An LA home is on sale for $500K with a major catch — it was crushed by a tree

• A Californian home damaged by a fallen tree has been listed for sale for $499,999.
• The LA County bungalow was severely damaged in May, with the roof and some walls crushed.
• Despite its condition, the listing agent said there's buyer interest, as the area is in high demand.

"Did you see on TV the home destroyed by an old stone pine?" reads an unusual Zillow listing, which went up last week.

The property in question is a mangled home just outside Los Angeles that could be yours for $499,999, if you're willing to buy a half-destroyed house.

In May, a large tree uprooted and toppled over, severely damaging the Southern California bungalow, as well as crushing a parked car and some fences.

Despite two people being inside, no one was injured, according to CBS News.

What remains of the building — a partial structure with missing walls and ceilings — is now on the market.

It's advertised on Zillow as a "flat and abated lot / partial structure ready for new construction or rebuild."

Or, as listing agent Kevin Wheeler joked to the Los Angeles Times, it's an "open-concept floor plan."

The Zillow listing notes that the 2,504-square-foot lot northeast of Los Angeles is red-tagged, meaning it is unsafe for habitation.

But while the electricity is switched off, it still has functioning plumbing, Wheeler told the Times.

He also told the outlet that while Monrovia legal codes typically require a review for the demolition of properties more than 50 years old, since the house was destroyed by an act of God, a review isn't necessary.

Although half a million dollars may seem like a lot for a property in this condition, the listing agent said there has been "a lot of interest," explaining that demand in the area is high and inventory low.

Wheeler said the buyer could easily rebuild the home, and it could make a good investment for somebody wanting to flip it.

In the immediate aftermath of the tree collapse, would-be buyers had tracked down the homeowners and made low-ball offers, Wheeler told the Times.

"They were trying to buy it for $250,000 or $300,000," he said. "But market comparisons for similar properties in Monrovia put the value at $500,000."

In an interview with AFP, Wheeler added: "There's a house nearby about the same size on the same street that sold for $900,000... so there's enough meat on the bone for them to make a profit."