- Miner’s cottage on the outskirts of Invercargill is snapped up by an older couple for $125,000.
- The two-bedroom house was the property of a local artist, who had packed it with antiques.
- The late owner’s daughter and the buyers were in tears together after the auction.
An “ancient” Southland miner’s cottage, thought to date as far back as the 1870s, has sold under the hammer for a “ridiculously cheap” $125,000.
Start your property search
The sale price even includes the quality antiques that had belonged to the cottage’s late owner.
The buyers were delighted with their purchase and planned to restore the property to its former glory, Harcourts agent Carl Wilson told OneRoof.
The cottage at Woodend, on the outskirts of Invercargill, had an RV of $200,000 and while the auction price was low, the new owners were delighted and planned to restore the cottage, said agent Carl Wilson, of Harcourts Invercargill.
The cottage was sold “as is, where is” but the new owners plan to restore it to its former glory. Photo / Supplied
The two-bedroom cottage, which had an RV of $200,000, was located on a 3743sqm section in Woodend, on the outskirts of Invercargill. It was sold “as is where is” by the former owner’s daughter.
The late owner was an artist who hailed from Scotland. He painted landscapes, made “wonderfully unique” furniture, and had crammed the house “chock-full” with antiques, including art nouveau pieces and “lots and lots” of lanterns, Wilson said.
The agent told OneRoof the sale was an emotional one for the buyers, a lovely older couple.
“When the hammer went down I had the purchasers crying and the vendor crying. The vendor because it was an emotional sale and the purchaser because they so, so wanted it.
Discover more:
- South Auckland family buys reno star's 'yuck home' for $1.05m
- Stressed vendor 'beats the bank' with $472,000 sale - but still takes a hit
- Entrepreneur selling $5m lakeside home after four years of non-stop work
“I introduced them to each other and they all gave each other a hug and I popped them into an office and they all had a chat together. Amazing experience, really.”
There were about eight people in the auction room and while some had indicated they would bid, in the end, the buyers were the only ones who put their hands up.
“Because it needed just so much work done to it and there are so many restrictions in what you can and can’t do with the land, it only sold for $125,000, which was ridiculously cheap in my view,” Wilson said.
One of the buyers was a builder, said Wilson, while his partner “just fell in love with the whole history of the property. They intend to restore it back to the original. That’s exactly what I was hoping for”.
The late owner was an artist and made the house his own, adding some special touches. Photo / Supplied
Wilson said while the cottage needed re-piling, the building was still relatively robust, but putting a second dwelling on the land meant town planning hurdles, and that had probably put off developers.
The agent told OneRoof prior to the auction that he would love to see someone renovate the property rather than demolish it, saying the house was built when Invercargill was in its infancy.
“I think our first mayor in Invercargill was about the same time that house was built – that’s how early it is.”
While the house was described as a miner’s cottage, that related to the style of the house, not that miners lived there.
“It might have been part of a larger land block, maybe 10 or 20 acres, who knows. There was no real industry down there. It’s probably 20km from Bluff so it’s not like you hop on the horse and ride to work so I imagine it would just be a land-holder.”
A sign outside the cottage says Old Mill Cottage, which suggests wood may have been milled there in the past.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Southland
