Some people who own a house up the street from me tried this a few weeks ago. They tried to sell off all the house's architectural parts in an 'estate sale.' However, it's an arts and crafts era mansion with some pretty valuable parts. The bank holding the mortage wasn't amused when they found out. From the newspaper article:
The leaded stained glass front door still had the price on it -- $2,500. So did the fireplace surrounding in the study, $9,000. "Sold" signs dotted rich paneling and ornate woodwork around the walls, and the delicate four-panel painting on terra cotta above the fireplace, worth perhaps $150,000, was wrapped in cardboard, ready for delivery.
But the exquisite estate sale over the weekend at 2008 Pillsbury had a bizarre windup Tuesday.
Workers hired by the bank that holds the mortgage were busy changing the locks on the 1906 mansion Tuesday afternoon to protect what remains of a piece of the city's history. Their work was punctuated by the squawks of a parrot the owners left behind in the basement.
TCF sent investigators to the home after calls from a neighbor and the Star Tribune. Owners Peter Sturm and Kendahl Sweet have two mortgages on the house that total about $500,000, according to public records. They recently moved and couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
TCF spokesman Jason Korstange said privacy issues prevented him from discussing the matter in depth, except to say that "we own this house and we will be watching this closely."
Some neighbors have already been on the case.
When Piccadilly Estate and Moving put up banners for a large sale, few thought much of it. But when neighbors saw sale signs on items structural to the house, rumors spread on a Minneapolis issues forum, and preservationists began making calls, including ones to the newspaper.
By Tuesday, one neighbor, who asked not to be named, walked through the empty home and turned to the locksmith who was preparing to change the locks.
"Luckily, you got here in time," the neighbor said.
