Altadena home burned down in the Eaton Fire being sold for $550,000

An Altadena home destroyed by the Eaton Fire last month is in the process of being sold after an offer was accepted last week. 

The lot on West Calaveras Street used to be a rental property, and was sold for $550,000, $100,000 over asking price, all cash. 

As homeowners in Altadena figure out next steps, one community member says he hopes the heritage of Altadena can be preserved in the rebuilding process. 

Freddy Sayegh, a community organizer for “Altadena Strong” wants to preserve the generational history of the community. 

“We want to rebuild our community back,” Sayegh said. “We just want what we had.”

“Altadena Not For Sale!” can be seen in yards in the community. 

Sayegh was born and raised in Altadena and his family lost multiple homes in the Eaton Fire. 

“What we don’t want to see is a displacement of large scale swaths of Altadena residents,” Sayegh said. “What we don’t want are people to come buy, build and then sell it for a profit.”

Sayegh had been organizing events including a recent town hall aimed at uniting the community in the rebuilding process. 

Altadena has the highest concentration of African American homeownership. 

“Our fear is the mere fact that we had a natural disaster should displace these people and have a whole different community come in and change the demographics and the make-up of this historic community,” Sayegh said. 

He called Altadena the land of opportunity and does not want it to be forgotten. 

“I don’t want the rest of the world to forget about us,” Sayegh said. “We don’t want to be just left and hid behind.”

Real estate agent Brock Harris, who represented the seller, said they received a dozen offers. 

“We probably got 20 phone calls a day,” Harris said. 

“As a result of listing this property we have gotten a lot of calls from other homeowners who own vacant lots now wondering what to do with them just looking at their options.”

The deal is expected to close next week.