Owners in a rundown Sydney unit block could be sitting on a goldmine with ‘multiple developers’ showing interest.
Owners in a rundown unit block could be sitting on a gold mine with “multiple developers” showing interest and one offering double what some owners paid just three months ago.
One expert even nominated its proximity to buses to the Metro as making it attractive to property developers.
Ted Manny of Wellbe Properties offered all 193 owners in The Shore Apartments at Lane Cove North substantial premiums, documents show, with one studio owner who paid $235k in May potentially winning $480,043.98.
And another studio owner who paid $270k last year could get $553,896.90.
Others who paid as little as $98,000 in 1995 could be up for $443,118,000.
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Residents at The Shore Apartments get to enjoy this beautiful pool.
The 1950s era Spanish Mission-style block at 450 Pacific Highway is surrounded by high-rise and even one of the strata managers who didn’t want to be named said it was difficult maintaining the former motel “that’s falling apart”.
However, for a sale to developers to proceed the law requires that 75 per cent of owners agree and the strata managers advised in May that support for the Wellbe offer was “virtually non-existent” and “only a few (single digits) actually considered moving forwards”.
But the same email says ”well past the 75 per cent required” did want to sell at the right price and “a second new offer has provided viable completion, and breathed life into the process — people are interested to see what else is available in the market!”
The deadline for acceptance of the Wellbe offer was June 14 this year.
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A unit in The Shore at 10/450 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove North is up for sale at $350,000.
When contacted by The Mosman Daily, a spokesman for the strata managers said he wasn’t “at liberty to discuss” the status of negotiations or details about the “second new offer”.
Ted Manny of Wellbe sent a written reply stating: “There are multiple developers who have made approaches to the vendors at Shore Apartments.”
Manny nominated Meriton and Rebel Property Group as among those who may have been interested.
Though when contacted, Meriton wouldn’t comment on the record and Rebel’s Allen Linz said although he looked at the site it “wasn’t for us”.
“It’s a big piece of land and there’s an opportunity from a planning perspective to build something of scale,” he said.
“But you’ve got to deal with over 180 owners and everyone wants a premium … sometimes it gets too hard and we didn’t proceed.”
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It offers just 23 sqm of internal space but is nicely fitted out.
The head of prestige valuations for CBRE, Bader Naaman, said he couldn’t comment on offers made at The Shore but noted: “It appears to be a very large potential development site within short walking distance to the Lane Cove bus interchange (which will provide a short commute to the Metro line) — some may see it as an under utilised site and looking to capitalise on this.”
An agent selling a studio in The Shore at 10/450 Pacific Highway Lane Cove North at the moment, Stephen Chui of Ray White AY Realty Chatswood, said the building was potentially a goldmine.
“I sold a unit a few years ago to a woman for $1.38m and then soon after a developer bought the block and she got more than $2m,” he said.
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Under the Wellbe offer, the owner stood to make more than $480,000.
Although he said his vendor was aware of the developer interest, she “doesn’t know how long [a sale to a developer] will take”.
“This is why my vendor is willing to sell at $350,000 now,” he said.
“This is a good opportunity to make some money if you want to wait for a developer.”
His vendor had bought the 23 sqm studio for $312,500 in 2022 as a first homebuyer and stood to receive $480,043.98 if the Wellbe offer had proceeded.
Mr Chui said he has had interest from both first home buyers and investors in the unit.
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