A property trader’s cash gamble on an Auckland house with structural and maintenance issues paid off after it sold within a week for $880,000.
The three-bedroom home on Aeroview Drive, in Beach Haven, had been languishing on the market for eight months, when Mark Trafford spotted it in April this year.
Previous attempts to secure a sale had failed after a builder’s report identified several problems, including issues with the cladding and a retaining wall.
Harcourts agent Terry Connell told OneRoof that some 10 contracts had fallen over on the property, adding that bank finance requirements meant a lot of first-home buyers couldn’t get finance.
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The exterior and interiors were given a fresh look and the maintenance problems were solved. Photo / Supplied
The property had dropped in price several times when Trafford decided he could fix it.
“I bought it for $600,000 cash. The renovation cost was $120,000, plus other costs,” said the owner of MTP Renovations and Maintenance.
As well as addressing the maintenance issues, Trafford installed a new kitchen and bathroom, added new flooring and painted the interiors and exteriors.
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Trafford told OneRoof that one of the advantages of the Aeroview Drive job was that the work didn’t require building consents, which, he said, were often costly and slowed a project down.
Once the work was done, Trafford put the house on the market in August, with Connell again as the listing agent. This time around the property was a hit, with Trafford bringing forward the auction.
Trafford told OneRoof it could have sold for more, but he instead made the call that in a slower market it was better to make a quick profit than wait.
Before: The tired kitchen. Photo / Supplied
After: What the kitchen looked like when Trafford sold it in August. Photo / Supplied
Connell had just sold the buyer’s family home and said she had been looking for a smaller house that looked pretty, needed no maintenance, and that she could simply move into. “It was just right buyer, right place.”
The buyer made an offer on the home before many people had even had the chance to view it.
Connell said: “He [Trafford] did a beautiful job on the renovation and people just walk in there and go, ‘I don’t have to do anything’.
The bathroom Trafford installed for his Aeroview Drive project. Photo / Supplied
“It attracts buyers that go, ‘I just want a low-maintenance home to move into’. It’s gone from completely the opposite – it’s gone from the property that you had to completely maintain to a property that felt like you didn’t because all the work was done.”
While some buyers in Beach Haven and Birkdale are happy to make improvements, Connell said most people looking in those areas wanted homes they just walk into and instantly fall in love with.
“Down in that area – Birkdale, Beach Haven – they are looking for the Kiwiana dream home. They get wowed by pretty. That’s why you will find a lot of the homes get completely staged and dressed.”
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