A Cape Cod cottage that earned viral fame thanks to its risky location at the edge of a crumbling ocean cliff has found itself a bravehearted buyer just two months after it was listed—even as an adjacent blufftop property had its asking price chopped to just $99,000.
The first property, which is located at 153 Brownell Rd. in Eastham, MA, was put on the market for $239,000 in September and drew immediate attention from house hunters who were left captivated—and awed—by its proximity to the edge of a swiftly eroding cliff.
Listing agent Jack Sullivan of William Raveis Real Estate – Harwich Port previously revealed the true extent of that risk in an interview with Realtor.com®, admitting that nearly 60 feet of the land separating the home from the edge of the bluff had disappeared into the water in the five years since it was last sold.
“When the seller bought the property, it had 75 feet in front of the house and now it has 16 feet from the house to the edge of the bluff,” he revealed.
Yet the rising threat of the property’s potential collapse into the ocean did not deter prospective buyers—quite the opposite in fact. Within days of being listed, Sullivan revealed that he had received two concrete offers, both of which had come from “current or retired builders.”
Now, just two months after the home’s listing went live—touting the opportunity to live with the “ocean as your nearest neighbor”—the property’s status has been updated to reflect that it is “pending” sale, meaning an offer has been accepted by the seller, with just a few legal processes to work through before the deal can officially close.
While it is currently unclear what offer has been accepted, it is likely that the seller will take a major hit on the sale of the home—having listed it for almost half the $450,000 they paid for the dwelling just five years ago.
Still, their situation pales in comparison to that of their neighbor, David Moot, who listed his near-identical abode at 157 Brownell Rd. in October for the much lower price of $199,000.
Moot’s initial ask would have seen him take a significant loss on his investment—having bought the property for $395,000 nearly two years ago.
At the time, he opened up about his decision to buy a home with such a short shelf life, revealing that, while he knew purchasing a home located just 25 feet from the bluff was risky, he wanted to take advantage of its proximity to the ocean, even if just for a short time.
“Life’s too short, and I just said to myself: ‘Let’s just see what happens,'” he told Bloomberg.
Having soaked up the ocean breeze for close to two years, Moot is now ready to move on—and he seems ready to pay a steep price for making that move at speed, having now slashed his original ask to $99,000 just over two weeks after he first put the property on the market.
It could well be that his decision to offer such a significant discount is related to pressure from the local town boards to carry out updates to the property that officials say would lessen the risk of the home collapsing over the cliff.
According to The Provincetown Independent, Eastham’s board of health and its conservation commission have accused Moot of failing to respond to repeated notices asking him to “take steps to ensure the structure does not endanger the public.”
The key issues at hand relate to the home’s septic system and leaching field, which officials believe are at severe risk of being exposed to the cliff face, particularly after a brutal winter storm in December 2024 caused further erosion of the bluff.
A letter sent to Moot by local officials on Dec. 13, 2024, which was seen by the Independent, urged him to take swift action, reading: “We urgently ask that you act now. Taking no action will be costly and cause significant environmental impacts and will render your property unlivable when there is no sewage disposal or water.”
Officials say that, despite these warnings, Moot has repeatedly failed to take any action in updating the property.
He has been slapped with fines totaling $300 per day as a result of that inaction, the outlet reports.
“We’ve advised him of multiple different scenarios he could do in the short term,” Eastham Health Director Hillary Greenberg-Lemos reportedly told the board at a meeting in April. “The longer he waits, the more dangerous the situation is going to become.”
However, Moot has hit back at officials, insisting that the issues with the property’s safety date back to its previous owners, telling the Independent: “There were things that were kept from me as the new buyer. It seems everything has come down on me, but these issues should have been addressed by the prior owners.”
He also claimed that he has attempted to tackle a relocation of the property’s leaching field, but said that he was unable to carry out that project because officials did not respond to his requests for assistance.
The listing for his dwelling hints at the risks surrounding the home, advising interested parties to not “walk on the property without permission,” while also noting that there are outstanding conditions that must be met by the buyer when they take over ownership of the home.
“As per town of Eastham, the well and leach field need to be relocated,” it reads. “Conservation is requiring an engineered plan for a deconstruction protocol on file. Buyers are responsible for complying with all orders of conditions in order to close.”
Still, the listing makes sure to point out the many advantages of living so close to the ocean, urging prospective buyers to “imagine being so far East that you are one of the first to see the sunrise every morning!”
In contrast, the listing for the neighboring home calls attention to the many updates that have been made in the five years since it was last sold, including several “eco-conscious” renovations.
“This home is eco-conscious and turnkey,” it notes, before listing the various upgrades: solar panel installation in 2022; the addition of new insulation, flooring, radiant heat, and a charging station in 2021; an overhaul of the septic system in 2020; and upgrades to the well in 2025.