Dixon Free House Offer Too Good To Be True

DIXON (CBS13) - As the sun sets and the wind blows, it's as if the crickets that surround an old house in Dixon are saying goodbye.

They could be because after close to a century sitting on a plot of land along S. First Street, the 4,000-square-foot home has become a shadow of its former self.

"It's become a blight and the city hasn't done much about it," one resident said.

It wasn't always that way. Al Ruiz used to party on this property with his buddies back in the day.

"I was kind of hoping somebody would pick it up and restore it," he said.

But after nearly 100 years and despite the owners trying to give it away for free, the house is set to be demolished.

"It's a pretty good deal for someone who wants to pick it up, but to move that house would cost a fortune," Ruiz said.

That was the problem. A hundred people wanted to take the home, but the cost to pick it up and move it -- at least $150,000 -- was too much. Refurbishing the home would have tacked on an even higher price tag.

The fence surrounding this old house may as well be invisible. Taggers have left their mark and neighbors say when people weren't tagging, they were cracking open some cold ones and turning it into a party house.

In its place will be something far from an animal house. Senior housing will be built on this land.

"It's a house that probably would be missed by people who've been Dixonites their whole lives," Ruiz said.