“Wonky” house condemned after a giant sinkhole opened up in a cul-de-sac is to be auctioned off again
SWNS
2023-06-02
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A three bed house in Kent is on sale for the third time this year at just £90,000 - but there's a catch.
The house is now “wonky” after a giant sinkhole opened up in the cul-de-sac in 2009 and neighbours warn its foundations could be “hollow” like a “cave.”
The semi carries a guide price at auction of just £90,000, less than a quarter of the average in the area.
The latest sale follows a yo-yo of buyers who were allegedly drawn in online by the price and quickly moved out.
Neighbours beside 58 Victoria Park in Broadstairs, Kent, are urging authorities to stop the relentless sales of the house, which remains subject to a dangerous structure notice.
Rightmove describe the property as “an ideal long-term investment and family home alike” but the front door sits at a strange angle, fresh white paint on the wall appears to cover cracks, and the front garden and path slope downwards – it reportedly has no utilities either.
Number 58 is the only house that has not been repaired. However, the current listing by SellProp Auctions give no written indication to the reported lack of utilities or past subsidence issues.
The chasm appeared two days before Christmas in 2009, when a burst water pipe created a massive sinkhole that swallowed the ground around people’s homes and washed away the foundations beneath the houses.
Residents were evacuated and at one property the subsidence was so severe the family were not allowed to return for over two years.
Another six metre deep sinkhole opened on Victoria Road in 2014, leaving residents fearing the street is a “ticking time-bomb” and claim the foundations beneath their houses are completely “hollow.”
The destroyed foundations had been made of silt and old tyres because the properties were built on a former chalk quarry.
Sold prices on Zoopla can take up to six months to appear, so the reported recent sales are not available.
Currently, the property website reveals it was sold for £110,000 in September 2017, then just a month later for £136,000.
Just six months after that it was snapped up for £151,000.
George Allum, who also lives on Victoria Road, said one man paid £129,000 for the house after his wife bought the property without viewing it.
Mr Allum’s wife, Jill, was among those evacuated in 2009 and said they still have their bags packed in case they need to leave quickly.
She claims the road beneath their homes was never filled in afterwards.
The Allums claim the street was once completely level but the tarmac and front gardens now slope downwards on some properties.
Mum-of-five Karen Rumsey, who lives on the street, is fed-up with seeing the house for sale.
A spokesperson for Thanet District Council confirmed the authority issued dangerous structure notices for the homes in Victoria Road impacted by “sudden ground subsidence” in 2009.
SellProp Auctions said they would not comment.
The house is now “wonky” after a giant sinkhole opened up in the cul-de-sac in 2009 and neighbours warn its foundations could be “hollow” like a “cave.”
The semi carries a guide price at auction of just £90,000, less than a quarter of the average in the area.
The latest sale follows a yo-yo of buyers who were allegedly drawn in online by the price and quickly moved out.
Neighbours beside 58 Victoria Park in Broadstairs, Kent, are urging authorities to stop the relentless sales of the house, which remains subject to a dangerous structure notice.
Rightmove describe the property as “an ideal long-term investment and family home alike” but the front door sits at a strange angle, fresh white paint on the wall appears to cover cracks, and the front garden and path slope downwards – it reportedly has no utilities either.
Number 58 is the only house that has not been repaired. However, the current listing by SellProp Auctions give no written indication to the reported lack of utilities or past subsidence issues.
The chasm appeared two days before Christmas in 2009, when a burst water pipe created a massive sinkhole that swallowed the ground around people’s homes and washed away the foundations beneath the houses.
Residents were evacuated and at one property the subsidence was so severe the family were not allowed to return for over two years.
Another six metre deep sinkhole opened on Victoria Road in 2014, leaving residents fearing the street is a “ticking time-bomb” and claim the foundations beneath their houses are completely “hollow.”
The destroyed foundations had been made of silt and old tyres because the properties were built on a former chalk quarry.
Sold prices on Zoopla can take up to six months to appear, so the reported recent sales are not available.
Currently, the property website reveals it was sold for £110,000 in September 2017, then just a month later for £136,000.
Just six months after that it was snapped up for £151,000.
George Allum, who also lives on Victoria Road, said one man paid £129,000 for the house after his wife bought the property without viewing it.
Mr Allum’s wife, Jill, was among those evacuated in 2009 and said they still have their bags packed in case they need to leave quickly.
She claims the road beneath their homes was never filled in afterwards.
The Allums claim the street was once completely level but the tarmac and front gardens now slope downwards on some properties.
Mum-of-five Karen Rumsey, who lives on the street, is fed-up with seeing the house for sale.
A spokesperson for Thanet District Council confirmed the authority issued dangerous structure notices for the homes in Victoria Road impacted by “sudden ground subsidence” in 2009.
SellProp Auctions said they would not comment.
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