Bartholomew County is the new owner of a property along the Flatrock River after an online bargain turned into a bust.

County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said that a family from Texas bought an abandoned property on County Road 325 West in a tax sale based on photos they saw online. Kleinhenz said the property, at 3775 N. County Road 325W, didn’t look too bad in the photos. But what the family didn’t know was that the property sits right against the river on a small sliver of land and the home was damaged and abandoned after the 2008 flood.

County officials have been considering what to do about several long-derelict and condemend homes in that area.

Ultimately the long-distance owners decided that the property would be too expensive to try to rehabilitate and offered to just give it to the county. Commissioners accepted the reluctant donation this week.

Commissioners President Rick Flohr said the county would tear down the house and leave the property empty. Much of the property already falls within the right-of-way of the county road.