Paddington deceased estate with dance studio sells at auction for charity

It was a bittersweet sale for the friends of Morrice “Moshlo” Shaw.

Mr Shaw died two years ago at age 80, and on Saturday morning his dual-level Paddington home at 81 Tooth Avenue was finally auctioned off.  

“For us, this is like the wake,” long-time friend Romano Crivici said. He and three other friends attended to witness the sale.

The old Queenslander featured mismatched interiors, with many of the walls painted bright colours.

Mr Crivici said the colours and layout of the house were a result of his friend’s passions in life – music and Tango dancing.

“Mosh is still remembered as an avant-garde creative architect,” he said. “He didn’t do much to this house but he pulled out the insides to make a huge dance studio.”

The auction was held in the old dance studio, with the floors still scarred by years of tango dancing. “This was one of the main tango hubs in Brisbane,” ex-wife Carla Thackrah said.

Bidding was slow to start, with auctioneer Ted Walton calling for an opening bid of $750,000.

All four registered bidders pitched in eventually, raising the price by $10,000 for the first few bids but then inching the value up by $5,000 toward the end of the auction.

Two couples, a phone bidder and a young family made up the bidding parties.

The home was called on the market at $815,000 and bidding grew fiercer following the announcement.

It eventually sold to builder Michael Coulson and his wife Ann-Louise for $835,000. He was initially planning on flipping the property through his company, but he said he was now considering other options.

“My wife loves it, it’s a great spot, so anything could happen,” he said. “I think it needs a full renovation.”

Whether or not Mr Coulson sells the house, he has a vision of adding a raised deck and a pool in the home’s sloped back yard.

Selling agent Anne Fidler said the price was a steal for the street and that the proceeds of the auction will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Across town it Hendra, the auction of a three bedroom cottage drew a large crowd of young families and neighbours.

The home at 37 Gordon Street had recently been renovated by an investor looking to “pump the market”, selling agent Leigh Kortlang said.  

Bidding started at $650,000 and it became clear the six registered couples were prepared to fight tooth and nail to secure the home.

“It started higher than I expected to go and that can sometimes stifle bidding,” auctioneer Haesley Cush said. “But the bidding was aggressive, good strong bidding.”

Winner bidders Alan and Katherine Hall didn’t hesitate once to raise their paddle and eventually secured the home for $726,000.

Mrs Hall said they were sick of looking going to open homes and auctions. “We’ve been looking for three or four months now,” she said. Laughing, Mr Hall added, “We’ve seen a lot of houses.”

The couple said the location was the major drawcard.

“We’ve done our research and know that we definitely wanted to live in the area,” said Mrs Hall. “It’s a really nice house and it doesn’t have any work to do.”

Mr Cush said the sale indicated a good start to the year for the Brisbane market. “The price was strong,” he said. “I think when you look at it in terms of this area, it’s an entry-level home.”

“And an entry level home at $726,000 is a good sign for the market.”