'This just has to go' - Fed-up vendors willing to sell 'hassle' home for $1

- A Wellington home is going to auction with a $1 reserve after a failed sale attempt.

- The property, with an RV of $710,000, needs renovations, including paint and new carpet.

- Agent Matt Ross emphasises the vendors' motivation to sell, urging buyers to ignore online estimates.

“This just has to go.” That’s the message from the vendors of a Wellington family home that's heading to auction with an ultra-low reserve, after a failed first attempt to sell and growing frustration with online price speculation.

The three-bedroom property at 7 Bank Road, in Northland, will, according to Ray White listing agent Matt Ross, sell for a $1 if that’s all buyers offer on the day. “These are the most motivated vendors in the marketplace. This decision has not been taken lightly, and the only result they want to see is sold.”

Ross believes the home will be making history, regardless of the sale price.

"It's certainly unique. In the 10 years I've been doing real estate, I haven't seen a $1 reserve property in Wellington. It sends a real message to the market that they're here to get a deal done.”

The agent says the rental property needs a lot of work. Photo / Supplied

The rental property has an RV of $710,000, but Ross urged buyers to ignore all online estimates, adding that the owners were selling because they were unable to bring the property up to spec. “They can’t hold it. They don’t want to become long-term landlords. They're very much focused on their family, and this is more of a hassle than an asset at this stage,” Ross told OneRoof.

“They have had some problems, which we do note in the disclosures around the door frames and some windows. They've had to replace some framing, and they have had some issues internally.”

“It certainly needs a paint job inside, new carpet, things like that, to bring it up to rental levels so it can be desirable to people as well.”

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The vendors have already tried to sell the house at auction, but the property passed in auction with no bids when it appeared on the block at the end of last month.

“It didn’t sell. That was probably due to a lot of people looking at online websites and not realising how realistic the owners are about selling. Some of the websites say something like $700,000, which is nowhere near what they’re expecting," Ross said.

“We decided to adopt a new strategy. We just want to make it clear from the outset, if you have $1 or more, we will be selling this property,” he said.

Asked what price the vendors were hoping to achieve, Ross said they would be happy with whatever buyers were willing to pay. “They’ve literally signed a reserve form saying $1. If it goes above that, we’ll be selling," he said.

The property has an RV of over $700,000, but the agent says the vendors are willing to let it go for a lot less. Photo / Supplied

“I have no idea where someone’s going to see value. It’s going to hold different value for different people. It depends if you're flipping it and doing the bare minimum to trade it, or doing a full renovation for a family home. If you want to hold it as a cash flow rental, maybe you'll just do the interior. Ultimately, the owners don’t care what you want to do with it."

The 170sqm home has two bathrooms, a double garage with internal access, and sits on 235sqm of land near Wellington Botanic Garden.

“The master bedroom benefits from an ensuite and walk-through wardrobe and is east-facing, with great morning sun. High floor-to-ceiling windows capture all that natural light,” Ross said.

“There are multiple decks and balconies. Two of the bedrooms have private balconies, and there’s also one off the lounge at the rear of the property.

“There’s a concrete yard, so there’s external space to spread out and enjoy. You’re a couple of minutes’ walk from Government Square, the Beehive, the Terrace, and all those government departments.

Ross said first-home buyers may be put off by the work required, but "if you can get it for $1 or $2, how much money do you save on your mortgage? Then you can put that into renovating the interior.

“It’s actually for anyone. It’s a phenomenal opportunity for them to pick something up literally for dollars and save an absolute fortune moving forward in interest payments.”

- 7 Bank Road, Northland, Wellington, goes to auction on June 19