Grant Bayley came on board as the auctioneer to give bidders the chance to buy the House for Hospice. Photo / Bevan Conley
Grant Bayley came on board as the auctioneer to give bidders the chance to buy the House for Hospice. Photo / Bevan Conley
After five months of hard work, community support and donations, Whanganui's House for Hospice has sold.
Bayleys Whanganui held a live auction yesterday and a local bidder purchased the two-bedroom house for $127,500.
It will now be relocated from the Liffiton St site where it was assembled to its finaldestination, chosen by the new owner.
Once on-site, Able Cottages managing director and house project manager Paul Tasker and his team will build on a 9.6m by 1.5m deck with a veranda and supply the spouting and drainage.
The project began when Tasker approached Hospice Whanganui chief executive Karen Anderson with the idea for the project and the intention that all profits from the sale of the house would go to Hospice.
"I asked Paul 'why Hospice?' and he said 'you know, everybody I know has been touched by Hospice in some way' so he has a real soft spot for us," Anderson said.
Tasker said it had been a pleasure to be part of the project and thanked everyone involved as the support had been fantastic.
"It's a thank you to Hospice - we're paying it forward to them," Tasker said.
When they started the project, they did not do any promotional work but Tasker began telling people about it and tradespeople and businesses donated their time and materials.
Many aspects of the house, from the appliances to the carpet and flooring down to the structural beams, were donated by local tradespeople.
The house will be moved to its final destination and then a deck and veranda will be built to finish the project. Photo / Bevan Conley
"It's been an amazing project - Paul and his team and Bayleys and everyone who helped along the way have just been absolutely amazing to work with and it's been fun," Anderson said.
Bayleys real estate agent Ananda De Koning said they had a substantial amount of interest from the public and had a lot of people through the two open homes they held.
Anderson said the project had been great for Hospice and great for Whanganui.
"Every time we've asked, someone's always given something, so it hasn't been hard.
"Everyone's been touched by Hospice and they don't forget."
The profits from the house will go towards helping Hospice provide specialist palliative care for people with cancer and non-cancer life-limiting illnesses, at all stages of their illness.
Mitre 10 Mega Whanganui, Bayleys Whanganui, Hobday & Lorentzen Flooring Xtra, Brian Stewart Design, Allied Concrete Whanganui, Able Cottages, Able Plumbing & Gas, Scafit, Roofing Industries Taupo, The Bench Factory and Bruce Riach Electrician have been involved with the project.
