The first people to view Olympic champion Eric Murray’s renovated villa loved it so much they made an offer within 24 hours of it hitting the market.
The couple first stepped foot into the three-bedroom, two-bathroom villa on Victoria Street, in Cambridge, on Wednesday and within several hours had made an offer that was good enough to bring the auction forward.
The acceptable offer will now act as the reserve for the auction on Tuesday and any other interested parties will be invited to bid.
Bayleys listing agent Amanda Merrington said the whole thing happened very quickly.
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“They (people who made the offer) viewed the property within 24 hours of it going online, had their offer made within a few hours of that – they knew straight away.”
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However, she admitted there had been a little bit of “matchmaking” involved. One of her colleagues had attended the VIP launch party for the property the week earlier and had immediately thought of a cash buyer who she thought would love it.
It turns out the agent got it spot on and the buyers now had a nervous wait until Tuesday afternoon to see if anyone else would bid.
Eric Murray and his partner Thea Lyle have poured the heart and soul into the villa renovation. Photo / Inhousenz.com
“When we have someone in mind for a property, it’s quite interesting how often they will buy it because we kind of know at that point what they want, we know what the budget is, we know at that point what they like and what they don’t like.”
Merrington said other interested parties now only had a few days to view the home and decide whether to bid before the auction. The one and only open home was being held on Sunday and they would also be doing private viewings to make sure everyone who wanted to see it could.
“We are just trying to get as many people as we can through and ready to bid if they need to,” she said.
“It’s caused a bit of a frenzy, a bit of hype because people know that the vendors’ expectations have been met. They know it’s going to sell, they know that someone has loved it enough to make a move and that actually creates a bit of a hype really.”
The kitchen was relocated and replaced to create a modern open-plan kitchen and dining space. Photo / Inhousenz.com
Murray, who renovated the home with the help of his partner Thea Lyle and son Zac, had been stoked to get an offer so early because he had been ready to move on to his next project, she said.
“He was after a result, he’s found his next project and he didn’t want to muck around,” she said.
“It wouldn’t be surprised if buyers in the room see value above where it will open – even though I can’t say where that level is.” She earlier told OneRoof that the price would be “comfortably over the $1m mark”.
Murray said he knew that the property would get a lot of interest and he couldn't wait until the auction on Tuesday to find out who the new owner who got to "love this old lady going forward" would be.
"The goal of Cambridge Villa was always sticking with its character, being an original villa. It's modern features, climate control and the future-proofing we did to the property it is easy to see the work we put into getting the old girl up to a really lovely level of comfort. The fact we have the before and after, it's very easy to see."
Renovating the 1910 villa had been a passion project for Murray who purchased it almost two years ago for $806,000.
He had just one renovation under his belt after doing up his Vogel Street home and had been ready to take on something more ambitious when the old tired villa hit the market. The property had been owned by a couple in their 80s and had been empty for about a year.
He told OneRoof that he had spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars bringing the “old girl” back to life with the help of friends, family and tradies.
However, a change in life circumstances had prompted him to sell the villa and look for another renovation project he could do with his family in mind. He was hoping to pay off some debt and create something more suitable for their current needs.
- 114 Victoria Street, in Cambridge, now goes to auction on September 24
