Four Acres on Mecox Bay with Cottage for $19.95M

This is a strange listing. First of all, the plot is oddly shaped, with a long drive that doglegs to the house, although there is a generous four acres, right next to the rolling lawns of Villa Maria, and there is 325 feet on Mecox Bay. And yet, despite all that space, the pool is a long, narrow lap pool. Why? It appears you enter the house via the parking courtyard, so the front façade is mostly three garage doors. The 3000sf house offers only three bedrooms and there are 3.5 baths. The house needs some updates, particularly in the kitchen, although it's hard to get a handle on it because the listing photos are also odd, making the ceilings look extremely low. We suppose the place will probably be torn down anyway; despite all this, the ask of $20 million is not that bad, considering the amount of land and location. Similar bayfront properties (leaving aside Villa Maria) go for at least $5M more.

· Mecox Bayfront Water Mill [Sotheby's]