A Hampstead townhouse never before seen on the market has smashed its guide price – ultimately selling for £1.81 million.
SDL Property Auctions had put 2 Well Road in the range of £850,000 – £1 million, but a handful of determined bidders drove the final price to more than double the lower estimate.
A spokesperson for the auction house suggested they were clued into the thriller to come by an unusually high number of registered bidders, with 75 names down for this first lot of the day.
Keen interest in the Victorian property may well have helped them break an in-house record. “We’ve had the most ever registered bidders across the whole of our auction today, at over 1,000.”
Images reveal the house – located on a street once home to Boy George and Sam Smith – as quite the fixer-upper.
Taking auction fees into account, the unknown buyer will be handing over close to £1.9 million for a home with threadbare carpets, peeling plaster walls and a catalogue of mystery stains.
The to-do list is dizzying, but first on the list will be the satisfaction of the section 11 and 12 improvement notices, which require the buyer to carry out remedial action within a certain timeframe in accordance with the Housing Act 2004.
Reconfiguration may also be in order, as the four-storey townhouse is currently divided into two flats – each with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom.
The property was sold as part vacant as an elderly gentleman has an assured tenancy for the lower apartment.
The house ‘could eventually make a stunning family home in this most sought after part of London’ says SDL.
The east end of Well Road connects directly to Hampstead Heath and the street is within easy walking distance of shops and restaurants in the north London neighbourhood’s villagey centre.
Auctioneer Andrew Parker was also quick to highlight the unusual history of the house, which was built in the late 19th century by William Selley and hasn’t changed hands outside the family since.
“This is the first time that this property has ever been on the market or sold before. It’s a one-off,’ he said as he introduced the lot.
It is understood that after around 150 years in the same family, two cousins that recently inherited the house decided it was finally time to sell up.
The street’s sale history gives some indication of what the buyer could look forward to when they come to the same decision down the line, should they have the cash and impetus to get it up to scratch.
The house next door was sold to its current owners for £2.6 million in 2014 and a similar terrace down the road reached £2.95 million in 2019 – suggesting the new owner could spend a million and still make a profit.
SDL Property Auctions sold the Well Road house in tandem with Danehurst Estate Agents.
