Roomy period home in ultra-desirable coastal neighborhood lists for just $500,000 - but there's a massive catch

A gorgeous period home in one of San Francisco's most desirable neighborhoods has listed for just $488,000 - a third of what it's worth.

But while the 1924 multi-story home in Russian Hill may seem like a steal to many, it comes with a massive catch. 

The 1,100 square foot house boasts three bedrooms, a garage and a fireplace in the living room.

It also features a driveway, one bathroom and one 'unwarranted and maybe illegal half bathroom,' as well as a fenced-in back yard. 

A one-of-a-kind Edwardian styled property in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood priced nearly $500,000 has just hit the market

But the buyer of this property may not be able to set up residence till 2053. 

According to the San Francisco Standard, 83-year-old Sandra Lee and her daughter Cheryl Lee, 66, are the home's current tenants. 

But it is Sandra's son, Todd Lee who actually owns the property - meaning whoever buys the home will be his mother's landlord.

Todd's grandparents, Florence and Kenneth Goo, were the original buyers of the house in the 1970s for $52,000 and lived there until they died in the home in 2006 and 2018 respectively. 

Florence and Kenneth Goo were the original buyers of the house in the 1970s for $52,000 and lived there until they died in the home in 2006 and 2018 respectively

The current listing states that Sandra and her daughter will continue to live there and pay the same amount of rent, set at $417-a-month, every month to the new owners for the next 29 years. 

The pensioner mother explained that Todd and her own brother, Cedric Goo have taken advantage of her and her daughter. 

She claims that by commandeering her adopted stepfather's trust, fabricating lawyer fees and listing the home for sale while she lives in it, they have tried to take over. 

Based on a secret lease written by her stepfather, Sandra is granted long-term rental rate of $416.67 - excluding utilities - until 2053. 

Sandra further said that if 'she had it her way, the home would not be for sale'. 

The Russian Hill is an upscale residential community known for the famously crooked Lombard Street - a major tourist destination

'We had a large family. Now we're destroyed. 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. 

'It's unfathomable, the deception, the betrayal—this is my son doing this to me,' she lamented. 

A neighbor named Ilia Smith told ABC: 'Thirty years. I don't think I'll be around for that. 

Her husband, Tim added: 'The new owner would have to buy the house subject to a very long rental lease that is currently being offered to an individual.'

When asked how such a lease was possible, attorney Steven MacDonald explained that the planning was a 'sloppy way of the owner leaving some security for a person.'

'For some reason, they gave this person a 30-year right of possession. I've seen that before. It's kind of a sloppy way of estate planning. "I want to leave some security to this person so they don't have to worry about where they are going to live." They can do it that way. I think they should have done it a different way,' he exclaimed. 

The Russian Hill is an upscale residential community known for the famously crooked Lombard Street - a major tourist destination.

Despite the very awkward catch, local realtors say they expect a bidding war which could drive the price of the property as high as $1 million.

They insist that anyone willing to play the long game will end up with a bargain which should only increase in value even more as the years roll on.