It was his wife’s biggest shopping spree to date, now Claude Spinelli is selling it for a song.
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Mr Spinelli wants to get rid of this completely refurbished 1960s home to anyone who wants it, as long as he doesn’t have to fork out $30,000 in removal costs.
“When we went to auction to buy this house, we actually wanted the house next door and we just got outbid,” he said.
“My wife said ‘I don’t care what it takes, I’m turning up to the auction in a couple of weeks and I’m going to get that little house there’ and I said ‘yeah whatever’.”
That is exactly what Antonella did in securing the perfect location for their future dream home.
The problem was the East Corrimal three-bedroom cottage had been through major internal renovations with new kitchen, bathroom, laundry, beautifully polished forest gum floorboards and more.
“This is not a knock-down rebuild,” Mr Spinelli said. “That house is immaculate.”
Two years after purchase the couple are now ready to build their dream home big enough for their four children, they just need to clear the land first.
“It makes me sick in the stomach to get a bulldozer and knock the whole thing down,” he said.
“I would rather give it to someone than demolish it, but you know what, if I give it to someone everyone’s going to fight over it.”
The solution Mr Spinelli came up with was to auction the house with a starting price of $1.
“Someone can get a helicopter or a truck and pick it up and move it to a farm or other location … or they may want to go in and gut the whole house.
“I feel [it would be more suitable] for someone who can’t afford to refurbish their house: they can use the timber floors, the new kitchen, I don’t want anything in that house. All the dishwasher, sinks and taps, it’s all brand new. I don’t want any of it.”
Mr Spinelli needs to find someone worthy of the East Corrimal cottage by December with those interested in being involved in the auction to email him why at claude@prosoundlighting.com.au
“All I want is someone to enjoy it, [rather] than demolishing it, at a really cheap price.”
It comes as the demand for house-moving services has increased substantially in the past few years due to a construction boom and housing affordability issues.
Earlier this year a quaint two-bedroom cottage at Kiama, with links to Oscar winning Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly, was sold in a similar fashion with a winning bid of $1000.
The vendors donated the $1000 from that sale to Cure Brain Cancer Foundation while the cottage was relocated to a farm at Jamberoo.
“It was a good outcome all round,” said Ray White Kiama’s Terry Dawson.