A detached period home built on a large plot in a leafy village has been put on the market for £475,000.
In every aspect, St John’s Cottage would seem an absolute steal.
With four bedrooms and separate living and dining rooms, estate agents describe the idyllic home, situated in a ‘desirable and established location’, as an ‘exceptional opportunity’.
The property, in Mortimer Common, Berkshire, directly backs onto a beautiful historic church and is within easy reach of quaint cafes, pubs and schools.
But house-hunters were left in stitches as they mocked the Rightmove listing for a hard-to-miss reason.
While the property was once a grand, historic home, well-maintained with luscious greenery, the state it is being sold in has left people in disbelief.
A detached period home built on a large plot in a leafy Berkshire village has been put on the market for £475,000
But house-hunters were left in stitches as they mocked the Rightmove listing for a hard-to-miss reason
Listed for almost £500,000, the building currently stands as little more than a fire-ravaged shell. The house suffered ‘sustained storm and fire damage’, according to the estate agents
Despite its crumbling condition, a floorplan detailing a living and dining room and four bedrooms is still included as part of the listing
Listed for almost £500,000, the building currently stands as little more than a fire-ravaged shell.
It has no roof, and what was once the upper floor now lies as bricks across the garden.
But local estate agent David Cliff billed the four-bed home as having ‘fantastic potential to create your dream home, subject to planning’, describing it as an ‘exceptional opportunity for redevelopment’.
The remarkably upbeat Rightmove listing shows mountains of shattered brickwork spilling into an overgrown front lawn, while the skeletal remains of walls, rafters and chimneys teeter above.
The property is in such a sorry state that any eager investors will not be able to tour inside the house due to ‘safety concerns’.
Incredibly, the property had originally been listed for sale for £600,000 before its eye-watering asking price was slashed by 20 per cent this month.
It last sold in 2023 for £421,500 – at which point the building at least had ceilings.
The listing has been posted with a floorplan detailing the spacious kitchen, dining and living rooms, bedrooms and double garage, despite its half demolished state.
Users on Reddit’s Spotted on Rightmove forum wasted no time tearing into the listing.
‘I’d have to get a survey done because that roof looks a little leaky,’ joked one, while another wrote: ‘Are you allowed to call it a bedroom if there’s no roof?’
‘Just needs a lick of paint and a few walls,’ quipped another of the 0.29-acre plot.
The former family home in the affluent Berkshire village was reduced to near-rubble by storms and a subsequent fire in September.
Despite being derelict, the property has been listed on Rightmove with an energy performance certificate (EPC) ranking of ‘F’ – the second lowest category.
The once-grand period home, which backs onto a historic village church, has been left a wreck
Local estate agent David Cliff advertised the property as an ‘exceptional opportunity’ for redevelopment
The property was initially on the market for £600,000 before its eye-watering asking price was slashed by 20 per cent this month
It is even recommended that the 0.29-acre site could be used to build a ‘small residential scheme’
That rating prompted one Reddit wag to joke: ‘It doesn’t have a roof and it’s not even the lowest rating.’
The listing, which displays no interior images of the wrecked cottage, said the EPC certificate had been produced ‘prior to the incident that caused significant damage to the property’.
It suggests it has ‘excellent potential’ for the construction of another house or even a ‘small residential scheme’, if able to obtain planning permission.
The listing reads: ‘The existing dwelling, a former period house, sustained storm and fire damage and now offers clear scope for a complete rebuild or potential multi-unit development, subject to planning consent.
‘Backing directly onto one of Mortimer’s historic churches and positioned within easy reach of local shops, cafés, schools, and Mortimer Station, this site combines village charm with everyday convenience.
‘The generous plot provides excellent potential for a bespoke replacement dwelling or small residential scheme.
‘Opportunities like this in such a desirable and established location are rarely available.’
Visits to the property are by appointment only and those hoping to nose around the ruins will be disappointed because ‘no internal access is permitted due to safety concerns’.
One person wrote on Reddit: ‘I live just down the road from this. No storms, no microbursts. It was empty for a long time, then suddenly the roof collapsed at the left hand end.
The cottage is currently closed off with metal railings and signs reading ‘dangerous structure, keep out’
Reddit users mocked the listing, with one user joking that it ‘just needs a lick of paint and a few walls’
‘Kids got in and lit a fire and the resulting damage brought down the right hand side. The rest has been slowly collapsing.’
According to documents, planning permission had been approved in 2024 to convert the property’s double garage into ‘habitable accommodation’ which would then be linked to the house.
Four days before the fire, which took fire crews almost two hours to extinguish, the developer who had applied for planning consent was ordered to be wound up at the High Court.
London-based Kierish Development Ltd appointed liquidators after being sued by creditors Travis Perkins.
Other online jesting included one commentator who joked: ‘Bit of gaffer tape and a tub of Polyfilla and it’ll be right’, and another who commented: ‘Aiming to get tenants in by Christmas.’
Another said of the price tag: ‘You’re paying for the plot in that location with the assumption you’ll be able to get planning permission. It’s a lovely place.
‘Agreed that’s still f****** ridiculous though.’
