Buy a beach house and help a charity

An artist's impression of the beach house.

Bidding at a charity auction for an Auckland beach house started this week at $1 and by yesterday had reached $40,030.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the Big Night In Telethon, being held on August 8 and 9.

Unitec architecture students built the sleeping quarters for the three-bedroom 118sq m house which has just been moved to a site in Mangawhai.

The project involved 32 Masters students, led by architect and lecturer Dave Strachan of Strachan Group Architects, who wanted to get his students involved in a significant project.

Building supply specialists Carters donated most of the raw materials to complete the bach.

The project was led by John Cocks.

The auction is just for the house building and if you don't buy the land from Universal Homes, you'll need to shift the building off the site at your cost within three months of winning the auction.

Proceeds from the Big Night In Telethon will go to the KidsCan StandTall Charitable Trust. The Telethon begins at 7.30pm on TV3 on Saturday, August 8.

The house is being auctioned on sella.co.nz until August 9.