[quote author="ocresident73" date=1242647511][quote author="Geotpf" date=1242541812]Nice. Original owner. Asssuming he didn't HELOCed himself to death, that'll fund his entire retirement. Here's my guess at a scenerio-bought it when he was 30 or so, as a young attorney/doctor/whatever. Just retired, and is going to move somewhere where that same size house could be purchased for a quarter of the cost. He can also probably afford to either wait for a high offer or take a low ball bid, depending on his mood. Lots of flexibility here. He also has a smart realtor (assuming a good set of photos show up-it sometimes takes a couple days for them to make it to the MLS). He priced it exactly where the market is at right now, the description is very good, and they threw a bunch of eights in the price to attract Chinese. This will probably sell quick, and probably for list.
Edit: Ok, widow of said doctor. Everything else still applies, although if she's alone now, she might downsize and save even more money.</blockquote>
The couple that used to live here were very close family friends of mine. As the records show, they were in fact original owners. The husband, a retired aerospace engineer, died about 10 years ago. His wife, who had been a high school teacher for many decades, died after a long illness last fall. I approached their daughter, who was charged with deciding what to do with their parents' possessions (inlcuding the house) about purchasing the house from them for what I believed the house should be worth. Although well cared for, given the age of the house and lack of improvements, I felt it was a fair offer, but knew that it was probably half of what she might get from someone else. I'm told by neighbors in the area that she sold to the family member of another neighbor. I can only presume that is where the $1 million + closing price is coming from, as the daughter never listed the property. I admit I was a bit disappointed, as I do have a very personal and emotional connection to this particular house. But, I don't think I ever expected her to seriously consider my offer.
Frankly, however, I would rather have both of my friends here to commisserate over the craziness of the current economy and housing market than commenting on the disposition of their house on a housing blog.</blockquote>
Actually, the children should get what the house is worth on the open market. It would be cheating them otherwise.