A HOUSE has hit the market with an “exceedingly ambitious” £300,000 price tag – as it’s in ruins following a tragic fire that took the life of one person.
The semi-detached property on Franklin Road in Oxford was added to property website Rightmove yesterday by estate agents Chancellors.
This follows a devastating blaze at the home earlier this year that resulted in the death of a man in his sixties, with another adult and child also being rushed to hospital.
What remains of the building is now up for sale, despite viewings not being possible, and that a purchase would be “subject to probate and inquest”.
Bizarrely, the fire service has reportedly “neither declared the property safe or unsafe”, meaning any buyers may have to face knocking down the remains of the home and starting again from scratch.
Several images show the soot-blackened house fenced off from the rest of the street.
Overgrown bushes and rubbish dumped in the front garden prevent a clear view, however the extent of the damage to the exterior is visible.
A downstairs window is boarded up, with another missing upstairs, as is part of the roof.
The property’s listing includes a brief description that presents it as: “Significantly fire damaged three-bedroom semi-detached house with garden and own driveway in Franklin Road, bordering Headington Rye School and roughly 500 metres from the John Radcliffe Hospital.
“The fire department have neither declared the property safe or unsafe.”
Unsurprisingly, house-hunters have been left unimpressed at the asking price, considering the property’s condition and history.
It was shared to social media yesterday, with over 70 users quick to share their thoughts.
One wrote: “£300k seems exceedingly ambitious given it may have to come down and being semi-detached that presumably isn’t such a straightforward task.
“Not to mention the recent tragic death.”
A second agreed: “Asking £300k for a shell is extracting the proverbial somewhat.”
Another was unimpressed by the haste of the listing, saying: “Wow. So, the person died in that house, right?
“Can we let the smoke clear before we put it on Rightmove?”
A fourth commented: “Significantly fire damaged, but still want £300k even though there are undamaged houses for a similar price nearby.
“That’s something.”
