54 Elliott St, Cheltenham, sold under the hammer on the weekend.
A Cheltenham house changed hands for the first time in 75 years on Saturday, complete with a toilet hidden in a wardrobe.
The three-bedroom home sold for $1.19m, after being listed with a $1.15-$1.2m range.
The late owner’s son-in-law, Allan, said his father-in-law, a plumber and gasfitter, purchased a parcel of Cheltenham land in 1948.
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He and his brother, also a tradesman, then teamed up to build five houses, including a weatherboard home at 54 Elliott St,which took shape in 1951.
Allan said the abode was the last out of the all residences to still be held by the family.
He added that his father-in-law, who remained a registered plumber until he passed away at the age of 98, had improved the house across the decades.
In the 1960s, he added a brick veneer and, in the 1970s, he built a three-car garage including an office, where his sons enjoyed working on their vehicles.
He also restumped with concrete stumps and added four toilets to the abode over a period of time.
“There was one built into a wardrobe which is a bit quirky,” Allan said.
The retro kitchen is fitted with pantry storage and an oven and cooktop from the British appliance brand New World.
In one of the bedrooms, there’s a wardrobe, but open the door marked with a circle …
… and there’s a toilet inside.
He noted the house remained in original condition, featuring high ceilings, picture rails, timber joinery, timber doors and windows and distinctive Castlemaine slate detailing on the facade.
The kitchen retains its period charm, while the living room showcases a custom timber mantle with stone.
“The main thing people have been recognising as they came through is that it’s so solid,” Allan said.
Ray White Bayside Group’s Angela Limanis said the home had attracted a good number of pre-auction inspections and she had been confident multiple bidders would show.
However, the auction kicked off with a $1.1m vendor’s bid, and the house ended up passing in on a $1.12m bid from a couple.
But following post-auction negotiations, it sold to the first-home buyer pair.
The house remains in mostly original condition, with the family simply replacing one vanity before putting it on the market.
The three-car garage sits in a large backyard with scope to add a second residence.
“The vendors felt like their parents were watching over them and made the comment that it was meant to be, because the young fellow from the couple is a plumber too,” Ms Limanis.
She added that, following the auction, other interested buyers who hadn’t bid came forward with questions, but she could not speak to them as the couple held first rights to post-auction negotiations.
“It just goes to show, it someone is interested in a property, they should come to the auction and bid,” Ms Limanis added.
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