A 100-year-old cottage that was once the local school teacher’s residence is being sold with an advertised reserve price below its land value after being another casualty of the extreme weather conditions that wreaked havoc in the Coromandel last year.
The three-bedroom, one-bathroom property at 534 Tararu Road, near Thames, was red-stickered after a storm struck the Coromandel over Auckland Anniversary weekend and caused subsidence at the rear of the property.
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Harcourts listing agent Steven Bridson said the damage was not obvious at first glance and further inspections were being carried out later this week to reveal exactly what the problem was and what was needed to be done to fix it.
“We are hoping that red label becomes maybe a yellow label.”
The property is being sold in ‘as is, where is’ condition with an advertised auction reserve of $380,000, which Bridson said was even less than the council’s outdated land value of $395,000. Other properties of a similar vintage on Tararu Road listed for sale on OneRoof are priced at $620,000 and $699,000.
The cottage, right next to the Tararu Store, was originally built to house the teacher at the former Thames North School. Photo / Supplied
Long-term Tararu locals Nelly and Jack Morrison are selling their coastal cottage. Photo / Supplied
“Basically the deal is, if you’ve got some know-how and you want to get into it, you could get into paradise for around 50% off.”
Bridson expected it would appeal to a builder or tradesperson who had the skills to remediate the cute cottage. There was also a separate shed, carport and garage set back from the road.
“Someone with a little bit of know-how and resources to rectify any of the council’s concerns so that someone else can continue living in the house and enjoy the magical spot.”
A property further down the coast in Thornton Bay that was destroyed in the same weather event sold under the hammer in October last year. The property was advertised as having a $1 reserve but sold for $375,000 in a lively auction.
Bridson, who also marketed that property, said the main difference was that it had been a total right-off, while there was still life left in this home.
The cute cottage needs some remedial work before the new owners can live in it. Photo / Supplied
The property could be used as a holiday home or permanent residence. Photo / Supplied
Its long-term owners Jack and Nelly Morrison were granted exemption by the council to continue living in the home, but Bridson said the new owners would be buying it in an ‘as is, where is’ condition and would need to carry out the required work and get council sign-off before moving in.
However, the storm and poor health has forced the couple‘s hand and they have decided to sell their home of 20 years and move to a smaller, low-maintenance property in Thames.
The Morrisons are well known in the community having run the Tararu Store for three years in the late 1990s, which is when they decided to buy the neighbouring cottage.
They initially bought it as an investment property with their son firstly as a rental property and then running it as an Airbnb.
The couple had been living in Thames but after selling the lease of the shop they missed the Tararu community and bought a second smaller two-bedroom home next door.
“We liked the community, we liked the atmosphere and the place – we knew everybody.”
They lived there for several years before selling it and moving into the cottage with its large 1897sqm section and have been there ever since.
The current owners say they will miss watching all the activity on the water. Photo / Supplied
Nelly said they met a lot of people through running the shop and still more than 20 years on have old customers popping next door to see them.
They loved that it was just a five-minute drive to Thames’ CBD and that they could look out to the beach and watch people fish, observe the activity from the nearby sailing club and marvel at the entertaining birdlife, she added.
“There’s always something to look at.”
Jack also enjoyed his morning ritual of a 3km walk along the coastline to the Sunset Motel and back and gets a lot of toots from passing cars on the way.
With the local store now offering bait and tackle, they’ve also heard more than their fair share of fishing stories and people offering to share their catch with them.
“If I’m out there gardening – it must be all my wrinkles of something – they say, ‘would you like a fish darling’ and I say ‘no thank you I’m all fished out’,” Nelly said.
The house still had original kauri flooring and was built in the 1920s as a teacher’s house for the nearby former Thames North School, which is now known as the Thames Cultural Centre. It was also, according to Nelly, the birthplace of Farmers Trading’s famous cockatoo Hector who was the store’s mascot for 44 years.
- 534 Tararu Road, in Thames, Waikato, goes to auction on May 1
