Buyer pays 5 times over price for home too unsafe for anyone to be allowed in

30 July 2023 , 22:04

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This rundown three-bed terrace has sold for five times its guide price (Image: Google maps / Paul Fosh Auctions)

A buyer purchased a house at auction for more than five times it guide price - even though no one has been inside it as it is too dangerous.

The terraced property in Ogmore Vale, south Wales, was estimated to sell for £14,000 as all potential purchasers were bidding blind, not knowing what they were actually buying. The auction house itself hadn't even been in the three-bed property as it was too unsafe.

But a bidding war erupted and the house sold for £71,500, more than five times the guide price. It surprised Paul Fosh Auctions, which was informed by the fire service the building presented a "very real danger". The auctioneers felt the £14,000 tag was fair as it confirmed the building needed a significant amount of work, Wales Online reports.

The property, in Ogmore Vale, south Wales, went on auction despite being too dangerous to enter (Google maps / Paul Fosh Auctions)

But the sale will be finalised on Thursday August 24, following the auction this week. Then, the new owner will be allowed to put their stamp on the empty - and hazardous - shell of a building.

Before the auction, Angie Davey, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "We have not been able to inspect the property but we are informed by the vendor that the accommodation previously consisted of two reception rooms, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom with separate W.C. There is a rear garden, which is overgrown, and lane access.

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"Even though this could be seen as the ultimate doer-upper and will require all sorts of construction skills to make it habitable, it has created quite strong pre-auction interest from those relishing a challenge and who can see the real potential for this building.

"As the property has a Fire Brigade safety notice pinned to the front door and we're therefore advising that internal viewings will not be conducted on this mid terraced house due to the very real danger to anyone venturing inside."

The buyer's gamble goes against advice regularly dispensed on BBC's Homes under the Hammer, whose experts stress to always view the property that you are thinking of fighting for.

But, even after visiting a property in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, one man on the show regretted his buy - despite forking out thousands of pounds in a hefty refurb.

Joanne Ridout