Your Domain: The Melbourne mum who auctioned her home of 14 years to help support her two sons

A Melbourne mother has bid an emotional farewell to her home of 14 years after putting the property up for sale with hopes of providing a new life for her sons.  

The home in the outer eastern suburb of Vermont is an original returned serviceman’s cottage built in the 1950s. 

“Unfortunately what happened was … the boys were diagnosed with a syndrome and a lot of that money I had put aside to do a lot of renovations on this house went into their care,” mother of two Gail told Your Domain.

Ten years ago Gail decided to leave her full-time job to work part-time. The cost of treatment for her sons Lucas and Owen  and a reduced income meant renovations were off the table.

“The boys’ health and wellbeing [were] more important. That’s where all the money went and I’ve never been able to recover from that so this is why the house is being sold,” she said.

“It was a property that needed a lot of work and I knew that at the time. So a lot of what I’ve done, I’ve done myself. Patch up weatherboards and paint them, pull off cladding, and grouting, plastering all those sorts of things.”

Despite not being able to completely renovate the property, Gail’s efforts paid off, with large buyer interest ahead of the auction.

Auctioneer Hugh Francis from Ray White Forest Hill opened the auction with a vendor bid of $800,000 as Gail and her sons watched on nervously inside the home.

Bidding was drawn out and bounced between two parties, with one hopeful buyer dropping their bids to $500 increments despite the auctioneer knocking them back. It was a long time before the house hit the market at $920,000.

Persistence certainly paid off for the stubborn bidder, who sealed the deal with a winning bid of $946,500 – $26,500 over Gail’s reserve price.

“I’m actually really happy we sold it. Well I’m … it’s a little bit bittersweet you know. I’m sad that we’re going, but I’m glad we sold it today,” she said.

After all her selflessness and dedication to her sons’ futures, Gail did have one dream on the horizon for herself.

“Ideally I would actually like to go back to where I came from, the Dandenongs – that’s my long-term view.

“But I’ve gotta still take the boys into consideration. I’m probably going to have them with me for a long time, so part of that plan would be to go into a large property. I’d like to have a lot of land and a larger home.”

SOLD - $946,500

26 Carinya Road, Vermont VIC 3133

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