One of Marlborough's last surviving cob cottages, and the only one still in private ownership, is heading to auction with a declared reserve of just $70,000.
But buyers hoping to snap up a bargain home will need to read the fine print.
Bartlett's Creek Cottage, at 212 Bartletts Road in Onamalutu's Wairau Valley, comes with strict heritage protections.
Built in the mid-1860s for John and Maria Bartlett and their five children, the two-room rammed-earth cottage remained in the same family for about a century.
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Bayleys listing agent Harrison Martin said the cottage was originally part of a larger farm before being subdivided onto its own 4387sqm title in 2007.
The farm's owners then gifted the property back to descendants of the Bartlett family, the Powells, who have owned it ever since.
The two room cottage was built in the 1860s from rammed earth. Photo / Supplied
Heritage restrictions mean the property can only be used for camping. Photo / Supplied
Today, the building is protected by a heritage covenant intended to preserve an important piece of Marlborough's history. The property sits near a stream but has no direct access to it and is not approved for residential use.
Martin said the picturesque Northbank property could currently only be used for camping.
Any work on the cottage, including repairs, or the construction of additional buildings would require approval.
“Pretty much it’s got a campground status. So, you could have a temporary off-grid tiny home or relocatable home or a campervan,” he said.
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For the right buyer, however, the property could offer something more than a simple camping spot.
Martin said it could appeal to someone passionate about restoring heritage buildings and preserving traditional construction methods that reflected Marlborough's rural past.
A member of the Powell family said the cottage had undergone numerous changes during its lifetime and originally featured a thatched roof and clay floor.
A major restoration project was undertaken in the 1980s, but the building has fallen into disrepair in recent years and has no services connected.
Martin said the family had decided to sell because they no longer needed the property.
14 McKenzie Road in Duntroon, Livingstone, Waitaki, is for sale for $495,000. Photo / Supplied
The auction reserve of $70,000 sits well below the cottage's $170,000 rating valuation.
“We’ve just decided on that figure to draw out some interest and see how we go,” Martin told OneRoof.
Early enquiry had been strong, he said, attracting interest from both sides of the Tasman.
Martin said he had fielded calls from prospective buyers across New Zealand and Australia, including people keen on a restoration project and distant relatives of the Bartlett family hoping to reconnect with a piece of their history.
The Marlborough cottage is not the only historic mud-brick home seeking a new owner.
A 19th-century cob house with links to New Zealand's gold-mining past is also on the market in Waitaki.
The hand-built, three-bedroom home at 14 McKenzie Road in Livingstone is one of the district's best-known heritage properties and is seeking offers above $495,000.
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/the-historic-home-that-officially-doesnt-exist-and-buyers-are-hot-for-it-50265
Like Bartlett's Creek Cottage, it is being sold "as is, where is".
- 212 Bartletts Road, North Bank, Marlborough, goes to auction on November 27
