Mum’s kind-hearted Brunswick buy turns to $600,000 windfall nine years on
44 Cliff St, Brunswick, sold above expectations almost 20 days ahead of its auction.
A big-hearted mum’s decision to buy a Brunswick home for her daughter and a few fellow university students to rent in 2013 has turned into a $600,000 windfall.
The 44 Cliff St house sold for $1.3m on Wednesday night, after its auction was brought forward by almost 20 days from May 28.
Monique Findlay said the rapid sale had been a “genuine surprise”.
RELATED: Herald Sun Real Estate auction blog: Livestreams and rolling updates
Brunswick mansion built by former Melbourne Councilor has mysterious 15 bedrooms
Victoria’s 10-year house price growth stars: Regional and coastal towns dominate
“We got an offer straight away and three or four other people showing interest and we said lets do the auction with the five who are interested,” Ms Findlay said.
“And bang, it was done and sold in six minutes.”
It was also an unexpected win after she bought the home for $700,000 so her daughter would have somewhere to live while studying.
When the home hit the market it had a bright, neutral colour scheme.
But when it last sold it was a little more colourful.
After hearing storeys of share houses with 13 people in them and others where people were sleeping in a shed, Ms Findlay took matters into her own hands.
She bought the three-bedroom house with an eclectic colour scheme from its theatre-industry former owner.
“But the uni students loved the colour, and it worked out to be a really good investment,” Ms Findlay said.
Woodards Carlton agent Stuart Mitchell said he’d been surprised when his vendor said let’s go with it after a $1.2m offer was made for the home so soon before the auction.
The technicolour kitchen also got an overhaul ahead of the sale.
A more contemporary black, white and grey scheme helped buyers see themselves in the home.
With four groups bidding the party behind the initial offer were beaten to the keys by a couple with two kids.
While homes in the area were popular in the area, Mr Mitchell estimated a change of paint in the home’s interior had added an extra $100,000 to the sale price.
“It was technicolour, the kitchen was pink and purple, so it made it liveable,” he said.
“But the buyer will still probably spend money on the bathroom and the kitchen.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: How to get a home for free: Shrewd ways to get property in Australia
Marysville’s astonishing bushfire recovery tops Victoria’s 10-year property price boom