Pilot’s wife stumbles into last-minute auction to casually drop $1.7 million on house she’d never seen before: ‘I like it, I’ll bid’
- Mysterious bidder walks into the auction as it was closing
- They outbid the mob and bought the house
Visitors to a home auction were stunned after a woman walked in minutes before the bidding closed and bought the house, having never seen it before.
The property at 448 Cambridge St in Floreat, an outback suburb of Perth, went under the hammer earlier this month and eventually sold for $1.7 million.
The wife, the wife of a pilot working in Alaska, walked into the backyard as the bidding “started to dwindle” and declared, “I liked this house.”
“She came in right at the last minute when I got my second last offer. She just showed up,” Ray White’s sales agent Vivien Yap told the Australian financial statement.
Ms Yap said the crowd gathered for the auction was shocked and the bustle of the bidding process was completely silent for a minute.
The house in inner west Perth sold for $1.7 million, but there was drama at the auction
A mysterious buyer marched into the backyard as the bids closed and declared, ‘I like this house’
She explained that the house cost $1.6 million and the mystery bidder offered another $50,000 to bring it to $1.65 million, but Ms. Yap had reservations that the owner wouldn’t sell for that price.
She asked the woman to offer another $50,000, bringing the prize to $1.7 million, but she played hardball.
“I’ll give you another $40,000. $1.69 million. Take it or leave it,’ the woman told Mrs. Yap.
The real estate agent softened the deal by talking to the owner and getting a firm commitment to sell if the house reached $1.7 million.
The woman then said she would call her husband to get his opinion.
“They’re currently renting nearby, but the guy was in Alaska. He flies airplanes. He flies all over the world,’ said Mrs. Yap.
After struggling with intermittent phone reception, the wife got an agreement from the husband and the house was sold.
The woman only had to present her driver’s license to register for the bidding after walking in.
After making the winning bid, she also had to provide a promissory note agreeing to receive the deposit within a certain number of days.
Ms Yap added that there were 10 registered bidders but only three were actively battling out before the woman stormed in.
Sales agent Vivien Yap said the woman was renting nearby and her husband was abroad
About three bidders were duking it out, but the woman beat their bids after walking in off the street