It’s better to have the worst house in the best street than the best house in the worst street, the old real estate adage goes.
No. 7 Alfred Place in Williamstown, being touted as suitable for a brave renovator, certainly fits that bill.
Sweeney director Dean Stanley said that in 20 years he had never sold a house in greater need of TLC.
Scheduled for auction on May 9, the house is being advertised from $520,000, making it the cheapest free-standing house in Williamstown.
On about 150 square metres of land, the one-bedroom Victorian cottage has two renovated rooms, a laundry/bathroom and kitchen. It’s listed in the Victorian heritage database as being of local historic and aesthetic significance as a rare example of a pre-1870 house, but it is not heritage protected and was nearly demolished some years ago.
Historian Brian Haynes said the house dated back to the mid-1850s.
He said Customs boatman Charles Hernan was living in the house in 1858, but he may not have been the original owner/occupier.
Mr Stanley said the present owner had intended a renovation but that didn’t go to plan.
“A fellow bought it in 2011… he ended up just doing the front two principal rooms,” he said.
“There was an order on the property for it to be knocked over, whereas now I know that council would prefer it to be renovated. It’s in a heritage overlay but it’s not a heritage-protected home,… there are no period features really left except for the windows.”
The property sold in 2011 for $420,000.
“It was just one of these Willy gems that was let go but … renovated it’s worth over $1 million,” Mr Stanley said.
