Much loved home on the market. Price: $0
A SOUTHPORT home etched in the Gold Coast’s history is being offered up for free – but there’s a catch.
The land is not included in the deal and the new owners must pay to relocate the 1930s brick and weatherboard house.
The property at 86 Johnston St was home to Patricia Henricksen from the day she was born in the living room in 1935 until it sold at auction last year
Michael Elliss and Cameron Reed of MCM Property Developments snapped it up for $880,000 with plans to build a three-storey unit block.
They were reluctant to knock the existing house down but Ms Henricksen’s death earlier this month halted any thought of demolition.
Mr Elliss said they have decided to offer the one-bedroom, one-bathroom home to anyone who will love it as much Ms Henricksen did.
“The idea was to do a development there because it’s such a good location,” Mr Elliss, who works as a real estate MORE AMAZING COAST PROPERTY IN OUR 72-PAGE REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE ON SATURDAY
agent at Harcourts Broadbeach Mermaid Waters, said.
“Since the time that I bought it, I’ve really started to like the house.”
He said it would cost between $15,000 and $18,000 to move the home.
After cleaning it out and staying the night on occasion, Mr Elliss said he had grown to admire the home.
“She left a lot of photos and things like that that I’ve actually found in the cupboard,” he said.
Mr Elliss has got to know Ms Henricksen’s family well, even sending old photos to her niece in Melbourne, and has let relatives stay in the house and neighbours use it character of the for a memorial. “I have obviously thought about (knocking it down) but it would be a real shame,” Mr Elliss said.
“It would be really nice for someone to take it rather than me demolish it, which would be hard to watch.
“It’s a good opportunity for someone that wants a bit of extra income or they need somewhere for their parents to live.
“The clock is ticking – if no one takes it in the next two to three months then it will just have to come down unfortunately.”