Aussie houses are being given away for free, but there’s a catch

Amid record house prices, rising demolition fees, and surging construction costs a new trend is emerging: free houses.

Just last month, the owner of a 4-bedroom house in Kirrawee in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire advertised their property for free.

But there’s a catch.

It doesn’t come with the land it sits on.

The 60-year old house, located at 142 Bath Road in Kirrawee, was listed on Gumtree last month and boasts a modern kitchen and laundry.

142 Bath Road, Kirrawee,
Source: realestate.com.au

The seller expects the house removal “will cost in the vicinity of $70k” and the house has to be removed and the 655 square meter site cleared by May 2022.

The new owner will be required to pay for removal fees.

According to realestate.com.au the house and land were last sold on 19 June 2013 for $685,000 and are now worth around $1.56 million.

142 Bath Road, Kirrawee,
Source: realestate.com.au

142 Bath Road, Kirrawee,
Source: realestate.com.au

And the Kirrawee home isn’t a one-off.

Also available for free on Gumtree is a property in Gracemeer, near Rockhampton.

That 3-bedroom house has separate dining, lounge, kitchen, and laundry.

The ad says,

“Just organise transportation/house removal contractor and it's yours.

“Solid build in great condition which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build again.

Yours only for the cost of transportation.”

Gracemeer property,
Source: Gumtree

The property is available for removal from 1 March 2022 because it is currently tenanted until 28 February.

“House plans available to email on request. Needs to be taken sight unseen.”

Here’s another.

Elsewhere also in Queensland, a 3-bedroom 1-bathroom home in the suburb of Taigum is also listed on the site for free.

Meanwhile, back in NSW, another home-owner has listed “an exciting renovator's dream” for free in Whitebridge.

“This cozy home could be yours for free to be placed on a block of land,” the ad says.

“We are building a new home on our block of land and would love to see our home repurposed rather then knocked down and taken to landfill.”

“Our home has served us well over the past 13 years, with 3 large size bedrooms, 1 bathroom, separate toilet, laundry, open large kitchen and living space.”

Taigum property,
Source: Gumtree

Taigum property,
Source: Gumtree

Removal of the house would be at the new owner's expense including any relevant insurances, the ad states.

Nerida Conisbee from the Ray White group said the trend of giving away a house for free is becoming more popular.

“One of the challenges for people that are doing a knockdown and rebuild is what to do with the old home and many people demolish the home but what we are seeing more of are people giving away the home to people that want to take the home elsewhere,” she told 7NEWS.

While a ‘free’ house might seem tempting, the process of moving property to another piece of land can be complicated, costly, take several months, and involve consultations from several experts such as engineers and building certifiers.

The cost of disconnecting a house, cleaning the site, building certification, and transport to a new location are just some of the costs to consider.

Ashleigh MacKay of Mackay and Sons House Removal told Channel 7 that once the new owner gets the property to the new land, they would also have to pay to reconnect all services.

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About Brett Warren Brett Warren is National Director of Metropole Properties and uses his two decades of property investment experience to advise clients how to grow, protect and pass on their wealth through strategic property advice.