In the Business Section of The New Zealand Herald appears an Auckland residence which is being sold for - you read it right, $1. Domain describes it as a three-bedroom brick home owned by Iliyas Adam, who intends to build a more modern house for his retirement. Located at Potter Avenue in Mt Roskill, south of the city centre, it features staples such as a kitchen and bathroom, plus a hot water tank and stove. It is, so far, the cheapest house on the market, but there is a catch to it. The buyer will have to relocate the spacious house at their own cost.
Adam, who lived in the house for 14 years and now owns the dairy next door, says, "If somebody is interested, it's ok because, if not, I have to get rid of it anyway. I guess it's just for anybody who wants it for free, pretty much. I tried to give it to removing places and they said they didn't have any space to take it because...they've got plenty of houses. This was the next best thing."
"Even with it going for free, people are still demanding things, asking questions, saying it's a brick home. It is a brick home. I talked to the removal guys, but I don't have any other land to put it on. You can take the bricks off, move it, and then put the bricks on or weatherboard on. To build a new house it might cost you $100,000 at least, but putting weatherboards on will cost only $10,000," Adam adds.
He also mentioned that the demolition would require more than $3,000 and he thought that giving it away will give somebody a cheap first home, instead of seeing it just go to waste. If he does not get an offer before the auction ends on November 14, he would have to demolish the home, claims Adam.
According to Domain, it is usually best to leave a brick house on its original site, but once the bricks are taken off, it can be relocated to its new site.
The property has been listed on the Trade - Me auction page since the middle of September and has been viewed more than 5,000 times already. It has a ratable value of $155,000, with the package for the site and home combined, priced at $600,000.
The house presently has a tenant and appointment can be set for its viewing.
