An uninhabitable South Auckland property that had trees growing through it, missing doors and was rammed with rubbish has sold under the hammer for a near-heart attack-inducing $466,000.
Bargain hunters were among those that crowded into Ray White Manukau’s auction room on Tuesday to try and win the run-down Papatoetoe home that had been marketed as the “ultimate do-up”.
The house was “not for the faint-hearted”, the listing said, adding that “every corner needs renovation and refurbishment”.
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The “phenomenal” auction for the deceased estate kicked off at $50,000, it was announced on the market at $340,000 and finally sold for $466,000 after 73 fast bids.
Ray White listing agent Denise Wong said people went “hammer and tong” to try and win the Motatau Road house and even the auctioneer had struggled to keep up with the bids early on.
“It was unreal,” she said. “They were yelling on top of one another.”
The 30 registered bidders was the most people the agency had seen turn up for a single auction in a long time.
Wong said the original hardie plank home had attracted builders and property traders who had either been looking to renovate it, or bowl it and either put on a transportable home or build a new home.
It was the busiest auction Ray White Manukau had seen for some time and there was standing room only. Photo / Supplied
The deceased estate was sold in an 'as is, where is' condition and included all the rubbish left in the house. Photo / Supplied
“It was just a real opportunity for someone who had the know-how and building expertise and they all came out of the woodwork and thought this is a project they would love to sink their teeth into.”
The new owner had a building background and planned to do it up, she said.
“They will do it up, fully renovate it and put it back together. It needed a new floor, it needed a new roof, it needed new gib, basically everything.”
The agent had not needed keys to show people around because the house was wide open.
The listing photos showed missing doors, missing gib from the walls, stained and threadbare carpet, piles of broken tiles in the shower and a wonky toilet. Rubbish was littered around the inside and outside of the house.
“It came with no warranties or guarantees because it was an estate and chattels were as is, where is and it included all the rubbish.”
Wong said the sale price had exceeded their expectations and sold for well over the reserve.
Every room in the house needed attention including the bathroom. Photo / Supplied
“I could have had a heart attack at what it went for. And awesome for the family, they are very, very pleased.”
She said buyers were making their decisions on how much to bid based on what they believed they could sell it for when it was done up. They worked backwards from that figure to make sure it would make a profit.
Feedback from people was that it would need upwards of $200,000 to bring it up to scratch.
“If you were going high end then you were out early, if you thought you could do it quite reasonably or if you were a tradie like an electrician or a builder then obviously your costs were a bit more negated so you could bid higher.”
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