Ultimate bargain buy: Cheap Iron Knob church with no council rates

If a bargain-basement selling price isn’t enough to lure budget-conscious homebuyers, one real estate agent is hoping low ongoing costs will get them over the line.

Not only is the Iron Knob property at 129 Earle St on the market for just $96,800, Ray White selling agent Colin Dix said it came with the added bonus of no council rates, providing a “very economic living’’ option.

“You couldn’t get much cheaper,’’ Mr Dix said.

“There’s no actual council in Iron Knob … so you’re not paying $1000-plus a year in rates.’’

There are also no sewer charges.

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The Iron Knob property at 129 Earle St has hit the market at a steal.

It’s listed for under $100k and you don’t have to pay council rates on it either.

Instead, the successful buyer would pay just $360 a year to the Outback Community Authority, a government body that oversees management of remote communities, Mr Dix said.

“That’s even cheaper than renting,’’ he said.

Listed as a one-bedroom home, the property is the former St Peter’s Church, a combined Anglican and Uniting church place of worship that was built in the 1930s.

Mr Dix said it had been some years since religious services were held at the property and it was now being sold by the Uniting Church.

The building has an outdoor toilet building and a kitchen.

While it lacked full bathroom facilities, Mr Dix said prefabricated fibreglass modular bathrooms were very affordable and “the plumbing is all there so it’s just a matter of installing it’’.

If someone had extra cash to splash, it could be a remarkable home, he said.

“It (church conversions) has been done in the past, where people have put in mezzanine floors and things like that – you could really do something special,’’ he said.

Mr Dix said the church, which has been listed for only a week, had drawn interest from locals and former residents looking to return to Iron Knob.

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It was once St Peter’s Church, a combined Anglican and Uniting church place of worship.

It has an outdoor toilet building.

A neighbouring property owner had sought to purchase the site to build up their landholding but Mr Dix said “even at the (advertised selling) price, it’s probably too expensive’’ to use as anything other than a home.

There are currently just a handful of South Australian houses on the market for less than $100,000.

Most are in Coober Pedy, where about a dozen homes, in various conditions, range in price from $28,000 to $95,000.

A two-bedroom dwelling at Lot 695 Government Rd, Andamooka, in the state’s north, which is also under the administration of the Outback Community Authority and incurs no council rates, is currently listed for $60,000.

Mr Dix said while there were few facilities in Iron Knob, a formerly bustling mining town regarded as the birthplace of Australia’s steel industry, it was just 30 minutes from Whyalla and 40 minutes from Port Augusta.

– by Lauren Ahwan

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