Believe It or Not

Jack Sammis is a big guy with a bank account big enough for a McMansion or two. But he loves this 350-square-foot Alexandria home, which, at just under seven feet wide, is the narrowest house in America, according to Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Sammis grew up sharing a room with his brother in a Baltimore rowhouse and likes close quarters. “There is something about it that prompts communication, having meals together,” he says.

The day this 1830s Old Town rowhouse was listed for sale in 1990, he snapped it up for $125,000. Sammis, owner of IMN Solutions, mostly uses it on weekends with his wife, Colleen; he travels a lot and owns other homes, including another tiny one in France. A lawyer couple once rented the house to test whether they’d get along on a round-the-world sailing tour. They lasted a year in the house; no word on the trip.