House on Trailer Vanishes : Real Estate Really Moving in Irwindale

Brenda McGinnis of San Bernardino was busy house-hunting Friday.

That’s because someone stole her house.

Fortunately, it’s not the one she lives in.

McGinnis had parked a house she was trying to sell on a trailer in a vacant lot in Irwindale, police said. A potential buyer went out to look at it Thursday and reported it missing.

“It could have been stolen,” said Irwindale Lt. Charles Crawford. “Or someone might have accidentally taken the wrong one. There were three or four other houses on the lot. We’ve got a ton of phone calls we’re checking out from people who saw houses being moved.”

McGinnis’ daughter, Tina, said her mother thinks the wayward house, valued at $11,000, may be farther west. “Someone gave her a lead that it might be in Pasadena,” the daughter said. “She’s out there looking for it today.”

Crawford said the house had been on the lot at Arrow Highway and Live Oak Avenue for nine months, along with several other homes moved there pending sale. “House movers undoubtably picked it up and moved it . . . but whether they moved the wrong house, we don’t know.”

Tina McGinnis said her mother had bought the house from an area where homes were being moved and demolished to make way for new construction.

When last seen, the house was described as one story high with two bedrooms and covered with white stucco.