A Washington D.C. resident is selling a giant wall he inherited from his father for $50,000 — in a petty move to annoy his neighbor.
Allen Berger told the Washington Post that his father initially bought the wall as a joke — so he could say he owned property in Georgetown.
Berger revealed that he decided to put the brick facade on the market after getting into a disagreement with his neighbor, Daniela Walls.
Walls, her surname being ironic, owns the interior 12 inches of the wall. Berger owns the exterior 12 inches on the south side of her house, which she purchased back in 2019.
She knew at the time that Berger owned part of the wall of her home. But things took a turn in 2020 when Walls noticed water leaking into her house. She discovered the beams in the part of the wall that Berger owns were wet and therefore threatening the structure of her home, she told the Washington Post.
Before Walls offered to buy the wall from Berger, she complained to the DC Department of Buildings (DOB). They fined Berger twice in connection to “improper upkeep” of his property — including chipping paint and rotting materials — for a total of $1,661 in November.
Berger denied the claims and is scheduled to go before an Office of Administrative Hearings administrative law judge in September, according to the outlet.
Walls then offered to buy the wall from Berger through her attorney, Eric Rome, for its tax-assessed value of $600.
This didn’t exactly sit well with Berger, revealing that Walls had “blindsided him” with her actions involving the DOB.
“That’s when I came up with $50,000, without any research, without any great thought,” he said. “For better or for worse.”
In response, Walls told the Washington Post that Berger’s claims were “childish” and she didn’t want her house to fall down as a result of the structural damage.
“Everybody is working to resolve this, not because they have a vendetta against Allen,” she said. “It’s because they want to solve a problem.”
Walls says she has no intention of paying $50,000 for the wall because then she would have to spend tens of thousands on repairs and upkeep as a result of its deterioration.
“Nobody is going to give you a mortgage for a wall,” she told the outlet.
But it looks like Walls underestimated the interest in the DC real estate market.
Berger listed the wall, with the address 30th St NW, with Robert Morris of Keller Williams.
Morris, who grew up in DC for the last 60 years, told The New York Post on Wednesday that they received a serious offer from a young woman who wanted to buy the wall.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure she gets it,” he told The Post, adding that he is unsure what she wants to do with it.
Morris previously told the Washington Post, that they had 12 other offers on the wall but that 11 backed out after being told that any murals or advertisements on the wall would have to get approval from the Old Georgetown Board.
The remaining offer dropped out after seeing it in person.
“This has absolutely been one of the most interesting listings I’ve ever had,” Morris added.