SA’s damaged homes hot property for investors and developers

Dilapidated homes are proving hot property for investors keen to maximise their rental returns.

Considered undesirable to most owner-occupiers, the houses – which may have been damaged by fire or flood, trashed by previous residents or left strewn with rubbish – are being snapped up for bargain prices by those looking to undertake a quick renovation before renting them out.

Ray White Port Augusta/Whyalla selling agent Leah Kirk has two fire-ravaged houses listed for sale in Whyalla Stuart that have attracted more than a dozen inquiries from investors, mostly from interstate.

Not a single inquiry has been received from first-home buyers, despite housing affordability making it harder than ever to own a home.

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The Whyalla Stuart property at 10 Brook St has been damaged by fire.

The kitchen needs some serious work …

“They (investors) can see the value. The potential (to make a return on investment) is there,’’ Ms Kirk said.

“It (homes in poor condition) is something we’ve had quite a lot of recently and it’s all about (investors) buying cheap, doing a renovation to get the rental income up and get that higher (return).’’

Ms Kirk said one of the listings, a three-bedroom semi-detached home at 10 Brook St, which was extensively damaged in an accidental fire, had received eight inquiries from investors within its first two days on the market.

The other, a 1960s duplex at 18-20 O’dea St, also damaged by accidental fire, consisted of one residence able to be repaired but the other – which has no access due to the extent of fire damage – was likely unsalvageable, Ms Kirk said.

“But there’s still potential at O’dea St that even if you knock half (the building) down you still have a lot of land value,’’ she said.

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Another Whyalla Stuart property at 18-20 O’dea St has also been damaged by fire.

The bathroom ceiling is almost completely black.

Both properties are for sale by negotiation with no price guide released.

The median rent for a three-bedroom home in Whyalla Stuart is $280 a week, according to PropTrack.

Last month, a three-bedroom Elizabeth South house at 15 Whitford Rd, allegedly trashed by unruly tenants, sold for $570,000 within days of being marketed as having “endless potential for investors, renovators or first home buyers ready to take on a project’’.

The home was strewn with rubbish inside and out, cabinetry doors were missing from several kitchen cupboards and flooring was ripped up throughout.

And in one of the cheapest sales of the year, a vandalised Coober Pedy property at Lot 527 Van Brugge St – that was in such a state of disrepair it was impossible to tell how many bedrooms it once had – sold for just $7500 to a buyer planning to restore the miners-style home and turn it into short-term backpacker accommodation.

The Elizabeth Park property at 3 Bridport St has been left as is.

There are personal items, scrap materials and general waste all over the property.

Decrepit houses are also gaining the attention of developers, unfussed about the condition of properties that will be demolished and potentially subdivided.

A large three-bedroom home at 3 Bridport St, Elizabeth Park is being sold as is, with the listing making it clear the buyer will be responsible for “internal and external cleaning of personal items, scrap materials and general waste’’.

The home, on a 650sqm block, has a price guide of $520,000 to $570,000.

Selling agent Roy Laird, of Harcourts Playford, said offers from developers were received within 24 hours of the property hitting the market, with none expressing concern about its present state.

“Developers with big machines will just scrape it (the debris) up and they really don’t care (about the mess),’’ Mr Laird said.

He said the Elizabeth Park property could be subdivided into two allotments, possibly more.

– by Lauren Ahwan

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