Crumbling Cliff to Send Giant Lake House to Watery Grave
A 7,000-square-foot house overlooking Texas' Lake Whitney had to be abandoned by its owners after its foundation began to crumble off, taking a chunk of the house with it as it fell 75 feet and into the water. The couple that owns the house was forced to move out two weeks ago, after it had been condemned.
What remains of the house is dangling over the cliff, and it's uncertain if and when the rest of the cliff might give way and take the rest of the house overboard. A neighbor from across the lake heard when part of the house broke off.
"I immediately thought it was an earthquake or blasting; it was loud, really loud," Connie Ash told WFAA. "And then I saw smoke, dust, water...I don't know, it was a huge cloud of stuff." Ash said that she's watched as the house has slowly begun to edge off the cliff.
"You used to look flush at the roof but then I could see it was somewhat down," she said. "You could see it...more and more of the top of the house that's moved. You're looking through the binoculars, just watching it."
According to the Hill County Sheriff, a crack in the cliff was discovered about a year ago. And per tax records acquired by WFAA, the home was purchased in 2007 and is valued at $700,000. The couple will be held responsible for cleanup should the house meet its (likely) demise.