Price of deceased estate with mould on the walls rises $10,000 every minute

A deceased estate with mould on the walls, no flooring and missing doors was scooped up last week within three days of hitting the market.

The three-bedroom 1970s home on Leslie Place, in Deanwell, Hamilton, sold for $550,000 after a short but heated auction.

Harcourts Hamilton auctioneer Campbell Scott told OneRoof the result exceeded the expectations of the vendor, who had decided to bring forward the auction date on the strength of a $480,000 offer.

“It was pretty quick bidding. It wasn’t drawn out or anything. It went up $70,000 in seven minutes.”

The “as is, where is” home had been owned by the same family for more than 30 years, having last sold for $106,000 in 1992.

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Harcourts agent Shaun Cosgrave had marketed the property as a “true DIYers dream”. Scott told OneRoof the new owner would need to spend between $50,000 and $100,000 to bring it back to life.

Scott said 22 groups had inspected the 660sqm property - a mixture of flippers, first-home buyers, and developers - and eight bidders registered for the auction, five of whom put their hand up in the auction room.

“It’s just a good reminder that buyers are out there and prepared to jump on things when there’s perception of fair value,” he said, noting that the bidder whose offer brought forward the sale didn't win the auction.

The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home on Leslie Place, in Deanwell, was last purchased more than 30 years ago for $106,000. Photo / Supplied

The inside of the home needed a complete makeover including new flooring and replacing some doors. Photo / Supplied

Scott said there seemed to be a feeling that the “worst was behind us and there was better to come”.

“They can see if they do nothing to it, it’s probably going to be worth more in a year’s time the way the market is moving.”

The Leslie Place home was picked up by a married couple who plan to renovate it, then potentially sell it.

Lodge agent Chase Gray, who was acting on their behalf, said: “They had renovated a house before and sold it, but they haven’t done heaps.”

The house had attracted the out-of-town property traders because it had great bones, was in a good location, and on a nice street close to the hospital, he said.

The original 1970s bathroom and kitchen also needed updating. Photo / Supplied

Gray worked with several property traders and said they were always looking for houses to which they could add value, even extra bedrooms.

“The big thing is you want to stay in an area that’s going to appeal to first-home buyers or renters.”

Section size was not such a big deal, he said, providing the property had a decent yard and could be easily fenced as this is what appealed to first-home buyers and young families.

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* A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed some of Campbell Scott's quotes to the listing agent due to a production error. This has been corrected.