Brisbane’s worst house: It’s so unliveable, no buyers are allowed inside

National News Editor

It’s been dubbed the worst house for sale in Brisbane right now and as far as truth in real estate advertising goes, it doesn’t get more truthful than this.

“If you are sick of doctored real estate photos or styling to make a property present better than it is come settlement day, rest assured there is none of that here,” the ad reads.

Ray White East Brisbane agent Ryan McHarg says the three-bedroom brick house on Brisbane’s south side at 47 Birch Street, Marsden is the worst house he has ever seen.

“There is not one wall that hasn’t been kicked in which, on the upside, gives you plenty of termite inspection points,” he says.

“There is graffiti on the walls so obscene I cannot repeat to you what it says. There was a fire in the front bedroom. The side fence has been burned down and removed.

“There’s five bricks missing from the second rung of the house. The floating floorboards have been stolen. Essentially, the house has been so trashed it’s now open plan, because everything has been kicked in or ripped out. I’d say it’s probably got great feng shui.”

However, the confronting state of the house has been no deterrent for potential buyers — Mr McHarg says he received 35 calls about it within the first 48 hours.

“Everyone wants to know what it’s like on the inside. What I can tell you is that the kitchen and bathroom are considered operational because the tap turns on,” he says.

“But the thing is, you do the hard work and you’re in a great location near schools, shops and transport. This is why it’s such a great chance to add that value.”

Mr McHarg says there’s a massive opportunity for someone to add value to the house and get their foot on the property ladder but warns it’s not for the faint-hearted.

“This is no two-week renovation job. We had a builder in to look at it and he said the house needed to be knocked down,” he says.

Moreover, whoever buys the property will have to purchase it sight unseen — the house has been deemed unliveable, hazardous and unsafe to enter and has subsequently been boarded up.

“This is why we’ve been very honest with our photos, because no buyer will be able to get in there and see it. They’ll be buying it based off the photos and floor plan that I’ve got online with the listing,” he says.

“They [the owners] had a tenant in there previously, but when she passed away the squatters got in there.”

The property is owned by a community organisation which provides lower cost housing for Indigenous community members. They’ll use the proceeds of this sale to fund new townhouses so that they can house more families, Mr McHarg says.

The property is scheduled to go to auction on Saturday, June 1 at 4.30pm but the vendor will consider all offers prior.

“The best thing someone can do is use the photos that are provided online, have a look, do an estimate of what they feel it would cost to get liveable and then build in any type of upside they feel they deserve,” Mr McHarg says.

“They’ll be taking a risk but they can take that into consideration with their offer. It will definitely be sold on the day.”