Let's swap: Maryland lighthouse offered for Punta Gorda home
A self-styled "eccentric" who says Punta Gorda is "three steps from heaven" is offering to swap his lighthouse near Maryland's touristy Eastern Shore for a home in Charlotte County.
Bill SmithA New Jersey native says he's willing to swap a lighthouse he owns near Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, if he can get a house in Punta Gorda in return.
"I'm eccentric," said Ronald Lundgren, who said he has been coming to Florida since 1957.
A Craigslist offer puts up his lighthouse and two cottages on a bay inlet in exchange for a home in Punta Gorda, or a nearby part of Charlotte County.
"Punta Gorda is three steps away from heaven," Lundgren said. "That lighthouse was on a farm in Pennsylvania, I had them take it down and put it on the waterfront."
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A property investor who has dealt in marinas and developed land, Lundgren said he considered settling in Cape Coral, but describes city politics as "unbelievably bad."
The lighthouse isn't used as an aid to navigation. It adds a nautical look to the site of his cottages that he has owned for a decade and creates an almost regal presence.
Denizens of Cecil County, Maryland, and area mariners know when Lundgren is home: That's when he lights up the lighthouse.
After nearly two weeks of posting, he's received 17 inquiries. The deal would be structured as a so-called section 1031 exchange, named under an Internal Revenue Code provision that allows tax-free exchange of some investment properties. A check of Maryland land records confirms Lundgren owns the property free and clear. He values the property at $135,000, but said nearby waterfront property has sold for prices in the millions.
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The Maryland property is decidedly seasonal, but could match a snowbird lifestyle.
"Its not insulated, you have to shut the water off at Thanksgiving and turn it back on in the spring," Lundgren said.
If the right offer doesn't come through, Lundgren is ready to deal.
He's "pushing 80," so is not interested in taking back a mortgage to finance a purchase ("I can't wait 30 years"). So, he'll take your yacht off your hands. He'll even take a motorcycle.
Answering calls from people intrigued by the idea of becoming proprietor of a unique, if not unusual, nautical adornment, Lundgren said he often fields queries about why he bought a lighthouse in the first place.
"My answer to that is two answers," he said. "Do you have one, and didn't you call because you want one?"