A recent Zillow listing for Frank Lloyd Wright’s J.J. Walser Jr. House in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood for $350,000 is a scam according to Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.
The fake listing hit the internet last week, causing consternation among preservationists. We covered the home in 2024 amid its foreclosure proceedings.
On Jan. 21, the Building Conservancy posted the following on its website:
“On Jan. 15, Zillow listed the Walser House ‘for sale by owner’ for $350,000. After being alerted to the listing and beginning to promote it, we became suspicious after attempts to contact the ‘seller.’ On Tuesday, Jan. 20, thanks to the efforts of our community partner Austin Coming Together, we learned that the listing was not genuine. The house is owned by Fannie Mae, which is not currently offering it for sale. This fake listing, possibly aiming to defraud a well-intentioned potential purchaser, highlights the critical vulnerability of this important house. We removed the listing from our Wright on the Market page immediately on learning this and are making efforts to stop the dissemination of the false listing. We urge Fannie Mae to negotiate with interested parties that have the vision and resources to restore the Walser House and return it to productive use.”
Austin Coming Together has expressed interest in buying the home, but the organization was sidelined as the foreclosure process wound its way through the court system.
The home is currently owned by Fannie Mae, and Gordon says that Fannie Mae confirmed they have not listed the house for sale and are still the legal owners. Previously, the Building Conservancy has said that the Walser House is desperately in need of saving after years of being uninhabited and ill-maintained.
