Three renovated houses and a “hazardous” villa in a gated Waikato community have sold under the hammer for under $1 million.
The auction for the unusual “as is, where is” property, which had four houses on one title, turned into an intense bidding battle between two buyers on the look out for a bargain.
The auction took off after EVES Hamilton auctioneer Grant Child announced that the property was on the market at $920,000, with the bidders trying to outdo each in increments of $1000. The hammer came down at $929,000 - slightly more than what the owner paid in 2023 but well below the property’s RV of $1.66m.
The vendor had been looking to exit what had been a challenging development project. They had bought the four homes to live in with their extended family.
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When they purchased the 2.09ha plot, only one of the homes was habitable. They managed to bring two up to scratch but were unable to complete work on the fourth, a former post office building.
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The 120-year-old villa was classified in the listing as a “hazard area due to the incomplete building works”.
All four houses were in the gated Glen Tui community, in Whatawhata, where residents have access to a communal swimming pool and tennis courts.
EVES listing agent Aman Bali said the owners had been extremely motivated and a change in personal circumstances meant it had to be sold.
The owners were happy with the result, he said, noting they had managed to find a buyer within a few weeks of the listing going live (when they bought it in March 2023 it had sat on the market for about a year).
The large 1920s post office had been relocated to an elevated site on the lifestyle property some years ago and was being treated as a construction site. Photo / Supplied
The interior had been stripped out and needed new walls. Photo / Supplied
The new owner grew up in Whatawhata but lived in another part of the Waikato. Both he and the underbidder, who was a tradie, kept their cards close to their chest so Bali was unsure what their plans for the property had been.
There had been four registered bidders, but two withdrew at the last minute, he said.
Another family had been looking to move in with their extended family before deciding it was too much work for them.
Bali earlier told OneRoof that the old villa had, perhaps surprisingly, generated the most interest from buyers.
“That’s the one everyone is interested in. It’s huge over there. They’ve taken everything out.
“How often have you seen a six-bedroom and two or maybe three-bathroom, two kitchens in a big dwelling with three other dwellings beside it.”
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