A SOUTH Galway auctioneer is following in the footsteps of one of Australia’s most successful estate agents by holding “for the first time ever in Ireland” a public auction in the front garden of the property on sale. Colm Farrell is selling 19 The Maples, Glenbrack, Gort on behalf of its owners, John and Maureen Walsh.
Both widowed, John and Maureen met in Italy in 2006. They married and moved to Gort. Maureen’s family live in Meath and Dublin and the long drive and constant bag packing no longer make sense. Late last year they decided to move. They put their detached property in Glenbrack on the market and quickly found an apartment in Trim. With the deposit down, they waited for their property to move. They are still waiting.
“It was John’s suggestion to relocate up in Meath. We are not getting younger and we are so much time up and down so we decided we would go for an apartment there rather than a house to cut out the stairs. We found an apartment in Trim a couple of months ago. We were really happy with it but now we are sort of stuck in the middle and with the climate as it is, this is not the best time but we needed to move,” explains Maureen.
Both John and Maureen were becoming frustrated by the situation so they approached their estate agent, Colm Farrell, to see if there was anything more they could do to sell the property.
“19 The Maples has been on the market for six months. We couldn’t sell it. John and Maureen had a property bought. They are retired and want to move. They had the deposit paid and really want to sell. They asked me how best to promote it. I got onto the estate agent on the other side and he said he would reduce the price of the other property if we could get this one to sell. John and Maureen came to me and asked me how we could sell it or generate interest.
“I was after finishing reading a book by John McGrath, an auctioneer in Australia and he was talking in it about selling properties on site because it gives people the opportunity to see the property and get a feel for it. I ran that by the owners and they were really delighted with it so we decided to go that route. We have got a good bit of feedback on it and now the auction is taking place on Friday,” Colm outlines.
A lack of interest in the early days, Colm believes, was down to the common mistake of overpricing.
“The asking price was too high on €245,000. Then we reduced it to €215,000 and now since we went down this route of advised minimum value of €150,000, we have had seven or eight viewings and there seems to be enough interest there to get it sold,” he continues. “A similar property in The Maples sold in the region of €360,000 in 2007.”
“Since we went down the auction route, we have had viewings on the last two Saturdays, compared to none before that. For a lot of buyers, this is something a bit different for them. They are looking forward to it and to be honest, I am looking forward to it and I think it will go quite well,” the Gort auctioneer and valuer comments.
The auction takes place in the front garden of the property on Friday at midday. A buyer must sign a binding contract on the day and pay 10% of the agreed price before completing the sale within 28 days.