ON February 14, Ray White Real Estate’s Clifford Wren will be auctioning 31 properties for the sale of land for overdue municipal rates owed to Broken Hill City Council.
Mr Wren said he expects that number to dwindle by the auction date.
“Owners will be given the opportunity to pay their arrears and will look to set up payment plans with council,” he said.
The properties set to go under the hammer are a mixture of dwellings with occupants and some without.
“We have a lot more houses than vacant land this time around,” Mr Wren said.
“But if you owe $15,000 in rates and are on a $120,000 property, you would try to pay it off somehow.”
Mr Wren said there were a number of properties that were of good quality.
“Well over half the properties are in good nick and you could get quite a good deal,” he said.
“There are some that are derelict, but people would look to renovate and flip those houses.”
Mr Wren expects he’ll see some familiar faces at the auction but some new ones looking to jump into the housing market.
“A lot of people are interested in buy to flip or rent,” he said.
“Sometimes a vacant block of land will come up and homeowners next to it will want to buy it.”
But for those looking to scoop up a bargain, it’s “buyer beware” for occupied properties.
“We had two issues that I know of, from our auction in 2023,” Mr Wren said.
“There is a process that a buyer has to go through to gain vacant possession, they will need to go through a solicitor for that.
“It is buyer beware, but overall, it is pretty good.”
Mr Wren said the auction will be conducted under normal auction conditions but there will be a few special caveats.
“If the sale is up to $10,000 the full amount will be required on the day,” he said. “But if it is over $10,000 a 10 per cent deposit can be paid.”
