These Nantucket homeowners are giving away their home for free
The best things in life are free — but are they actually?
Realtor.com reports a five-bedroom residence in Nantucket, Massachusetts — one worth $5 million, no less — is available for free. Yes, its owners are looking to give away the five-bedroom spread. But does that mean anyone can simply move into the Cliff Road dwelling located a stone’s throw from the ocean?
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No. In this case, a prospective owner has to move the home off its foundation and transport it elsewhere in the next 180 days.
Each year, as Nantucket’s summer tourist season draws to close, a new season begins. The popular practice of “house moving,” as reported by the outlet, commences in mid-September and lasts until mid-June. During this time, local homes traded for free hitch rides to new lots across town. One video posted on Instagram last month shows a shingled home hoisted onto a truck that’s making its way ever so slowly down the road — causing a big traffic jam in its wake.
As bizarre as it may seem, this practice is far more common than may be assumed.
On Nantucket, an island off the coast of Cape Cod, the practice of uprooting properties to new plots goes back to the 1600s, according to Nantucket Preservation. The constant pressures of weather and erosion, and the island’s lack of natural building materials, made it a necessity.
But there’s a more recent reason: preservation. Homeowners in Nantucket who seek to demolish their properties were officially required by law to advertise the property for 30 days, in case someone else has the desire to take the home off their hands for the low low cost of $0.
The annual musical chairs of properties was essentially codified in 1997, when the island’s “Demolition Delay Bylaw,” was passed, the outlet reported.
Since 2020, more than 75 homes have successfully moved throughout the island, according to Realtor.com.
While the house may come free, moving it certainly isn’t.
The cost of house moves in Nantucket can run between $200,000 and $500,000, according to Realtor.com. The final bill depends of the size of the house, the length of the move and and the costs of establishing the home on its new lot.
Still, buying on of these homes is often cheaper than building from the ground up, experts told Realtor.com. Mary Bergman, the executive director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust, told the outlet that a lot of interest in house moving comes from young locals. These hopeful homeowners may have inherited land, or bought during a time when Nantucket real estate was still affordable for non-millionaires.
While these young landowners may not be able to afford building a home, they may be able to move one.
Buyers also get to dodge the landmarked island’s picky design review process — buildings are expected to fall in line with the iconic Nantucket “look.” A pre-built home already enjoys the saltbox-styled seal of approval.
The island’s bylaw has big savings benefits for the homeowners, too.
In addition to forgoing demolition costs, the island’s house-moving scheme means owners avoid thousands of dollars in landfill fees. Space in Nantucket’s landfills is limited, according to Realtor.com, and one ton of house waste currently costs more than $500 to dump.
Nantucket’s house moving season sees a glut of notices hit local papers like the Inquirer and Mirror and the Nantucket Current, advertising available properties or giving locals a heads up about house moving routes.
While the tourist traffic jams may be over, islanders still have to watch out for the occasional three-bedroom crossing the road.
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