Get it now: Home of Elvis physician 'Dr. Nick' is on the market

Ron Maxey | Memphis Commercial Appeal

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You can own a piece of Elvis history — the listing says so — and get it at a reduced price.

The home of Dr. George Nichopoulos, personal physician for Elvis, is on the market at 6564 Cottingham Place in East Memphis. It needs some work, as the listing agent admits, but the house still whispers of the grandeur that surrounded it when Elvis helped "Dr. Nick" with the design shortly before Presley's 1977 death.

"The house is not in good shape at all," said Kim Hairrell of Crye-Leike Inc. "It's completely original except for the roof. Literally nothing has been touched."

Surrounded by other impressive homes just north of the Poplar-Kirby intersection near the Memphis border with Germantown, the aging property has been vacant since Nichopoulos's daughter moved out around Labor Day of last year, Hairrell said. She said the Nichopoulos family moved in just before leaving with Elvis in December 1975 for his Hawaii tour.

The Nichopoulos family sold it for $650,000 to Goshen Mortgage REO LLC in June of last year, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds. Nichopoulos died in February 2016 at the age of 88.

"We didn't list it for months after she (the daughter) moved out," Hairrell said. "We may rehab the property, but we decided to throw it on the market first. We didn't know if there was an 'Elvis factor.'"

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That "Elvis factor" can be strong — Hairrell said she has sold lots near Graceland in Whitehaven to people overseas who just wanted to own land near Graceland — but a similar aura doesn't seem to surround the Nichopoulos house.

"I haven't heard from anybody," Hairrell said. "I didn't know if there would be a line out front for tours or what, but the only people I've heard from are a couple of investors and an artist who liked the design but but didn't know the history. It's gotten less activity than I thought it would."

According to the listing, the home is "stuck in time" with Elvis-inspired touches throughout. On a lot of just over an acre, the contemporary house has six bedrooms, 6.5 baths, an indoor racquetball court, indoor atrium and praying room, and a swimming pool.

"The prayer room is really cool," Hairrell said. "It's just a small space with room for a kneeler and a stained glass window, almost like a confessional."

In a 2002 story with the Guardian newspaper, Nichopoulos said Elvis helped him buy and design the house. But, he added, the house even then had grown too big for him and his wife.

At about 6,500 square feet, the house is listed at $449,000. The price has been reduced by $50,000.

Will it sell, or will the tarnished reputation of Nichopoulos — controversial because of Presley's abuse of prescription drugs — be a turnoff?

"You never know if there will be a negative connotation," Hairrell said.