Man sells worn-out wall for nearly P3 million out of spite for his neighbor
There's a property for sale in Georgetown that only costs $50,000 (nearly P3 million), but here's the catch: It’s only a wall.
Allan Berger, a resident from Washington, D.C. is selling his worn-out brick wall after a fight with his neighbor, Daniela Walls, who has been having problems with it and raising concerns about the structural integrity of her house.
According to a report by The Washington Post, Allan inherited the wall after the passing of his father, who bought it in a tax auction in the 1960s as a "joke," just so he could say that he has a property in Georgetown. Back then, the wall was priced at $2.14 (over P100).
The wall has since held a sentimental value for Allan because it reminds him of his dad’s sense of humor. He even enjoys showing it off.
“You can go there, take a girl out on a date, go walk around and say, ‘See, I own that,’” he quipped.
Allan equally shares the wall with Daniela, with the former owning 12 inches of its exterior and the latter owning the remaining 12 inches of its interior.
The two had a "civil" relationship until Daniela had problems with the wall and saw water leaks inside her home. After consulting with an engineer, they discovered that it was due to the wet beams on the side of Allan’s property.
It's quite noticeable that Allan’s side of the wall is completely worn-out and obviously wasn’t properly maintained.
“It’s, like, crumbling,” as described by Robert Morris, Allan's real estate agent.
After Daniela reported the problem to her insurance company, the D.C. Department of Buildings (DOB) got involved. Since Allan failed to maintain his side of the wall, he was fined by the DOB a total of $1,661 (over P80,000) for “improper upkeep, including peeling or chipping paint and holes or rotting materials,” as stated in case documents.
While he denied the claims, Allan has been scheduled for a hearing in September and has been given 30 days to provide a report about the structural integrity of the wall.
According to the report, Allan believes that Daniela’s move in getting the DOB involved was a “personal attack.”
“She blindsided me with this,” he said, to which Daniela said that he was simply being “childish.”
“I can’t let the house fall down. I can’t let a dangerous wall go unabated,” Daniela said. “Everybody is working to resolve this, not because they have a vendetta against Allan. It’s because they want to solve a problem,” she added.
In another attempt to solve the problem, Daniela offered to buy Allan’s half of the wall via her attorney for its tax-assessed value worth $600 (over P30,000). This, however, only prompted Allan to sell it for $50,000 (nearly P3 million).
"That's when I came up with $50,000, without any research, without any great thought," he said. "For better or for worse."
Daniela refused to spend the amount for just another half of her wall, saying she would also need to spend another thousand for its insurance and maintenance. “Nobody is going to give you a mortgage for a wall,” she noted.
Despite the odd listing, the worn-out wall managed to have 12 potential buyers. Around 11 of them, however, backed out after they were told that they would need to secure the approval of the Old Georgetown Board in purchasing it.
Only one potential buyer scheduled a viewing but eventually backed out as well after seeing the wall.
The listing is still active as of writing.