CNBC You can buy a $1.8 million San Francisco home in Russian Hill for $488,000 — but there’s a catch

A house in San Francisco’s trendy Russian Hill neighbourhood is on the market for less than half of what it’s worth, but the listing is going viral because of a unique condition for potential buyers.

The three-bedroom property, built in 1924, listed earlier this month is worth $US1.8 million but is currently priced at $US488,000, according to The San Francisco Standard.

But the catch is that the new owners won’t be able to move in until 2053.

The 1100-square-foot house has a driveway, garage, and fenced-in backyard and sits on a 3262-square-foot lot.

According to the Park North Real Estate listing, the home is tenant-occupied, and the people living there may have occupancy rights for 30 years. The listing also states that the tenants pay $US416.67 a month in rent, in addition to utilities. The current lease “appears to grant tenants strong long-term rent rate.”

The property will be sold as is, meaning the new owners will become the current tenants’ new landlords.

The San Francisco metro area is one of the most expensive places to live. To afford life in a big city like San Francisco, you’d have to make double what most Americans earn, according to a May Moody’s Analytics analysis.

The average home value in Russian Hill is $US1,468,100, down 5.1 per cent over the past year.

The unusual sale is partly due to a family feud, according to The San Francisco Standard.

Sandra Lee, 83, and her daughter, Cheryl Lee, 66, are the current tenants of the house, and Sandra’s son, Todd Lee, is trying to sell the home against her wishes, the media outlet reports.

Sandra told The San Francisco Standard that a lease her stepfather, the original owner of the house, wrote before he passed away in 2018 grants her the long-term rent rate restrictions until 2053.

“If it wasn’t for the lease that [my son] didn’t know about that was made in 2018, I don’t know where we’d be,” she said.

“It’s unfathomable, the deception, the betrayal — this is my son doing this to me.”

Because of the conditions of this sale, the listing states that the seller and listing agent do not guarantee access to the home and strongly recommend buyers review the seller disclosure package, which is only available by email request, and talk to a lawyer before making an offer.

Representatives for the Lee family and Park North Real Estate did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It’s request for comment.