The Long Island mansion used as the exterior for the 1986 comedy Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long about a nightmare house, has finally sold, but for considerably less than the price initially sought when it first went on the market five years ago.
The house in Locust Valley was sold for $3.5million, according to Newsday. The original asking price for when it was put on the market five years ago was $12.5million.
The identity of the buyer is being kept secret, though it is known that they are from Long Island.
The home was sold after the sellers renovated it at a cost of $5.9million.
In the film, everything that could go wrong with the house does: the staircase collapses, the bathtub falls through the floor, the plumbing system is clogged and there is a raccoon living in the dumbwaiter.
But this home, which sits on the north shore of Long Island, features ebony wood floors; modern, high-end appliances; and stunning landscaping.
The house had been languishing on the market for the last three years, originally going up for sale in June 2014 at an asking price of $12.5million.
The New York mansion used for the 1986 comedy Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks (pictured) and Shelley Long about a nightmare house, has been newly renovated and is on the market for $5.9million
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503334-0-image-a-11_1572670878045.jpg)
The house has been on the market continuously for the last three years, originally going up for sale in June 2014 at an asking price of $12.5million – more than twice the current price tag.
According to its listing on Sotheby’s, the home, built in 1898 and nicknamed ‘Northway’ has been ‘lovingly and meticulously restored to modern turnkey eminence’.
Sitting on 5.5 acres, the massive 14,000-square-foot house boasts 23 rooms, which include eight bedrooms, eight full baths, a chef’s kitchen, a grand foyer, and a four-room master suite.
Additionally, there are eight fireplaces and the grounds hold a six-car garage, a herringbone brick veranda, an in-ground saltwater pool, and formal gardens.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503332-0-image-a-12_1572670896339.jpg)
According to its listing on Sotheby’s, the home was built in 1898 and is nicknamed ‘Northway’ (Pictured, living room)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503330-0-image-a-13_1572670901882.jpg)
Sitting on 5.5 acres, the massive 14,000-square-foot property boasts 23 rooms, which include eight bedrooms, eight full baths, a chef’s kitchen (pictured), a grand foyer, and a four-room master suite
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503322-0-image-a-14_1572670913742.jpg)
According to its listing, the home has been ‘lovingly and meticulously restored to modern turnkey eminence’ (pictured, dining area)
In the movie, a Long Island couple, played by Hanks and Long, buy a dirt-cheap house in what they believe will be a simple fixer-upper. However, they get more than they bargained for when sludge seeps through the faucets, appliances catch fire and the front door rips right out of its frame.
Although the house was just used for exterior shots and the interior shots were mostly filmed on a sound stage, life seemed to imitate art.
When Rich and Christina Makowsky bought the estate in 2002 for $2.125million, the house was in terrible shape.
‘We didn’t realize how bad it was,’ Rich told The New York Times. ‘The house was falling apart when you went from room to room. We definitely could have done the sequel.’
The Makowskys reportedly spent $10million on renovations, adding features such as a new pool house and nine-foot white gates at the home’s entrance.
![In the movie, a Long Island couple, played by Hanks and Long (pictured), buy a dirt-cheap in what they believe will be a simple fixer-upper. However, they get more than they bargained for when sludge seeps through the faucets, appliances catch fire and the front door rips right out of its frame](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503338-0-image-m-22_1572670977277.jpg)
![The Money Pit movie poster](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503344-0-image-a-23_1572670987724.jpg)
In the movie, a Long Island couple, played by Hanks and Long (pictured), buy a dirt-cheap in what they believe will be a simple fixer-upper. However, they get more than they bargained for when sludge seeps through the faucets, appliances catch fire and the front door rips right out of its frame
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503346-0-image-a-24_1572671014626.jpg)
When Rich and Christina Makowsky bought the estate in 2002 for $2.125million, the house was in terrible shape, with Rich saying: ‘We didn’t realize how bad it was. The house was falling apart when you went from room to room. We definitely could have done the sequel’
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503318-0-image-a-25_1572671021869.jpg)
The Makowskys reportedly spent $10million on renovations, adding features such as a new pool house and nine-foot white gates at the home’s entrance
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503336-0-image-a-26_1572671028399.jpg)
Crews spent a year and-a-half gutting the mansion, redoing the plumbing, and installing a cedar roof – returning the home to the grandeur of Long Island’s Gilded Age
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503324-0-image-a-27_1572671033775.jpg)
The mansion, which sits on the north shore of Long Island in Lattingtown, features ebony wood floors; modern, high-end appliances; and stunning landscaping
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/11/02/05/20503320-0-image-a-28_1572671039918.jpg)
The massive grounds hold a six-car garage, a herringbone brick veranda, an in-ground saltwater pool (pictured), and formal gardens
Crews spent a year and-a-half gutting the mansion, redoing the plumbing and installing a cedar roof – returning the home to the grandeur of Long Island’s Gilded Age.
At the time, the Makowskys were optimistic about turning a profit.
‘It will be the anti-money pit,’ real estate agent Shawn Elliot told Zillow at the time.
Lois Kirchenbaum, the current listing broker for the house, told DailyMail.com that the house was not ‘appropriately priced’ when it first went on the market.
‘Unfortunately it wasn’t priced correctly. It was a very ambitious price at the time.
‘Now, we had a price that is well worth the listing price. It’s a beautiful home, beautifully done with all new-high end appliances.’