The Naples, Fla. house has sat on the market since August 2007, and it's in lousy shape. The water and electricity have been cut off, leading to dead shrubs and thriving mold, and the pool, as David puts it, would be a worthy set-piece for the remake of "The Creature From The Black Lagoon."

"It smells like a rotting pond in the summer time," said David, a real estate agent,...