Inside the Old Bakehouse, now a family home

ITS quaint facade may display its history, but it gives little hint to the sprawling family home within.  

Once the Old Bakehouse, the Bassendean home now serves as a four-bedroom, two-bathroom residence with a below-ground pool and self-contained studio.

Its owners bought the property about five years ago and took care during renovations to retain its original character features.

They added a studio adjacent to the pool and fitted it with a bathroom, built-in barbecue and pizza oven.

“We just love the big leadlight back windows overlooking the swimming pool, and the big family block,” the owner said.

The 1012sqm block has subdivision potential, with the opportunity for two street frontages.

The owner said the neighbourhood felt like a little community.

“The kids go to school locally and I work locally,” she said.

“We used to have the whole school class over at the end of school year for a swim, which was great.”

She said the property was ideal for entertaining in summer.

“The pitched room overlooking the pool is my favourite feature. When you sit in there, with the height of the ceilings and the view, it’s just really peaceful,” she said.

The residence has polished jarrah floors, bathrooms with federation tiles, an ensuite to the main bedroom, wood heating, reverse-cycle airconditioning and decorative cornices.

The property is a short walk to the Swan River and about 11km from the city.

BASSENDEAN
Auction: Saturday, September 12, at 11am
122 West Rd

Four-bedroom, two-bathroom character house with study, al fresco entertaining area, pool, self-contained studio with bathroom, built-in barbecue and pizza oven, on 1012sqm.
Agent: Julie Pedulla 0419440093, Altitude Real Estate 93883911

Source  :  http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25998702-5013239,00.html

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North Beach property tests property market

THIS North Beach property could confirm whether Perth’s struggling real estate market has turned the corner. 

Real estate experts say that during the height of WA’s property boom the 1346sqm ocean-front house on West Coast Drive would have fetched more than $5 million.

It is for auction on Saturday and the selling price will be a strong indication of whether property prices, especially for top-end homes, have started to recover.

Nexus sales consultant Peter Berridge, who specialises in the North Beach area, said the property would have been highly sought after during the 2006-07 housing boom.

“It’s a nice elevated lot, with a nice frontage. It’s got everything going for it,” Mr Berridge said.

“I don’t think it would be an over-exaggeration to think it might have sold for in excess of $5 million (back then). We were going through an era where it didn’t seem to matter what you paid for it, you were always going to make a packet until the proverbial hit the fan.”

Mr Berridge said he believed values had dropped about 40 per cent since the property peak.

“The last sale was 341 West Coast Drive in Trigg that sold for $2.2 million and it was a very choice piece of land _ something like that could have possibly pulled $4 million in 2007 and I can mention lesser blocks that sold for more than $4 million,” he said.

According to Landgate, North Beach has enjoyed solid property value growth in the past decade.
It recorded a 19.4 per cent average annual growth rate in the 10 years to December 2008. It also recorded strong growth last year and was among the Perth metropolitan area’s Top 10 performing suburbs, with a 17.7 per cent jump in median house prices.

But during this period it recorded a low volume of sales activity, with just 19 homes sold.
This could have skewered the statistics.

“There’s no doubt that the market for premium coastal property has come back since the height of 2007,” Real Estate Institute of WA president Rob Druitt said.

“Indications are that the first signs of recovery are starting to come through now, so there’s certainly a unique opportunity for buyers who are (looking) in that market,” he said.

Mr Druitt said it has been a bottom-up recovery, so if the top end was reasonably priced and sold, it could give a good indication that Perth’s entire property market had seen the worst.

Source  :  www.news.com.au

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Aboriginal remains found in UK house

A SET of ancient Aboriginal remains found during a clearout of a house in northern England are soon to be returned to Australia.
Workers stumbled across the two femurs, three skulls and an assortment of other bones while sorting through the Cheshire home of university professor John Kempster, a former Aboriginal Rights Association president, after he moved to New Zealand in 2008.

He had instructed auction house Andrew, Hilditch and Son to clear out his home and sell anything they thought valuable.

“After the removalists finished the clear-out they found a small wooden crate and jokingly said to me they were the dog’s bones in there,” auctioneer Tom Andrew said.

“I said ‘Let’s open it and see what’s inside’ and we found three skulls and one or two other pieces.

“I also found in another briefcase two femurs wrapped in newspaper.”

Not realising that Britain had an agreement with Australia to return indigenous remains, the bones and a selection of weapons given to Prof Kempster while he lived in South Australia in the early 1960s were put up for auction in November 2008.

But after about 20 minutes of frantic bidding, the remains were dramatically pulled from sale after the Australian High Commission telephoned to stop the auction.

A scientist was sent to examine the bones, which were confirmed as being of Australian indigenous origin.

They will be handed over on Thursday to two Ngarrindjeri elders who flew from South Australia to London to collect 16 individual remains held by three museums and the auction house.

Mr Andrew said he was happy to know the remains would soon be on their way to the National Museum of Australia, which will try to determine which indigenous community they came from.

“I’ll certainly be on the look out for more,” he said. “I think there are more around than we think.”

The Liverpool museum has two more sets of remains it plans to return to Australia at a later date.

Further south, the Brighton & Hove City Council has agreed to return two skulls and two femurs for further study in Australia.

However, it is still debating whether to give back a skull modified to be used as a water vessel and which has been stored at the museum since 1925.

www.news.com.au

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Property : Buying at auction

By Sarah Mills
ninemsn Money

Auctions can be fun, frenetic and financially dangerous. With several hundred thousand dollars or more on the line, the tension in the room can be palpable. The stakes are high for vendors and buyers, so you need to make sure you understand the process, because it is a battleground that takes no prisoners.

Real estate agents will take a property to auction for a number of reasons. Usually, it is because the market is booming and they feel confident of extracting a higher price. Sometimes, however, the auction may be forced as part of a deceased estate or liquidation.

Home buyers on the other hand may attend an auction because they have decided on a property and are prepared to compete to lay claim to it. Others are undecided and some are hoping that the auction may turn in their favour and they get a bargain.

How does an auction work?

An auction is usually held in an Auction Room hired for the occasion or on-site at the property itself. Before you bid, you need to register with the auctioneer, giving your name, address and telephone number. You will be required to show proof of identity such as a driver’s licence, passport or credit card. This is to ensure that once you have placed a bid, you are responsible for it and can’t skip the scene. You may be given a number to display that you hold up during bidding.

The auctioneer starts proceedings by explaining the contract, terms of the auction and a description of the property. Bids are then invited from the floor. Some people may ask a real-estate agent or other person to represent them if they can’t attend but they must notify the auctioneer in writing. Make sure that before you bid, you gain all necessary, termite, building, structural and engineering reports as well as crucial legal title information.

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