Deceased lawyer, historian, author and property manager Ian Beresford Madden's home is for sale for the first time since 1962, sparking enormous interest over the value of the derelict, once-grand home.
Century 21 real estate agent David Jones says approximately 1000 people attended the open home on Sunday. The property had attracted high levels of buyer interest for years, says Mr Jones, who fielded close to 100 calls regarding the property yesterday.
After Mr Madden died in August 2008, a High Court decision granted the New Zealand Guardian Trust ownership of the estate.
Built in 1928 and located at 15 Belvedere St in Epsom, the three-bedroom property has prime zoning for Auckland's top schools and is around the corner from Diocesan.
While it is not classified as historical, the property is zoned Residential 3B so that any new building would have to be in keeping with the style of the villas that populate the area.
The 865sq m site has a CV of $990,000 but the house is in poor condition. Development potential lies in the size of the section, terraced on to volcanic rock on the North Western slopes of Mt St John.
No major improvements have been made to the home since it was built. "[Mr Madden] lived there since 1962," Mr Jones says, "He had no family that I know of."
Images of the property before it was cleaned out show stacks of books, documents and newspapers cluttering the house. The windows were all boarded up.
When NBR visited the house it appeared uninhabitable in its current state due to the very aged toilets and improvised floorboards in some parts of the pokily laid out home.
Historical features of interest were a built in hand-crank laundry facility, old oven with a pull-down door, the many intricate cupboards, and a telephone closet. Newspapers spotted around the house dated back to 1981.
Mr Madden inherited the property in 1986 from his parents, who purchased it in 1962 for £8,250.
Known to be reclusive later in life, Mr Madden had reportedly not let anyone past the front door for over a decade. "The house was in a state," Mr Jones says, "He was a hoarder. It has been cleared floor to ceiling, wall to wall, of papers."
Mr Madden was reportedly always impeccably dressed and "dapper" but avoided conversing with neighbours. Buyer interest was so strong during his life that he hung signs from the fence of the property warning trespassers to keep their distance and informing the public that he was not interested in selling. "No entry to canvassers, agents or inquirers" one rusted sign reads.
In rare responses to many letters Mr Madden received from keen property purchasers, he would begin, "Now look here - just because I am responding does not mean that I will be selling. I am not interested and will never sell. Thank you for your inquiry."
Mr Jones is unsure what price the home will sell for. "The house is concrete plastered over brick - it's not going to fall down any time soon. If you were renovating where would you start? With $100,000 or $500,000 of improvements?"
The estate will be auctioned on March 28. "We will kick off the auction at $800,000," Mr Jones says.
Mr Madden, formerly a lawyer at Earl Kent Massey & Co, was a barrister and solicitor in Auckland in the 1970's then later worked as a property manager.
Mr Madden served for the National Party in various capacities, was once president of the Auckland Historical Society, and vice chairman of the Monarchist League of New Zealand 2004-2005.
Mr Madden wrote "Riverhead: The Kaipara Gateway: an historical record of the upper reaches of the Waitemata Harbour" published in 1966.
Source: www.nbr.co.nz/article/iconic-epsom-property-pulls-1000-people-open-home-75530