As featured in Nine.com.au
A hoarder house in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Ashbury has sold at auction for a whopping $2.35 million, despite needing extensive repairs to the tune of $1 million.
The derelict property is termite ridden, has mould and water damage, rotting wood, broken windows, missing floorboards, peeling paint and a pool capped by a thick layer of neon green scum.
In addition to the crumbling state, the five-bedroom home is located within a heritage conservation area – making a knock-down rebuild a headache for new buyers with special requests needing to be made to local council.
Despite these major setbacks, demand remained hot, with the auction guide of $1.9 to $2 million being smashed by $450,000, shocking the vendors.
Located in a “blue-ribbon street”, the 585sqm property was stacked full of junk from the hoarder owner, packed with various useless paraphernalia and old furniture crammed all the way to the ceiling.
Removalists came to clear the bulk of the mess in preparation for the sale, however listing photos show there were remaining items left on the property, including furniture and hoarded accoutrement under blankets and stacked along walls.
Dan Sofo of Unicorn Buyers Agents said that, increasingly in the post-covid era, he’s seeing property buyers get carried away at auctions and buying events, snapping up ‘bastard properties’ without doing their due diligence due to a fear of missing out in a hot market.
“I am really concerned by the number of people I see at auctions buying up properties that are going to be money pits. Many of these people are stretching to purchase the property, let alone deal with all the soon-to-be-realised money pit issues,” Sofo told Nine Property.
Rising inflation causing the cost of building materials to skyrocket is another major issue buyers need to consider, Sofo warned.
“My strong advice for people is to stay calm, get back to basics, revisit the foundations of good property buying and investing, and make good decisions,” Sofo said.
For the full listing, click here.
