Surreal Estate

Former owner: Harriette Walters

Asking price: $715,000

Details: You may be surprised to learn that Walters did not buy this 1950s three-bedroom brick rambler on the edge of Rock Creek Park with big bags of cash. Instead, the bureaucrat who scammed the D.C. tax office of $48.1 million took out a mortgage, like everyone else, when she bought the place in 2001 for $420K. Now Walters is serving 17 1/2 years in federal prison, and the bank owns the house following foreclosure. The modest home where feds seized a treasure-trove of designer handbags, luxe furniture and faux Fabergé eggs can be yours: two-car garage, screened-in porch, rec room suitable for parties.