- Vendor David Harton is auctioning his Grey Lynn home with a $1 reserve due to sinking foundations and rot.
- Harton decided against redeveloping the property, citing the project’s scale and his age.
- The property, marketed by Ray White, has attracted interest from developers and builders.
A troublesome home with sinking foundations and rot in the walls in one of Auckland’s more desirable central suburbs is being offloaded at auction with a reserve of just $1.
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Owner David Harton has made the tough decision to walk away from his home at 2/701 Great North Road after 18 years.
The grandfather of five, who is in his 70s, had planned to bowl and build in its place a larger four-bedroom, three-bedroom home with internal garaging and a downstairs granny flat. He even got resource consents for the project, but he got cold feet and pulled the plug.
He told OneRoof that he spoke to his adult children and they all agreed that, given his age and stage of life, it was too big a project for him to take on. Going ahead would have meant finding somewhere to live for six months while the work was carried out, he said.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property was built in 1995 and either needs fixing or replacing. Photo / Supplied
“It became a bit difficult, really – the whole development process.”
Harton has already bought and moved into a new apartment in Point Chevalier, which has easier access and is closer to his family. He said deciding to sell the property in a $1 reserve had been tough, but he was ready to move on.
He had already tried selling the Great North Road property with a different agency at the end of last year, but it had not attracted much interest, which is why he was trying a more daring approach.
He said that even though the 1990s house had issues, there were still some positives, including the location and the nice outlook the elevated site offered. “When I moved in, I wanted something handy to town. My kids were going to university, so they were living with me. I was working in town, so I could get easy access to town,” he said.
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“We are just so close to the parks as well, it’s so close to MOTAT and Western Springs and the zoo, which my granddaughter loves, of course.”
He felt it would suit a developer or a builder who wanted to do the work in their own time.
Ray White agent Hugh Free, who is marketing the property with colleague Susan Woods-Markwick, said it presented a bargain for the right buyer. “It’s going to be good value for whoever picks it up in Grey Lynn,” he said.
“I mean, let’s say well you picked it up for land value – I think the CV on that is $1m [including a land value of $790,000] – I mean it’s pretty good buying at that given where it is.”
So far, the property had attracted interest from a wide range of buyers, including developers, builders and bargain hunters.
The property was being sold “as is, where is” because it had issues and buyers were urged to do their own due diligence. “There’s nothing to hide here. There are a few things that need to be addressed on the property, which is why he’s opted for a $1 reserve,” Free said.
“It’s basically take it or leave it – this is the property and the market will dictate the price.”
- 2/701 Great North Road, in Grey Lynn, Auckland, goes to auction on March 18
