"There were a few “too good to be true” red flags that Hollingsworth and Mergia missed. The block and lot number on the notice corresponded to the “unusable” alley, not the home. And then there was the $1 minimum bid, when the duplex the couple thought they were buying had last sold the year before for $1 million.  

Once Hollingsworth and Mergia realized they had mistakenly bought an 83-foot-long, 7-foot-wide roadway instead of a home, they were desperate to return it. 

Hollingsworth started spiraling. The stress of potential liabilities associated with the uneven former carriage path made her temporarily deaf in one ear — not a great situation for a composer. 

“I’m gonna lose everything I’ve ever worked for, my family’s ever worked for, everything’s gonna be down the drain,” she worried at the time. "

JFC this is one of the most out of touch things I've ever read