A married couple from San Francisco are now the accidental owners of an unpaved alleyway after putting in a bid for what they thought was a bargain property auction—only to discover that they had bought a rundown side street next to the home they believed they had purchased.
JJ Hollingsworth and Alemayehu Mergia were overjoyed when they received a letter from the local tax collector’s office, informing them that a property at 1926 Kirkham St. would be auctioned off for as little as $1, after the owner stopped paying their taxes.
The couple, who live in the home nextdoor, seized the opportunity to put in a bid on what they thought was a two-unit rental property, which had most recently sold for just over $1 million in December 2024.
They scrambled to put in what they believed to be a fair bid on the home, having initially ignored the letter informing them about the auction. However, on the final deadline day for registering interest, they made the decision to throw their hat in the ring for the sealed auction, submitting a cashier’s check for $25,000, as well as an additional $8,000 check for the transfer tax.
“We would always regret it if we didn’t. Wouldn’t you?” Hollingsworth told The San Francisco Standard of their decision to bid. “Wouldn’t you wonder what could have happened?”
They were initially elated to discover that they had won the auction—however that feeling quickly turned to shock and horror when their transfer tax check was returned, prompting them to read the fine print just a little more closely.
As it turns out, the couple had not purchased the house that sits at 1924-1926 Kirkham St., but had instead bought an 83-foot-long, seven-foot-wide unpaved track that runs between that property and their own home.
Upon reading the tax collector’s letter more closely, Hollingsworth and her husband realized that they had missed several very key pieces of information, namely a line in the memo which clearly stated that the auction was for the sale of plots that had been “rendered unusable by their size, location, or other conditions.”
Horror soon mixed with humiliation, the composer revealed to CBS News, admitting that, by the time they realized their mistake, they had already celebrated the purchase of their new home with friends and family—and even stopped by the tenants of the property at 1924-1926 Kirkham St. to inform them they had new landlords.
“It was devastating,” Hollingsworth admitted. “It was absolutely devastating. We had already celebrated and told our friends. I went over and said, ‘Hey, I’m your landlord now. We’re not going to kick you out or raise your rent.'”
To add insult to injury, the couple paid far more for their alley than any other bidder had offered in the auction, which featured multiple parcels across the city with similar restrictions.
According to The SF Standard, 47 plots were offered in the sealed auction and around half of them actually sold—four for just $1 each. The rest were auctioned for between $10 and $11,000. In fact, the median sale price in the auction, if Hollingsworth and Mergia’s bid is omitted, was just $435.
The couple say they are now attempting to get their money back—however the only way that they can do that is if the Board of Supervisors votes to overturn the sale, something that The SF Standard reports has only been done once in the past.
Failing that, Hollingsworth says she and her husband are willing to pursue further legal action, telling the outlet: “I don’t pick fights… I fight, but I don’t pick ’em.”
Still, the tax collector’s office is adamant that it did everything it could to make clear exactly what property was being offered in the auction, with Amanda Kahn Fried, chief of policy and communications, telling CBS News in a statement: “The Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector conducts sealed bid property sales in strict accordance with state law and local procedures.
“Each parcel offered for sale is fully described in the public notice, including an accurate parcel map and clear language noting that the parcels are small, irregular, or otherwise unsuitable for development.
“In this case, the parcel in question was correctly identified, depicted, and described in all materials provided to potential bidders. We also conducted additional outreach, including written notices and opportunities for bidders to ask questions prior to submitting bids.
“While we regret that any bidder may have misunderstood the nature of a parcel, the City cannot assume responsibility for errors that result from a bidder not reviewing the publicly available materials carefully.”
For now, the couple is at a loss for what to do with their alleyway, which runs next to their existing home and is currently used as a fire lane, according to signage posted at its entrance.
Other similar lots have previously been purchased by homeowners with adjacent properties and then used as garages, or for an extension of their existing garden, however Hollingsworth and Mergia say their garden is already plenty big enough.
While they could close it, or even charge their neighbors to use it, they admit they’re reluctant to do so because they don’t want to make “enemies” in their local community.
In the meantime, they have renamed the street “Hollingsworth Alley,” and are trying to find humor in their situation.