$188 House? How About a Bridge in Brooklyn, Too?

The deal looked like the steal of the century: $188 for a house.

And with publications like USA Today and its affiliates picking up the website 24/7WallSt.com’s Friday story about the real estate bargain at 2518 Dakota Ave. in Flint, it seemed legitimate enough.

“The house does not have much to recommend it,” the property description began.

That much is true.

The house doesn’t exist, The Flint Journal/MLive reports.

All that remains is the charred foundation of what was once a Depression Era, 1,225-square-foot, three-bedroom house with a single bathroom. The house reportedly burned in September 2013, but was not considered a total loss, according to Flint city records.

Douglas McIntire, the author of the 24/7 Wall Street story, told The Flint Journal/MLive that he based it on a Realtor.com listing he found while searching for properties listing for less than $5,000.

“If you can’t rely on Realtor.com and Google Earth,” a red-faced McIntire asked rhetorically, “what can you rely on?”

The writer said he might do a followup story, and may even travel to Flint to “see how big the hole is.”

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Realtor.com photo of house at 2518 Dakota Ave. in Flint – before it burned in 2013.