Half-Built Hobbit House in Michigan Needs a Well-Funded Frodo Fan To ‘Finish the Dream’

A whimsical lake house in Northern Michigan—of the untapped-potential variety—recently got a major price cut.

Listed for $5 million last year, the unfinished hobbit-style home in Rapid City, MI, is now available for $3 million. Even after the price reduction, it’s still the most expensive house on the market in this small town near Lake Michigan.

“We have had some recent offers, and [the sellers are] interested in letting someone complete it to their vision,” says listing agent Don Fedrigon with Re/Max Elk Rapids. “They’re just hopeful that someone has the wherewithal to treat it right and finish the dream.”

The playful, hobbit-inspired design was the seller’s idea. Sadly, she died before the 3,449-square-foot home was completed.

“This was her dream to finish it,” Fedrigon says. “It is going to be finished by someone else who will put their own loving touches on it. She just had a vision that she sketched out. She was an artist, and I think she just had this dream of what she wanted for the last house she built.”

As it currently stands, the half-finished home has rounded doors and windows, an undulating roofline, and not a straight line in sight.

“There are no square walls or anything,” Fedrigon says. “Everything is curved and shaped. They are sculpted, interior supports, so there are no two-by-fours or straight lumber in the whole house.”

While the home is incomplete inside, the original plan included three bedrooms and three full baths.

A copper roof, windows, and curved doors are currently being installed.

“It will be one of a kind when it’s finished,” Fedrigon says. “I think the buyer is someone who has a good grasp of architecture, quality, and wants the best.”

The unfinished project sits on three-quarter-acre lot, on the shores of Torch Lake, and includes a sandy beach with waterfront landscaping.

As for the area, it isn’t quite the shire or even Middle-earth, but Fedrigon is effusive in his praise of the place.

“It is one of the cleanest, clearest, and deepest lakes in the Midwest,” he explains, noting that many people live in the area full-time. “The world came to Torch Lake during COVID, and they decided to stay.”

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