Buying a town on Ebay - crazy or no?

[lookout]

So do ya think the buyer got a bargain or not? Here's the news story, if you haven't seen it already. The winning bid was for 1.78 million U.S. dollars.

82 acres of remote California land, off a smaller state highway. Several dilapidated old buildings and a post office make up what's left of the old lumber town on the property, founded in 1871. The property includes a mile and a half of riverfront and a cemetery, with a backhoe thrown in for good measure.

[Still Shady]

Woah! Cool! If i was rich i'll buy it then... grow pot on it!

[mattsiegman]

[lookout]

That article does say that the pot industry helped save a nearby town, but I'm not sure how that actually works in practice. California law on pot has eased considerably in recent years, but you'd likely get harassed by various law enforcement groups eventually. Here's a site that outlines the current laws:

http://www.canorml.org/laws/calmjlaws.html

A private vineyard, if the land supports it, might be a nice alternative. Might be too woodsy an area for that though.

My local paper claims there's another California town for sale right now at $1.9 million. It's the town of Amboy, located east of L.A. in the Mojave desert. The historic Route 66 of song fame passes though. The property includes a gas station/cafe, motel, church, runway, airplane hanger, half a dozen small houses, and a post office, on 690 acres. It's being sold through traditional real estate channels, not on eBay.

[lookout]

Update, 1 year later.

Just saw in the paper today that the winning bid didn't pan out after all. Neither did the backup bids. Now the town is being offered thru conventional real estate sales channels for a mere $850k (or thereabouts).

[Vin DSL]

I'm saving up for a pound of Gene Simmons' nose hairs. Anybody can buy a town...

[lookout]

I doubt it, although it's certainly within the reach of some of us here.

That price might buy a "scraper" on a small lot in some areas around here now. It wouldn't leave much of anything for a replacement dwelling though.