Three burnt homes in Moree, NSW damaged in a suspected arson attack, have traded for a combined $75,000.
A property investor who snapped up three burnt homes for just $75,000 claims he scored the deal of a lifetime after having them revalued at $600,000 following purchase.
And it’s all because of a viral Facebook Marketplace ad was being torn to shreds by keyboard warriors.
Charles Corby, 32, said he wasn’t even looking for property when the listing in the NSW town of Moree “just popped up” on his feed.
Many of the comments were making light of the deal, claiming “even the truckies don’t stop there” and that Moree was “another of these sh*thole little towns”.
Mr Corby said he knew he’d struck a golden deal within minutes.
MORE: Migrant, in Aus as a student, owns 56 homes
Property investor Charles Corby.
MORE: 40yo ‘disappointed’ he only has 300 homes
“I could see it was going viral,” he told News Corp.
“Everyone was ripping into the seller, saying the homes weren’t worth $5000. No one was looking at the opportunity. They were getting sucked into the vortex of negative Facebook comments.”
The trio of units in Moree, NSW had been gutted in what locals alleged was a suspected arson attack, part of a wider problem with abandoned homes in the area.
Graffiti, junk piles and roof damage made the properties look like write-offs to most, but not Mr Corby, who said he comes from a family with development experience.
“My broker told me, ‘It’s a knockdown.’ I said, absolutely not. They’re on slabs. Services are connected. To me, it was a renovation.”
MORE: Two-bedroom Aussie house sells for just $50
The inside of one of the fire damaged Moree properties.
MORE: Cheeky way landlord gets tenant to fund travels
The Geelong-based investor said he hasn’t seen the units in person. But what he has seen is the data. And that’s what made him pull the trigger.
“I didn’t know the history of Moree at the time, but I knew the numbers. Capital growth and rental yields were crazy. That’s what I cared about.”
A full -post purchase valuation revealed the properties, once subdivided and renovated, would be worth around $600,000, Mr Corby said.
He estimated the renovation would cost about $300,000, but added that he won’t be footing the bill himself.
He funds his projects using “money partners”: private investors who buy in and are later paid out once the properties are revalued.
MORE: Aussie landlord’s horror after 12 homes stolen
Mr Corby said the renovation would cost about $300,000.
MORE: Major Aus city lost 100,000 people in past year
“It means zero money down from me,” he said. “The value goes up, I refinance, pay out investors. It will be cashflow positive.”
The deal was so good the developer who sold him the units, a Sydney investor who’d amassed a stash of burnt-out Moree homes but never fixed them, offloaded another fire-damaged property to Mr Corby. Then a unit in WA.
“They were all so under market value it was a joke,” he said.
The former media worker, whose past includes stints in Los Angeles’ music industry and turn at running cake shops in Geelong, said he has only been investing seriously for a year. But his property portfolio has already hit $4.1m across 11 properties.
MORE: Aussie fast food worker turns $40k wage into 5 homes
Mr Corby was previously involved in the Los Angeles music industry and the Geelong dessert bar scene.
Mr Corby said he’s on track to retire by 33.
“I think it’s hilarious,” he said of the Moree project. “I love that people overlook these places. They sell at land value, but I understand it’s not for everyone.”
English (US) · 