Neighbours up the street call it "the hillbilly house." Its dilapidated hulk holds three bedrooms and two bathrooms, where dirt and dust collect on plywood floors, light drifts through a hole in the roof and the only stirring comes from an itinerant realtor or the resident squirrels.

Actually, they might be bats.

It doesn't really matter. Because even though the structure at 41 Kippendavie Ave. is unquestionably decrepit, we're talking about a fully detached home in the Beach, south of Queen St. near the lake, with a private driveway and ample yard space that backs onto a leafy park. That's enough to prompt a flurry of bids for a house advertised as "not currently livable" and in "extremely poor condition."

After two days on the market, the property sold this week for $1 million, more than $100,000 above the asking price.

And this, in response to a listing that advised curious buyers to go visit "at your own risk" and that a "flashlight may be required" because the power is disconnected.

"I wouldn't have thought it would have played out that way," admitted the 20-year veteran realtor hired to sell the place, lifelong Beach resident Lindsay Wright.

"But nothing surprises me anymore as a seasoned agent (in Toronto)."

Wright explained there is huge demand for lots in the neighbourhood south of Queen St. E. because the area is highly regarded and such properties are rarely available. She said the average buyer would probably avoid it, but a house like this is typically attractive to contractors who plan to build and sell, or someone with the means to tear down the sad edifice and put up a dream house of their own design.

She wouldn't say who bought the house, but Wright mentioned it was unusual to have to tell prospective buyers to keep low expectations about the interior of a house she was selling.

"With this, it was location, location," Wright said. "Obviously, my concern with it was I didn't want anyone to hurt themselves inside. You don't know what's loose."