The Bay Area's oldest house is on the market for the price of an economy car

TAMPA - The oldest house in the Bay Area is on the market. It was built in downtown Tampa in 1842 when John Tyler was president. In 1914, it was moved to a site just outside Ybor City. Now, the future of this home built 20 years before the Civil War depends entirely on who buys it. Asking price? Only $25,000 dollars. You'll soon understand why.

Realtor Willie Dudley doesn't know many of the details of the simple frame home on 8th Avenue near 32nd Street, but his phone won't stop ringing. Prospective buyers are calling and showing up to see if the history is worth the headaches. Some of the inquiries seem serious. Others seem less so.

Charles Harmon of Pasadena saw an article in the paper. "In California, they burn down houses like this just to get the handmade nails" said Harmon. "The nails are worth more than the house."

True or not, Harmon's comments would make a preservationist shudder. The fear is that someone will buy the property just to tear down the home and build new. The house is valued at $64,000 dollars by the county and sits on a double lot that would make the land component of the deal more tempting.

La Gaceta Newspaper publisher, Patrick Manteiga says the decrepit state of the house is more evidence that Tampa cares little for it's history.

"There's nothing protecting this. Nobody's applied for any historic status for this building. This is not an historic district.

Restoring the home to livability could cost two or three times the purchase price, but Manteiga believes it would be well worth it.

"It could certainly use a little love and even if it wasn't brought back to full restoration, just keeping it around has a value" said Manteiga.