7 months ago
WILLARDS, Md. (delawareonline.com) -- Donnie Alimo and his girlfriend Nicky Baracco have everything they can possibly ask for at their New Hope Road property -- ample land for dirt biking, wide -open spaces and very soon, two houses.
Alimo and Baracco purchased the original house, which was built in 1980, and the property more than a year ago through foreclosure. Recently, the couple began building a new home behind the two-story, 1,900-square-foot house.
As part of Wicomico County law, the property cannot have two houses occupying the land, leaving the couple with a dilemma of what to do with the house. The most obvious idea was to demolish the house, but Baracco jokingly came up with another option.
"I told him to put it on Craigslist and offer it for free to see if anybody wanted it," she said. "He's used it to sell dirt bikes, so why not try the house?"
Last month, Alimo posted an advertisement on the site and reposted it Tuesday. Since the initial ad, the couple has received numerous responses about the house.
"We've gotten at least two calls a day about it," Alimo said. "When they call, people say, 'What's the catch?' "
The "catch" is whoever wants the house must pay expenses to move it off the property and get the structure moved within the 30-day window once the couple moves into their new home, which could be within a few weeks.
"It's one of these deals where you'd need $50,000 to move it and get it set on a foundation," Alimo said. "You can't get a house for $50,000 now."
This is similar to what the Maryland Department of Natural Resources attempted to do earlier this year with a house in Church Creek in Dorchester County. Harvey Bryant, chief of engineering services for DNR, said they initially received two calls about the 1915 Linthicum, Md., house, but after it was realized what the cost would be, the attempts to move it were scuttled.
As for the possibility of having to demolish a livable house, Alimo and Baracco said although it'd be nice to give it away, there'd be no tears shed if it couldn't be done.
"We wouldn't be disappointed if we had to tear the house down," he said. "But we would like to see someone have a house."
