The former Delta Upsilon house located at 427 M.A.C. Ave., might be sold to an unknown buyer by the end of this month.

Vacant since May, the house is being sold because there wasn't enough student interest to maintain a Delta Upsilon group at MSU, said Jim Pattee, president of MSU Delta Upsilon Corp., which owns the house. About four Delta Upsilon members remain on campus, he added.

The brick house is three-stories tall with a basement.

"The decision was made by our board of directors," Pattee said. "To try and update the house and rent it as a property manager would be very difficult.

Our expectation is to come back to Michigan State in three to four years."

The decision to sell the house was a difficult one but had made the most financial sense, Pattee said.

Fraternities throughout the country are having some trouble maintaining membership, he added.

"We were contemplating completely gutting it and bringing it back with current safety and user-friendly standards," he said. "We thought it was better to sell."

If the house had been updated, it would have needed new utilities, such as sprinklers, an intercom system and a computer system, Pattee said.

Kathy Gaskin, the broker handling the sale of the house, said the agreement to sell it could close by the end of this month. Gaskin couldn't disclose the identity of the potential buyer and couldn't comment if another fraternity would purchase the house.

Pattee said he doesn't know if another fraternity will move there.

Jack Watson, a representative of the Interfraternity Council, said Delta Upsilon hasn't been on council for a number of years.