Scotch College attach ownership plaques to the many houses they own before latest Hambledon Road, Hawthorn auction

Scotch College attach ownership plaques to the many houses they own before latest Hambledon Road, Hawthorn auction
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Scotch College, the independent school in Hawthorn, not so subtly alerted any rival bidders to their likely intentions of purchasing a home at the weekend by attaching plaques to all the homes they owned nearby.

The school secured 7 Hambledon Road in Hawthorn this weekend for $3.3 million, but not before onlookers were querying the school's tactics before the Marshall White auction.

Small signs popped up pre-auction on the fences outside the many homes they owned (above) on the road.

There was an auction eve email notice to current tenants of the homes (below) from the Jellis Craig property management office alerting tenants to the placement of the plaque outside their home. 

They were just there for the day!

Scotch

According to the buyers' agent Mal James, the school outbid everyone at the passed in auction, but was then 'powerlifted' a whopping $300,000 after post-auction negotiations inorder to secure their purchase.

James queried "why would a school so overtly telegraph a property they wanted to buy?"

He then ventured on his website - "If it’s to prevent other bidders bidding, then how does that sit with the Sale of Land Act legislation, prohibiting that?"

James also contemplated if it was about the seller, "why would the school antagonise a person they want to buy off?"

Earlier this year Scotch College paid $1 million over reserve for number 20 Hambledon Road.

With its most recent purchase, the school now owns all but 10 of 27 houses in Hawthorn’s Hambledon Road. It has spent about $28 million on property in adjacent Hambledon and Fordholm roads alone.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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