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Castle-Like Forest Hill Home Returns to Market for $2.3 Million

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Tower is not catapult certified

The only problem with this four bed, two and a half bath Forest Hill home is that it can’t move diagonally across the board. The Forest Hill fortification circa 1927 is a quick flip: It sold for $2.35 million in March, but now it’s right back on the market asking for the same price, $2.35 million.

However, this isn't a case of buyer’s remorse: The present owner bought the 3,288-square-foot- home hoping to flip it, but it was more of a quick fix than a major overhaul — updating the kitchens and bathrooms a bit, repainting everything, and doing what selling agent Ivor Collins refers to as "pest work" (that is to say, repairing damage done by pests, rather than extermination).

In short, it was a fixer-upper that got fixed. And now $2.35 million seems like an attractive floor for getting it moving again. When it sold previously for $1.6 million in 2000, that was the equivalent of about $2.1 million today, making this perhaps the most sluggishly priced $2 million house in the city.

Of course it’s all about that tower, which contains a truly graceful spiral staircase. Perhaps regrettably, there‘s no room at the top of the turret; it just provides access to the second floor. Still, when the Vikings invade, you’ll be happy for a fortified staircase.

The storybook style lends itself to plenty of arched portals, latticed windows, French doors, and tiled entryways, as well as a few of those classic San Francisco touches like bay windows in the bedroom.

The house is a small mystery, since nobody involved seems to be able to identify the original architect. Dorantes Avenue is a short street reasonably close to 19th and Taraval, which terminates right a right at the foot of Hawk Hill Park and Herbert Hoover Middle School.

Behold.