- A neglected Waitara house with a $1 reserve is going to auction next week.
- The property, inherited by the owner, has an RV of $370,000 and requires significant work.
- Interest is high from potential buyers, including investors and locals, due to its low price.
It has been described as the “worst” house on the street, and it could sell for $1 at auction next week in New Plymouth.
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The low auction reserve, which is almost unheard of in Taranaki, reflects the poor state of the house.
When the listing agents inspected the three-bedroom home at 77 Mould Street, in Waitara, they found the front yard littered with junk, graffiti on the walls and ceiling, broken windows taped with plastic, and a bedroom that had been bolted shut.
The house is being pitched at buyers with "vision and a tool belt". Photo / Supplied
Collective First National sales manager Devon Cameron said the vendor had inherited the leasehold property from her mother several years ago, and had decided to cut her losses.
“I just said to her, ‘Look, even if you tidy the whole place up, I don’t think you are going to get your money back. Let’s just put it on as a $1 reserve’.”
Listing agents Kathy Roach and Mylinda Miller hope to find a buyer with “a vision and a tool belt to bring it back to life”.
Their listing on OneRoof described the property as a “diamond in the rough” that is “packed with quirks and curiosities”.
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The property, which has an RV of $370,000, sits on a 613sqm section. The ground rent is $5000 a year, but Cameron said there was potential to purchase the land off the council for a price determined by a registered valuer.
“This is probably the worst house on the street. As I say, buy the worst house on the best street. This is probably not the best street, but it is the worst house on the street,” he told OneRoof.
“It needs work. There’s no question about that. How much? It depends on what you want to do with it.”
One of the bedroom doors is bolted shut and there is graffiti on the walls and ceiling. Photo / Supplied
While $1 reserve auctions are a feature of Auckland’s housing market, with several called this year already, Cameron said they were a rarity in the regions. This was the first one he or his team was aware of in Taranaki.
Cameron said even his daughters had commented on the reserve, saying they could buy the house for less than the price of a McFlurry.
“This is genuine - it will be sold.”
He said the “as is, where is” property had already attracted a lot of interest, with out-of-towners weighing it up as an investment property, and owner-occupiers looking at it as a do-up.
“It’s a bit of mixture, but it has been super popular.”
He said Waitara was also on people’s radar. It was increasingly viewed as an affordable option for first-home buyers priced out of New Plymouth.
The “developing suburb” was only a 20-minute drive from New Plymouth. “It’s an easy commute into town.”
- 77 Mould Street, in Waitara, Taranaki, goes to auction on May 7
