Buyer to breathe new life into cute Geelong West cottage

An old Victorian era house that somehow skipped the waves of gentrification that have overtaken Geelong West may finally be destined for that modern makeover.

The circa-1900 house at 109 Hope St was snapped up for $703,000 amid competition between four bidders at an auction on Saturday.

Wilsons Newtown agent James Wilson, who listed the 275sq m property with price hopes from $625,000 to $675,0000, said the auction took off after bidding reached the top of the quote range and he confirmed the property was “on the market”.

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“I was looking for an opening bid within the range and we ended up getting a bid at $625,000,” Mr Wilson said.

“It went in $10,000, $5000 and $1000 increments up to $675,000 and stalled a bit.

“Then I went in an sought instructions of the owners, then announced to the crowd that we’re on the market.”

Mr Wilson said it’s an attractive property, albeit it “needs a lot of work”.

“The street frontage was appealing to where people saw that they could improve the property, and I think get a pretty good result,” he said.

“A lot of the buyers were drawn to it because of the appealing Victorian frontage and also just the proximity to Pako and some of the amenities, which we had a mix of local buyers and the buyer that bought it was from Melbourne, looking to use it as a residence.”

The property sits on Hope St between Pakington St and Sparrow Park.

Records show the owners paid just $190,950 for the property in 2000.

Roll-top laminated kitchen benches and a textured wall feature above an open fireplace seem to be the only signs of work on the property in recent decades.

But the exterior is a period picture with an iron veranda behind a picket fence.

The new owners can work with ornate skirting boards, door architraves, high ceilings and fireplaces inside.

Mr Wilson said the four bidders were a mix of local builders, investors and owner-occupiers.

The Melbourne buyer intends to turn it into a residence, he said.

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