Once the subject of a long-running insurance battle, a historic villa in Merivale will be sold “as is, where is” after the earthquakes left it uninhabitable.
The Victorian-style villa on Ranfurly Street, known as Soanes House, will be put up for auction on June 25, unless someone steps up to buy it before that date, Stuff reported.
Elizabeth Drayton bought the property in 2005, spent extensively on renovation, and intended to keep it. However, the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes ruined her plans. It was heavily damaged and is now unsafe for occupation, only kept standing by large wooden frames.
In 2018, after a lengthy insurance battle that reached the High Court, Drayton reached a settlement with IAG. She sought $3.6 million for the repair of the property, plus interest and damages.
Soanes House was built in 1889 by brothers Harry and Philip Soanes, master builders and bricklayers. This property and several others built by the brothers were considered testaments to their high-level craftsmanship. Another one of the Soanes’ villas, located at 41 Ranfurly St., was also damaged in the earthquakes and sold “as is, where is” at a 2016 auction for $680,000.
“The owner has loved it. It’s beautiful,” real estate agent Alison Aitken told Stuff. “We have had quite a bit of interest already. We hope someone will pick it up and take it back to its former glory – someone who is passionate about the brick villa and restore it. There are not many left now. They are few and far between.”
