A “one in every of a form” 57-bedroom property in California has come available on the market for the discount value of simply $1—providing a visionary homebuyer the prospect to rework a historic former seminary into an extravagant single-family residence.
The huge 40,500-square-foot dwelling, situated in Cupertino and generally known as the Maryknoll Seminary, was in-built 1926 as a “residence for seminary prep college students attending St. Joseph’s seminary throughout the road,” in line with the itemizing.
It was later “transitioned right into a bucolic haven for missioners who’ve accomplished their careers,” the outline provides.
As such, its inside options distinctive facilities not often present in a standard household residence, together with a chapel and vestry, a industrial kitchen, administrative places of work, a laundry room, barber store, woodworking store, convention rooms, and a upkeep store.
For the possible patrons who’re in a position to see previous the property’s unique use, the historic construction provides a major alternative to create a singular residence—albeit with some important renovations.
The property has already piqued the curiosity of many a home hunter on social media, the place its $1 price ticket brought on fairly the stir on Reddit. It sparked additional curiosity when the itemizing was shortly up to date to warn potential patrons that they would wish to contact itemizing company Sequoia Realty Companies to obtain the up to date ask.
It’s extremely unlikely that the 99-year-old property would have offered for the preliminary $1 asking value. Nonetheless, it’s removed from the primary time {that a} residence has been listed for such a low sum.
The $1 itemizing has turn into an more and more fashionable advertising and marketing technique in current months, with itemizing brokers utilizing the headline-grabbing value to attract consideration to the dwelling, typically figuring out full effectively that the property will promote for a lot extra.
Agent Brendan Da Silva, who is predicated in New Jersey, beforehand revealed to Realtor.com® that the $1 itemizing had labored wonders for his properties.
It has helped sellers who’re uncertain of their property’s true worth to keep away from placing a house available on the market for an unreasonable value, he defined.
“I all the time discover myself arguing with sellers over what’s the appropriate value to listing at—often the vendor’s worry of underlisting it,” he mentioned. “This proves that is not attainable.”
Da Silva has listed a number of properties within the Newark space for $1 and has in the end obtained a whole lot of telephone calls from potential patrons providing way over the preliminary ask.
Whereas he conceded that this surge of curiosity creates one thing of a busy scenario for the itemizing agent and his workforce, he mentioned it’s a technique that has all the time achieved precisely what it was meant to: getting eyeballs on the itemizing.
“I knew it could set off madness,” he mentioned. “The patrons have been break up between confused, $1 bids, and quite a lot of severe consideration. Managing was practically unattainable; we started reviewing comps over the telephone with patrons.”
It’s unclear whether or not that was the intent with the Cupertino property. Nonetheless, the outcomes communicate for themselves, with a Reddit publish devoted to the previous seminary incomes virality, with many a commenter joking that they had been going to “swoop in and provide $2” to safe the house.
Others referred to as consideration to the seminary’s tower, which had been broken by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The itemizing does clarify that “seismic remediation and upgrades” had been accomplished after the earthquake.
Although important structural and aesthetic upgrades would should be made in an effort to remodel the property into a non-public dwelling, the outline notes that there are unbelievable bones for a would-be fixer higher to work with.
“An architectural mixture of Mission/Asian/Baroque and Romanesque kinds, the constructing’s towers and wings, linked by out of doors arcades and indoor corridors, create a mini-village with robust flavors of Spain, Italy and the Orient,” it states.
“Redesigned in 1976 as a retirement residence, right this moment the construction’s beige-pink stucco partitions, variegated terra cotta flooring and good-looking inside woodwork is superbly maintained and preserved.”
Whereas the seminary at the moment boasts 57 bedrooms—together with 53 bogs—it is doubtless that any transfer to breathe new life into the property as a non-public residence would contain a number of of these areas being mixed to create bigger rooms with extra lavish facilities, together with walk-in closets or dressing rooms.
Outdoors, the property options lovely gardens which are the results of “greater than seven many years of cautious grooming and renewal.”
“Spring bursts forth with magenta bougainvillea, climbing rosebuds and colourful flower beds of pansies, primroses and canna lilies,” the itemizing says.
In response to the St. Joseph’s School web site, development on the seminary started in 1924, after the constructing was commissioned to offer extra space for incoming college students.
Nonetheless, after the 1989 earthquake severely broken a number of of the college buildings “past restore,” the choice was taken to shut the school in 1991. It was later demolished—leaving solely the Maryknoll Seminary as a long-lasting reminder of the property’s earlier use.
Whereas the property is being largely marketed as a possible personal residence, the itemizing does observe that it might effectively be put towards different makes use of, together with as a “household compound” or a improvement, ought to a potential purchaser want to discover different choices for the land.
The property is a part of the Rancho San Antonio Protect—which is made up of an enormous tract of land that was offered to the Santa Clara County Parks Division by St. Joseph’s in 1977 and 1981, in line with its web site.
“In 1923, the Catholic Church bought the Snyder Ranch and in 1926 constructed Saint Joseph’s Seminary and the Maryknoll Seminary,” the web site states.
“St. Joseph’s was badly broken within the 1989 earthquake and was subsequently demolished. The Maryknoll Seminary, with its oriental motif, stands east of the park throughout Cristo Rey Drive.
“The Santa Clara County Parks Division bought 130 acres in 1977 and one other 35 acres in 1981 from St. Joseph’s Seminary. The county park enhancements had been constructed within the early Nineteen Eighties, with further enhancements accomplished in 1993.”
