Bondi hoarder house to be auctioned

Bondi hoarder house to be auctioned
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

The sad 26 year saga of the Bondi hoarder's house may be coming to an end tomorrow, in a potential $2 million plus auction sale.

The auction is not being hosted on the hazardous site by Ric Serrao of Raine & Horne, with rubbish stacked as high from the front gate inwards.

There are some 38 purchaser contracts out, which shows the most buyers just want the 553 sqm redevelopment opportunity at 19 Boonara Avenue.

The agent expects a well-contested auction, although 63 contracts were issued on it earlier non-event auction campaign.

The new owners will have the responsibility to dispose of the rubbish left behind by owner Mary Bobolas, who has been supported through the ordeal by her daughters Elena and Liana.

It seems the Bobolas family have made some endeavours to again stop the auction from happening, but they face ever-soaring legal costs that might prove prohibitive.

Waverley Council released a statement saying the family now owes a further $160,000 and more legal costs still accruing.

The property was expected to sell for $1.8 million last year but the Bobolas family came up with the $180,000 to pay Waverley Council's cleaning and legal bills.

Despite the 10 truckloads of rubbish removed from the bungalow home in July 2015, the latest marketing shows that there is again mountains of garbage in the front yard.

In November 2015 the council’s solicitors wrote to the Bobolas family asking for settlement of the outstanding money to avoid the sale of the property but no satisfactory reply had been received.

The NSW Sheriff’s Office commissioned Ric Serrao to sell the property so that the costs associated with the past clean-up attempts and legal battles can be recovered on behalf of the council.

Waverley Council has attempted to address the major public health and safety problems associated with the continual hoarding at the Bondi property over the last 26 years, a council spokesman said on its initial 2015 auction listing. 

More than $350,000 of Waverley ratepayers money has been spent trying to control the tonnes of rubbish.

Potential buyers were advised that unless the rubbish is removed prior to the sale, then the property will be sold as is.

The home has been in the Bobolas family name since they paid $15,000 in 1973.

Waverley Council have lodged four local court writs on the title, the most recent being for over $43,000 court judgement in April.

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