some of the damage inside the home.
A grand staircase, plaster moldings and arched windows were also commissioned, all of which still stand today.
Meanwhile, the exterior has improved a bit over the years, but it is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, not to mention some home improvements.
So prospective buyers will have to weigh whether the bargain is worth the inevitable project that comes with it — a considerable task for anyone, Chase said.
It was then passed into the hands of its most recent buyer, Dana Geel.
The elder did what he could for the residence, organizing periodic garage sales within its walls and on their porch while they work to transform it into an inn.
“We used to say, ‘It’s been abandoned for 20 years, but today you can come,'” Christle recalls of these visits.
“And people loved that.”
But Dana passed away and the house had to be abandoned again, falling into an even greater state of disrepair.
Prospective buyers will have to weigh whether the bargain is worth the inevitable project it entails, a considerable undertaking for anyone, Chase said.
Meanwhile, the house remains in place. at 9 Main Rd. South, looking more eerie than welcoming.
‘Currently in need of a thorough cleaning and then extensive renovations and repairs, this 4,300-square-foot historic icon could offer up to 6 bedrooms and as many bathrooms across its three floors,’ the new listing warned.
‘Bring your safety shoes, flashlight and safety vision!’
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