A vandalised house in northern NSW has come under the spotlight after selling to a serial flipper who has revealed the astonishing damage, including an interior of smashed walls and a backyard filled with discarded items.
Investor Charles Corby bought the duplex in Moree for just $105,000 and said the home had been “obliterated” and “shredded”.
It is understood that one side of the duplex is intact and home to a family, while the other has been severly damaged in mysterious circumstances.
Mr Corby, who owns multiple properties in the town, said vandalism and arson were common in the area.
Hard rubbish is strewn across the backyard. Picture: Supplied.
Listing photos and a video provided by Mr Corby showed overgrown grass on the 930 sqm plot and a pile of hard rubbish in the backyard that’s a few metres wide.
Smashed glass litters the concrete floor outside and empty doorframes lead into the living room.
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The walls have significant holes that expose support beams. Picture: Supplied.
The home pictured when it was up for rent in 2019.
Inside, you can see significant damage to the walls where damaged plasterboard reveals wooden support beams underneath.
The holes in the walls are so large that you can see directly into other rooms and through to the garden on the other side of the house.
Plasterboard, glass and more hard rubbish is scattered across the floors with a couch still facing a wall, with the TV that was once there laying smashed on the floor nearby.
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Glass windows and doors have been smashed leaving the property exposed to the elements. Picture: Supplied.
“It’s mainly cosmetic vandalism but it looks shredded and obliterated,” Mr Corby said.
He expects to fix up the property in only a couple of weeks for just $50,000 given he’s found no structural damage.
Mr Corby didn’t know who had vandalised the home but said many of the properties his company had bought in the area were trashed or burnt out.
The property is located on 325 Edward St and the front unit has no damage. Picture: Supplied.
He bought this property last week and the real estate listing for the Edward St home warns, “the back unit has sustained significant damage through circumstances outside the owner’s control”.
The listing agent also made it clear that “this is not a cosmetic renovation” and that the unit “requires extensive renovation throughout”.
The apartment on the other side of the duplex division is still in good condition and is a two bedroom rented for $250 a week.
Charles Corby bought the property for $105,000. Picture: Supplied.
Mr Corby said he felt for the tenant in the other half of the duplex because of high levels of local crime and a shortage of housing within the area.
“They must be living in fear,” Mr Corby said.
“There’s one wall separating the apartments and the neighbours are forced to live there.
“There’s a huge lack of supply in Moree and there’s no way she’d find another rental.
Property investor Charles Corby. Picture: Mike Dugdale
“One Facebook post I put up (advertising a local unit) had 25 people reaching out in a day, so that’s how dire it is,” he said.
Rents in some pockets of the region were comparable to prices in major centres like Geelong, Mr Corby said.
He said he plans to renovate the property using his “in-house” team of tradies and rent both units.