Hey, there! Log in / Register
Here's your chance to buy a house out of spite
By adamg on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 10:45am
The Hull Street "spite house" - which varies from 6.2 to 10.4 feet in width - is up for sale.
One legend has it that a man built the house at 44 Hull St. to spite his brother, who had commandeered most of the land left by their father for his own, much larger house while the man was away fighting in the Civil War.
The house, which features both a washer and a dryer, as well as a Nest thermostat, and overlooks the Copp's Hill Burying Ground and the inner harbor, has an asking price of $895,000.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
The city has it assessed for
The city has it assessed for only $552,700. What is up with this housing market?
Owner appealed assessment?
An owner in my building appealed the assessment of their unit. Already appraised low, and they lowered it. I think it might have saved them $15 a month.
pretty much every building in
pretty much every building in Boston and Cambridge will sell for more than the assessed value.
City assesses lower to keep people happy and reduce the number of complaints. Due to to prop 2 1/2, they get the same total tax revenue regardless of whether they assess all properties at actual value or assess at 75% of actual value.
Assessed c's actual value
It's all a numbers game. The city asses values lower than market and instead charges a higher rate.
Being rented as a vacation property
The owners don't live there. They have the house listed on VRBO.
https://www.vrbo.com/247506
So if you are looking to make a profit and annoy your neighbors by being a hotel that doesn't pay hotel tax, this place is for you.
How exactly
Does listing that place on VRBO "annoy the neighbors"?
VRBO
Like AirBNB this is a short term rental site. Neighbors are generally not thrilled with strangers coming and going all the time. One of the reviews mentioned that they were unhappy because they were not allowed to use the roof deck or the back yard, and the owners replied that that was a concession to the neighbors.
I wouldn't be surprised if their desire to sell after renting the place out weekly for eight years is due to complaints from the neighbors and increased pressure for regulation of these types of rentals.
Skinny House...
for Slender Man?
Probably not a "spite house"
Probably not a "spite house" but I've always wondered what the deal was with this house on 109 in Westwood. https://binged.it/2oftqig It's absurdly narrow respective to its length, and sits right on the edge of the road on a large otherwise empty lot.
Interesting
From Google Street View you can see it has a "Circa 1830" sign on the house so it's been around for a while. Perhaps it was once attached to a barn or another structure which was long since removed?
If someone farmed on the lot they might also be trying to maximize their fields when the house was built.
Narrow house. West Cedar Street.
Another very very narrow house entered from the closet of the house next door on West Cedar Street has a zig zag staircase in the center of each room, each room is on a different floor. The house was built by an architecture student in between the others.
Cogency!
This has to be the most cogent thing you've written on UHub, Don!
Hurray and thanks for the cool fact!
Sharon
Property that's literally smack in the middle of route 27 by the train station. Maybe not a spite house, but there must be a story there. Did they fight eminent domain against the highway? I love kooky property stories like this.