Donating/gifting a house to relocate to another site?
Inspired by an SF Chronicle article from 2/19/2021 about a Victorian house being moved to another site within San Francisco, I wanted to post a question here if anyone has knowledge as to whether there exists a market for homes to be moved in the East Bay, or how to get in touch with interested parties or specialty brokers.
We have a single-family home in North Berkeley, single story, 1350 sqft, built in 1908, not historic as far as we know, but constructed from old-growth Redwood and in good shape. We're looking to construct a new home on the site (remodeling is not feasible given our new plans) and would love to gift or donate the old house to a person or organization that could use and enjoy it, if possible.
Feb 19, 2021
Parent Replies
I can ask around (if you don't mind anonymous sharing of your post). My gut reaction is you're unlikely to find a taker. It's too small.
San Francisco Community Land Trust
https://sfclt.org
OR
https://sogoreate-landtrust.org
The Sogorea Te Land Trust
We are founded on stolen land and Indigenous people are still here.
If you have access to land and wealth, consider your place in the lineage of this theft and how you might contribute to its healing, how you might reimagine your relationship to the land you are on.
From creating a cultural easement for gathering rights, offering access to a space or writing us into your will or nonprofits dissolution documents, we are dreaming with our supporters to build many paths of radical reciprocity that are a part of rematriation and land return.
That was a great story and fun to watch, but I'm not sure if you caught the part of the story that explained the cost, $400,000, to move the house less than a mile.
What you are proposing is certainly kind, but not really economically feasible for most people or organizations.
It's a shame you can't incorporate the existing house into your plan - we remodeled our house, built in 1870, and half of the house is still the original. The redwood is in beautiful shape and in many ways feels much more solid than the new construction. Food for thought.