Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» You can buy islands as a private person retreat. Did you know you can also buy towns? Desert Center just sold for $6.25 million. What next?
I don't know what is special about this particular spot, nor how remote it is, but if the idea is to turn it into a new town and not merely a private retreat for a rich hermit, he'd want to look very carefully at why it was abandoned and why anyone might want to live there again...
If he's thinking of perhaps a new tourist town he'd need think not only of the two, three, five years spent rebuilding it to an acceptable standard, bringing in services like water, electricity and telecommunications and possibly rebuilding many miles of neglected or just gravel roads to it.
He'd also have to ask if it would attract anyone to open businesses in the town, and anyone to work in them; and whether those business will be viable in years to come.
He needs think not only in that 2, 3 or 5 years, but 20, 30, 50+ years hence.
It began about 100 years ago opening in September 1921 by a guy named Steve Ragsdale. He and wife were driving a car that broke down there and he thought having a REST STOP would be ideal. So a small town grew and was a family business. He died in 1971 and his son ran things until he died in 1999. It was put up[ for auction by Riverside County after trying to get the property through PROBATE. FOR 20 years! It was put for auction for $5million and the winning bid was the $6.25 million. What the new owner plans to do with it and what is actually done remains to be seen. Buying a town has a lot of responsibility that goes with it. Even a "ghost" town. Population as of 2019 was a couple of hundred residents. Thank you for your reply Durdle TMI?
You' re very welcome. You always kindly invest your time explaining things to me m'dear which I appreciate. You know what I think would be very sad? Having the town you always lived in die around you. Having people leave, businesses close and being left with shreds and memories of what used to be. I guess it's inevitable. You return to where you grew up and it's gone! Erased. No longer there. Thank you for your reply Durdle! :)
There's plenty of "ghost" towns that are for sale.
For only $1.5 million, you can buy Bridgetown, California. The asking price includes river frontage, swimming holes, houses, cabins, a post office and a cemetery.
For only $1.4 million, you can purchase Henry River Mill Village in North Carolina ... 21 unrestored mill houses and a store building on nearly 72 acres.
What to do with them? Well, one "town" for sale was built in the hopes that it would be as a movie location.
What a great idea! Instead of building sets on backlots of movie companies buy a town and fix it up and change it from time to time to use for different movies. That Henry River Mill Villae sounds like a bargain depending on how badly decomposed those 21 mill houses and sstore building is/are/am. 72 acres is a goodly piece of land. THank you for your reply Walt.
Durdle 