For many of us, abandoned houses have a mysterious and haunting beauty. Their weathered clapboards, broken shutters and peeling paint seem to beckon us to peer through their windows.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make these abandoned places shine again. Here are three abandoned houses (and by that we mean vacated and/or confiscated by the city) that are currently on the market for under $30K, begging to be saved, but most likely in vain.

 

91 Division St, Schenectady, NY 12304.    $30,000 Pending

This abandoned home, now owned by the City of Schenectady, is located in the Central State Street neighborhood. The dense suburban neighborhood was once a thriving middle-class area with proud owners of whom many held jobs at the GE plant.  Today most residents rent their homes. Loads of pics in the link below.

Listing

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105 Rosalind Pl, Toledo, OH 43610.    $3,900

Clayton, a musician in an orchestra, and Irma Thomas married young, but they quickly made a nice home for themselves in rented rooms in this house in the 1920s and 1930s. Once a queen in the neighborhood, this poor Queen Anne Victorian now sits abandoned. The Lucas County LandBank has control of it. See more pics in the link below.

Listing

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126 McKinley Ave, Syracuse, NY 13205.   $1,000

When the Etz family first lived in this home, it was a place of family meals, games and laughter around the radio set. Harold, a machinist,  and Delia, a homemaker, raised their three boys here, John, Harold and Robert, for many years until Harold left the family sometime before 1949. Delia and the kids continued to live here, but as their finances and the neighborhood declined, so did the house. Unfortunately, after many decades of subsequent owners and neglect, this poor house stands as a sad example of a broken home.

See more pics in the link below.

Listing.