Homeowner of Newly Acquired Fixer Finds Valuables inside Walls of Home
David Gonzalez, of Elbow Lake, Minnesota recently bought an old 1939 abandoned home for $10,100. He said there was already a bid for $10,000 so he overbid by $100 and surprisingly got the home.
Gonzalez is a contractor so he decided that he and his wife would fix it up and turn a profit. While ripping out the old walls and ceilings, he found a rare comic book. It was a Action Comics #1 issue from 1938 showing Superman on the cover lifting up a car. He contacted a comic book appraiser to see what it was worth. While waiting for the appraiser to look at it, a relative grabbed it and caused it to become torn which significantly lowed the value.
This comic book sold on June 11, 2013 on EBay for $175,000 and it had a condition rating of 1.5 due to the back page being torn. It would have sold for at least $75,000. There are only 100 of these rare #1 Series known to exist. In 2011, a similar book but with a 9.5 rating sold for 2.1 million dollars.
Since, they found another comic book up in the ceiling wrapped in newspapers. This one was a Superman #4 Series dated 1940 when the evil Lex Luthor returns. This comic was ripped in half when found so it will probably only fetch between $500 to $5000 at auction.
David Gonzales was not concerned about the book getting torn and said he was planning to set up a trust account for his kids to go to college, donate $10,000 and maybe buy himself a Camero. Hooray for David and his family for finding these books and being able to save the money for his kids to go to college.
Speculation is the original owner of the 1939 home must have just put newspapers and comics into the walls while remodeling so someone would find them someday. Gonzales says he puts money in the walls when he remodels so this was a great treat for him to find such valuable comic books.
The Moral here is when you buy a home; you never know what you might find in the attic, basement, walls, ceilings, closets or other hiding places.
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Kristin Hamilton DRE #01492138 Keller Williams Realty – I am a full time agent and deal in all types of real estate transactions. Trusts, Probate, Short Sales, Standard Listing, Single Family Homes, Apartments 1-4 units, Duplexes and Condos. I am also an experienced REO agent. I sell real estate in the Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties. I am a trained and experienced Short Sale agent. If you are looking for a professional and experienced agent, I am just a click away. Google me at Kristin Hamilton-Real Estate Agent. Homeowners and Buyers both will find my services top notch and successful. Call me to sell your home; both traditional and short sales.
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