A bungalow tucked away on the side of a Welsh road has become the subject of intense online speculation after a real estate agent listed the derelict property for auction – despite the entirety of it being obscured by a hedge.
The property, located close to the small village of Sambrook near Newport has been listed for the starting price of £110,000 by auctioneers Barnard Marcus.
In bizarre pictures of the property included on the listing, little of the house – save for its tired front door – can be made out due to the out-of-control foliage that has swallowed the foundations.
Pictures taken from inside the property are similarly perplexing with rubbish strewn everywhere, graffiti lining the walls and signs of what appear to be fire damage in some rooms.
It is being sold as seen with the agents stressing that ‘due to the poor condition of the property, no internal viewings will be conducted’.
When the Daily Mail visited the site this week, we found the house to be even more decrepit than the pictures made out.
Drone pictures taken from the air show that the foliage that has cocooned the front of the house now also wraps itself around the property, leaving just one small gap at the back which is yet to be claimed.
Beneath the vines, the remains of cars and piles of decomposing rubbish can also be seen.
Believe it or not – hiding beneath this enormous bush is a bungalow recently placed on the market for £110,000
Google Maps images of the property in 2011 are unrecognisable from its current state of abandonment
Google Maps pictures of the property over the years also offer a fascinating glimpse into its complete decline.
In 2009, the property looks entirely different with two cars parked outside and signs of life inside.
The gardens and hedges, whilst unkept in places, are also maintained enough to never threaten the boundaries of the property.
However, just two years later – the property shows clear signs of abandonment with ivy now growing up one side of the house obscuring a window and more cars seemingly abandoned in the overgrown garden.
Fourteen years later, and the only signifier that a house once existed on the barren plot is a grimy white door.
The bizzare listing soon attracted the attention of notorious trolling site SpottedOnRightmove – a Reddit thread that focuses on satirising the UK’s property market.
Underneath the post, titled ‘A featured fire place’, many users laughed at the perceived front of the listing.
One said: ‘Ironically about the only feature that hasn’t been heavily burnt or smoke damaged. Impressive!’
‘I am actually impressed the agent got and went inside to take pictures’, agreed one.
Another, commenting on the rapid decay of the property when compared with old pictures, said: ‘Wow, I know it’s been a few years but that is drastic. Nature took back a house.’
When the Mail visited, the front door of the overgrown shack had been removed
Pictures taken from inside the property are similarly perplexing with rubbish strewn everywhere, graffiti lining the walls and signs of what appear to be fire damage in some rooms
It is not the only property which has drawn the ire of buyers this year.
In September, an overgrown garden in a trendy seaside town raised eyebrows after going on the market for an eye-watering price.
Properties on the road, a stone’s throw from the beach, in Whitstable, Kent, are considered the most sought-after in the town and boast stunning sea views.
Many feature floor-to-ceiling windows which capture panoramic vistas across the estuary – selling for up to £1.6m.
But locals have been ‘stunned’ to find one overgrown plot – without any property built on it – has been listed for £1m.
Whitstable is known for its bohemian shops, quaint pubs, fisherman hut B&Bs and for being one of the oyster capitals of Britain.
Thousands of visitors flock to its pebbled beaches every summer and it has become a favourite with A-list celebrities from Johnny Depp and Ed Sheeran to David Beckham and Aaron Paul.
While some wealthy buyers may see the seaside site as a great opportunity to live on one of the South East’s most popular coastlines – there are two rather big catches they will have to consider first.
While the plot is next to the beach there is a busy railway line that separates it from the sea.
In September, an overgrown garden in a trendy seaside town raised eyebrows after going on the market for an eye-watering price
The listing also suggests the land could be suitable for ‘one or more’ houses, but Canterbury City Council has yet to grant any form of planning consent.
Estate agent Christopher Hodgson said: ‘This is an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a potential development site in a prime sea-facing position on the seaward side of Joy Lane, one of Whitstable’s most desirable roads.
‘The site offers considerable scope for redevelopment with one or more new dwellings (subject to all necessary consents and approvals being obtained), which would benefit from magnificent views of the sea and across Whitstable Bay.
‘Inspiration can be drawn from recent developments in the immediate vicinity. Interested parties are advised to make their own enquiries relating to planning matters via Canterbury City Council.’
