A San Francisco duplex that was featured in an episode of A&E’s Hoarders recently received 12 offers and sold for $500,000 over the asking price, according to Proof Real Estate listing agent Craig Ackerman.
Airing in early 2020, the episode was memorable because hoarder Ray Silmon had to endure the difficult clearance of the top floor of his NOPA Victorian while also dealing with the death of his brother, who died during filming and was also staying in the house, but didn’t add to the floor-to-ceiling mess. The brothers inherited the property from their parents and lived there for more than 50 years, Ackerman said.
In the years since filming the episode, Ackerman said Silmon has completely refilled the cleared rooms. He died last year and the probate court and prosecutor “requested immediate action” over the derelict home, he said in an emailed statement.
Ackerman’s crew removed eight 20-foot containers filled with garbage. The transport included “decaying animals,” and the crew had to deal with a collapsing rear porch, a roof with a four-by-four hole, “unusable plumbing,” and an “overpowering odor.
“We had to have cleaners sweep the floor with highly concentrated ammonia to remove or mitigate the odors,” said Ackerman, who specializes in escrow and estate sales and cites it as one of his most difficult properties to get ready for the market.
After the purge, Ackerman held four consecutive open houses just before the Christmas holidays. He received 12 bids and the top bid for 756-758 Lyon Street was all cash at $1.2 million, or 70 percent over the $700,000 demand. At 2,800 square feet, that’s $429 per square foot.
Each unit has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a family room, a dining room and an office. The ground floor is a communal area according to the listing notes.
Kenix Zhong, a Fremont-based RE/MAX agent, representing the buyers, Lyon Partners LLC, was unable to comment on their plans for the property.
The great interest in at least a rock-solid renovation is an indication that even with the market down, the most expensive construction costs in the world and a standstill in development, home buyers still think that it is worth investing in San Francisco – at the right price.
“The appetite for development is still strong,” Ackerman said.
