The title of the real estate add was "BRING A BULLDOZER" and went on to introduce the house as "Welcome to the worst house in the suburb"
A lot can be said about buying the cheapest house in the street as a solid investment strategy, but should you look at the worst house in the suburb?
When this property came up for auction it was easily dismissed by many renovators and developers as the block was considered to small for developing and the house to damaged for repair. So much so that when auction day arrived only one person stood in-front of the auctioneer.
Brought on site at a raining day auction for $180,000 it was an absolute bargain given the medium house price in the suburb was $437,500, but this was no project for the average renovator.
The the 2 bedroom transportable house on a torrens title allotment of 476m2 is Adelaide southern suburb of Sturt had been vacant for 8 years and had been squatted in and completely trashed both inside and out. Nearly every outside wall panel, both inside and out, was either damaged or vandalised. Water damage had destroyed internal ceilings and created mold growth on internal walls. All the copper water pipes and electrical cabling had been stolen from the walls and roof cavity.Worse of all was the indescribable rotten stench from years of neglect.
The first step was to strip the house back to the bare bones. This included removing the internal walls and ceilings, demolishing the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms. Removing the carpet exposed one of the hidden gems with solid jarrah floorboards throughout the house and the next was discovering the house structure was actually a three bedroom which would be easily reverted .
Lucky for us our chief wall demolition trades-girl was on hand to help.
Over the 3 months this house has taken on a new lease of life but the question remains, should you look at the worst house in the suburb?
To be continued.......
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