Photo Caption Contest: The 101 House

Good morning, Will Kempton, how goes the battle against gridlock?

News item: "For 10 days now, a sagging house parked on the Hollywood Freeway's northbound shoulder in the Cahuenga Pass has had people gawking -- and talking."

Our take: We'll get to the humor in a sec. But first: who's the genius at CalTrans responsible for letting a house sit in a freeway for more than a week? Or was it a team effort?

Now humor: Please use the comment section to write your best photo caption. Better yet, write the MLS listing for this "Eye-catching freeway adjacent fixer, minutes from downtown, it's the talk of the town!"
Email story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com
Photo Credit: LATimes.com

Comments

[Pete Viles]

The LATimes.com headline is:

"This Open House Lacks Curb Appeal"

[Jason Hoppe]

This reminds me of a line from a classic song.

Mellencamp
Pink Houses

There's a black man with a black cat
Livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks that he's got it so good

[Michigan Homeowner]

Thanks to its innovative design, this house could be just minutes from work, no matter where you work. Rest assured that you will find yourself at the heart of a vibrant arts community. And best of all, with proper placement, this house reduces ambient freeway noise up to 50%!

[seattlesnoop]

Bring your tires and a motor and customize this truly mobile home.

But seriously, I think CalTrans intends this to be their new headquaters, right in the thick of things.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Possible commerical zoning!

Convenient freeway access and great freeway frontage.

[Gary]

If you lived here, you'd be home now!

[Sue]

This magnificent home, adjacent to a city green space, is far from any neighbouring homes. Customize to your own taste! Excellent future commericial potential as a drive though latte location.

[mark g]

Convenient freeway access... just a stone's throw away from the beach... front porch access to median strip to watch that perfect CA sunset... backyard privacy fence... pre gang tagged defacement for that instant urban appeal... nightly live performances of Frogger... your own personal metro stop... lawn is maintainance free... caltrans cones included in offer!

[Raughle]

"They're not making any more lanes."

[Aldo818]

Location, location, location...

Ha ha!

[Rick Johnson]

Well,

IF YOUI LIVE HERE YOU WOULD BE HOME NOW.

[BottomFisher]

Cracked house drive by fixer priced to move fast. Close to all, with private offramp. Local late night artists just love it. Hurry....may be gone soon. Many many have seen, but no offers yet. Poor & no credit OK. It's a steal....please...hint hint wink.

[Teresa Rothaar]

With a little bit of polishing, this diamond in the rough will shine with your PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP! Hurry, because this cutie won't last!

[Raughle]

"Halfway to Calabasas, Bob realizes his mistake and decides to mail in the keys instead."

[BottomFisher]

On The Road Again

[Tim K.]

This is pretty funny, but seriously, you should lay off Caltrans. The problem of a giant home on the freeway is not easily solved - first of all, it's not easy to quickly line up people who can move something that large without ripping it to pieces. Houses are not like righting tractor trailers.

Also, Caltrans probably had to figure out exactly *where* they are going to put this house. It's not like they can just tow this thing off the freeway and dump it someplace. I'll bet that was the primary holdup - getting permission to drop a tagged house someplace, or permission to dismantle it into tiny pieces.

[Funny day]

Want to get away?
Potential house for mix-use. First time buyers dream home with excellent freeway access. Great for Urban workers ....Lots of parking provided with a bonus room that views the L.A. scenery. new paint job with L.A style and look. Must see, no need for appointment just drive by and take a look.

[arthur Arciniega]

Dorothy, is this Kansas?

[Toby]

I could just read the listing:

$500,000 for this charming 1BD 1BR 1950s "fixer upper", by beautiful greenbelt, excellent access to the freeway.

[jaded]

Won't last! Only $899,990!

[Andrew]

Zero Down, 100% financing!!

Why rent when you can buy?

[sarah]

"Two or more residents required for this lane."

"Tandem parking available."

[hoover]

"Freeway Close!"

[Inland Empire]

This home is for the unique buyer who appreciates original art. The home has a one-of-a-kind view and is close to everything.

[xtine]

Honey, what was that letter we got about Eminent Domain?

[Ragnar]

Tag, you're i! Live the fun life in this cozy and modern home minutes from downtown LA. Stand out from the crowd! Perfect for the family that is always on the go. Noisy pee-lined street. Will go fast!

Note: House height measures exactly 14.2 feet.

[tonyE]

Relax in this charming one bedroom, one bath cottage. Enjoy life stress free on the slow lane. Excellent freeway access, close to beaches and mountains.

Plenty of space to add a second bedroom and move to the [car] POOL lane.

[Ragnar]

Rest easy. Next door to Fire Department virtually guarantees instant response time during emergency house-jacking.

[Ragnar]

Note: House measures 20 feet by 40 feet by 14 feet 10 inches high. House dimensions are exact.

Tear-off roof with composite shingles.

[Phily]

Avoid congested freeway on-ramps with this beauty. As an added bonus you never need to worry about the exterior. The neighborhood generously applies a fresh coat of paint every night giving your house a brand new look in the morning!

[Pete Viles]

Via email from JG: "In 2008 market, this will be the only way to move a house”.

Thanks, JG.

[Ace]

No caption can beat that clever vandal who posted the 'For Rent' sign on the house.

So many people stopped their car on the freeway yesterday to take a picture that it took my wife over 2 hours to drive her 13 mile commute.

[Archer City, TX (winds from The Last Picture Show)]

Free Delivery.

[Mark G]

Not funny guys, that's my house!

[Peter]

The fast lane, who needs it?"

[Guido DaPimp]

Live in the heart of Hollywood!
Cozy view home featuring: large patio, custom "urban style" faux exterior paint and plenty of parking.
Bring your buyers!

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

From distance, it looks like Noah's Ark deposited there after the flood of the rising housing market receded.

[mike]

cal trans is going to drag it to the 405 @ moraga and that should add about $1m to it.

[eprobert]

The whole incident is so absolutely dripping with symbolism of the Los Angeles housing market circa late 2007 that it's hard to resist.

Like our housing market, this one's going nowhere.

[eprobert]

One more:

Even Caltrans has trouble moving houses in this market.

[Fisher]

We welcome you to Munchkin Land!!

[legalchick]

No HOA fees.

[traffic]

LA's leading website for amazing traffic shortcuts that work. Check out www.mytrafficshortcuts.com for shortcuts used by police and couriers, and now you!

[let me laugh]

I wonder where the garage is?

[SJ]

"I was told that homes like these go for a million on the westside. So here i am."

[Archer City, TX (winds from The Last Picture Show)]

Giant RV...just down the I-10 from Longo Toyota.

[45 lbs.]

Eighteen wheels and a dozen roses;
ten more miles on a six day run.

[doug r]

Finally, a place for Nicole Ritchie to crash!

[garykordan]

Coming soon: Starbucks!

[Matthew Stahl]

Watch out for live-ins. You will get some live-ins.

[Trooper]

Watched today as they began SAWING it in half ! They tried to move it last night, but no luck. It's still there, no more roof though....slowly but surely it's being torn apart by CalTrans. It's a traffic nightmare because news cameras are everywhere. Avoid the 101 around Barham/Cahuenga, Cahuenga on both side of the 101....they are all jammed right now because of this. (7:45 PM)

[smokey]

So that's what foreclosure looks like....

[investorguy]

Tag sale! This one won't last long!

(posted that in the wrong thread -- oops...)

[Isidro C]

Priced to Move !!

[Fred]

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"

[Raughle]

"Los Angeles Real Estate Moves Into Slow Lane"

[AR]

Charming Feng Shui house, solid back wall with constant moving objects in front of house.

[Raughle]

Realizing he'll never be able to afford a car payment AND a house payment, Bob hatches a plan...

[EconE]

"Easy Highway Access! Motivated Seller! only 599k!"

[Pete]

This overlooked gem gets great freeway frottage. Yes, frottage. Won't last.

[Alan Fawlkes]

Someone who defaulted on their mortgage trying to get out of town ahead of the repossessors?

[barry L]

preproduction model of GM's bigggest SUV to date

[John T Watts]

What's going in where it was?

[Brtian]

Low HOV fees!

[Elias]

Has anyone seen my house? It's mostly white and looks like a crack den. Oh, wait..nevermind found it.

[Dave Martin]

"Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long"

[MyLessThanpPrimeBeef]

Looking for traffic, a builder decided to put one of their model homes where traffic is.

Finally, traffic!!!!!!!!!

[Reidel]

Cudahy is on the move.

[Derick]

If this becomes a trend, we will need to have non-removable HIN plates (like VIN plates on a car) added to each framing 2x4 for easy identification.

[Roger]

Everyone saying that traffic was slow because of this is wrong. Nobody cared about that house and I know because I pass that part of the 101 freeway both morning and day time.

The best part about it was looking at all the wonderful graffiti on it, though.

[kim]

In L.A. that house should fetch about what? Half a million?

[Pete Viles]

Heard on KNX this morning: "Little House on the Freeway."

[Keith]

I wonder whats so special about this house somebody wanted to move it anyway?

[Raughle]

Not realizing the potential for mis-communication, Bob tells his loan broker he's looking for more leeway in his mortgage.

[problemWithcaring]

Just Reduced!!!!

[45 lbs.]

Another guerrilla ad for last night's season premiere of "House."

[Ace]

The house was removed last night.

They should be breaking ground on the McMansion today!

[Gamble Huff]

At five o'clock it's much too crowded
Much too crowded
Much too crowded
Much too crowded
Too crowded
Couldn't get through to you baby
Oh it's too crowded

[Sue]

For more funny captions, click on the comments link on the Calculated Risk article linked below. My favorite is

CFC collateral on its way to the FED window.
crashcadia | 09.26.07 - 9:38 pm |

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2007/09/
la-times-photo-caption-contest.html

[C. Macabuhay]

1. "Next week, on 'Flip This House'..."

2. "It could have been worse -- they could have donated a 4 unit."

3. "This photo was provided as a case study for underwriters on the additional risk associated with non-owner occupied loans."