Pssst. Wanna buy a building on Bank Street for $150,000?

It's true that I know very little about how much buildings in downtown New London are worth.

I do know that some of them are so big and decrepit that the cost of renovating would be so prohibitive as to lower their value.

Just ask the two guys from New York who bought the monumental Capitol Theater for $20,000 back in 2010, practically on a whim, while they were attending a city tax auction for another property.

Don't expect renovation work on the theater to start any time soon.

Still, I was kind of startled, while walking down Bank Street not long ago, to see a For Sale sign in one of the more handsome buildings near the Parade.

Two things stood out about the sign. First, it wasn't a commercial posting from a Realtor. In fact, it definitely looked hand-painted, a big banner hanging in one of the empty storefront windows.

The second thing that stood out was the price: $150,000.

It's gone now, sort of. When I went back the next day to double check the price, the lower part of the banner, with the number, was covered over by cardboard.

At first I thought this meant a change of heart about the asking price.

But then I saw the cardboard was more likely just taped up to cover a recent break in the plate glass. You can still read the For Sale part of the sign from the sidewalk.

The other very strange thing about the For Sale banner, even before it was partially covered up with plywood, was that it didn't have any contact information, no email, no phone number, no website.

And, of course, since the building is empty, there is no one to ask.

A little detective work did lead me in the direction of the seller.

It turns out, according to tax records, the building is owned by a limited liability corporation. According to a listing for the corporation with the Office of the Secretary of the State, the agent for that corporation is Thomas Crosby, who until recently ran some downtown restaurants and owns some other Bank Street property.

I didn't have much luck reaching Crosby, though.

The last number for him I could find was a home telephone in Salem, which seems to be disconnected.

I left a message at his lawyer's office, but they said they haven't spoken to him lately.

I also left word at the new restaurant, The Commoner, on Bank Street, which is located in the space formerly occupied by Crosby's Bank Street Roadhouse. They told me at The Commoner that Crosby is indeed the landlord and I left a message there, but I never heard back from him.

I didn't mean to be stalking Crosby. But I was hoping I could help him get the word out.

I thought someone out there might like to know that you can buy a pretty swell building on a prominent block of Bank Street, with amazing views, for almost what some rich people pay for a car.

I never did get inside 18-20 Bank Street, but from the outside it looks charming and appealing and in fairly good condition. It also doesn't seem to be prohibitively large.

It has a very interesting façade with a big second-floor bay window and decorative elements around the roof.

Surely someone out there might be interested in coming on down, fixing the building up a bit and filling the storefront and apartments.

The price seems to be right, too. Of course, like I said, I don't really know what these things are worth.

If you're so inclined, all you need to do is find the owner.

This is the opinion of David Collins.