A modest San Francisco home that hit the market for a surprising $488,000 has sold for its asking price, but the sale has uncovered deep family tensions and a saga of legal entanglements.

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“This whole thing is a mess,” said Todd Lee, the seller, in a conversation with the San Francisco Chronicle. Todd accepted an offer from his sister, Cheryl Lee, 66, who had been living in the house with their 83-year-old mother, Sandra Lee. The low listing price of the property, valued at $1.8 million, came with a significant caveat: the tenants, who happen to be family, may have the right to stay there until 2053. 

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The property listing indicated that the house was occupied by tenants whose lease might allow them to stay for nearly 30 years. The tenants pay $416.67 a month, plus utilities. 

The home’s history dates back to the 1970s when Sandra’s parents bought it for $52,000. They lived there until they died, but from that time on, when the property was listed, the family dynamics took a sharp turn when the house was listed for sale. Sandra Lee accused her sons Todd and Cedric Goo of a supposed breach of trust by selling the property behind her back, which she alleged goes against her wishes.

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In an interview previously with The San Francisco Standard, Sandra claimed that her late stepfather, Kenneth Goo, quietly prepared a lease for her ahead of his death in 2022. She said it assured low rent and occupancy rights to 2053. “If it wasn’t for the lease that [my son] didn’t know about that was made in 2018, I don’t know where we’d be,” she said. “It’s unfathomable, the deception, the betrayal — this is my son doing this to me.”

Todd, however, denied any wrongdoing. He explained to the Chronicle that he chose to sell the home to avoid a drawn-out legal battle, even though other buyers had offered more money. “I wanted to handle it quietly,” he stated. “When my mother spoke out, it got exponentially worse.”

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As trustee of the family trusts, Todd shared that the house is part of a complex financial setup involving Cheryl, Sandra and Cedric. The three are beneficiaries of the trust, with Sandra and Cedric holding a 37.5% share, while Cheryl has 25%. Before his passing, Kenneth Goo set up a lease in 2019 requiring the tenant to cover property taxes and insurance, but this lease was amended two years later to cap these costs at $5,000 annually, with an extension to 2053.

After Kenneth’s death, the home’s market value soared from $143,152 to $1.4 million, and property taxes went from $1,717 to $16,928 annually. Todd mentioned that Cheryl covered the latest tax bill, and the family trusts’ lawyer, Robert Roddick, confirmed this. He also revealed that a broker valued the house at $1.8 million — if the tenants weren’t a factor. 

Despite the drama, the house was sold to Cheryl and Sandra for $488,000. According to Roddick, this means that Sandra and Cheryl could own a home worth $1.8 million while Cedric receives a reduced share from the sale. The sale may have closed, but the story behind it continues to unravel.

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