Auction hammer falls on sealed-off house

A Sunderland house, which was sealed off by the council due to safety concerns, has sold at auction for more than £100,000 – after being given a guide price of £10,000.

The house, located on Broomshields Avenue in Fulwell, suffered significant subsidence in August last year as the property’s driveway sank into the ground.

Sunderland City Council have once again sealed off the property as they say the house is ‘currently unsafe due to structural issues’.

Pictures show the driveway appears to have since been fixed but warning signs at the property’s entrance read ‘construction site keep out’ and ‘no unauthorised access’.

The vacant semi-detached property was listed for auction last month with a guide price of £10,000 on Bond Wolfe Auctions, based in Birmingham.

Thefour-bedroomhouse sold for £101,000 in the auction – 10 times the suggested guide price.

A statement from Sunderland City Council said last month: “The property is currently unsafe due to structural issues resulting from subsidence issues that were reported to the city council last year.

“Barriers remain in place as a precautionary measure to protect the public. Although it appears that the barriers were recently removed – we’re not sure by who or for what reason – these have now been reinstated by the council and will remain in place pending a decision on the longer-term plans for the building’s future. This is something that rests with the property owner. ”