The House Without a Door

A real estate friend told me this story in the early ‘80's when he had his great Aunt's house on the market. He had the house listed at the time. I have listed it several times thereafter. The house is located in Old Southwest, Roanoke's Premier Historic District.

His Aunt and Uncle bought the house sometime in the 1950's. I am assuming that no agents were involved. Right before closing, they decided to do a quick walk-through with the seller. The seller said, "By the way, the front door is leased. It doesn't pass with the property." The door was owned by a museum. It was a door taken from one of Napoleon's country homes.

Naturally, there was a problem! The buyers and sellers went to the attorney's office to seek advice.

The attorney, who must have been a very wise man, said that he had never encountered a problem like this. His solution was to call a custom lumber company. They crafted an exact replica of the door. When it was installed, Napoleon's door was returned to the museum.

This door has passed with the property through all successive sales. Buyers love to hear the story. Owners love to tell the story!

This home is NOT for sale!