118-year-old waterfront home sells for $3m

Belinda Feek

A derelict central Auckland home with stained carpets and peeling wallpaper has sold for $3 million.

Peter and John Rossiter pocketed the windfall sum for their family’s 118-year-old waterfront home last month.

Their ancestors paid £400 for the Herne Bay property which remained in their hands ever since.

At the time of going up for tender, the house had a rateable value of $2.475m.

The Herald has confirmed the April 19 settlement sale price as $3m.

Property records list the purchaser as Possum P Ltd, whose sole director is Virginia Maxwell.

The new owner also appears to own two neighbouring properties. It’s unclear whether she plans to knock it down or embark on an ambitious restoration project.

Maxwell could not be reached for comment yesterday.

From the outside, the property looks like it’s had a tough life. Inside, it’s a step back in time.

Marketing photos showed the original furniture still in situ.

In one room, the heat burn mark from the cast iron stove stained the wall above as the discoloured and ripped wallpaper from years gone by masked the home’s walls.

In another room, there was an aged piano with chair, table and recliner positioned to get prime views.

The house sits on a freehold 865sq m site and is zoned for a single dwelling but has views over the harbour and the harbour bridge.

Harcourts real estate agent Cynthia Klenner said the Rossiter brothers were pleased with the sale price.

As the area was categorised as “special character” a new house would have to be “built to heritage” under the Auckland Unitary Plan or in keeping with the historical nature of the area.

“Most people would say that the house is too far gone but it’s about the land and location and what [the new owner] can do with it,” she said in March.

Peter Rossiter, 60, earlier told the Herald he could still remember watching the clip-ons being added to the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Rossiter lived in the house up until the end of 2016. He said it had held precious memories but it was finally time to let the property go.