Gympie properties sold by council over unpaid rates revealed

The Gympie council has put a number of properties under the hammer due to overdue rates with one homeowner saving theirs at the 11th hour. SEE THE LIST.

Five properties across the region have been sold from under their owners’ grasp after Gympie Regional Council failed to recover unpaid rates owed on the land.

The properties, which included houses and vacant blocks, were culled from an initial list of 86 homes floated by the council in July 2021 as a result of unpaid rates and charges.

These properties bills were all at least three years past due.

The landowners were all sent a notice the following month explaining the council’s plans to sell the land if their bills were not squared up.

Queensland councils have the power to force the sale of these homes under the state’s Local Government Regulations 2012.

69 Dan Meurant at Curra was one of the properties listed by the council ahead of the auction. IMAGE: CoreLogic

The vast majority of owners reached an agreement with the council over their unpaid rates before the auction, leaving only seven properties advertised on the council’s website.

Five of the properties went under the hammer and were sold on Friday morning; a sixth was passed in after receiving no bids and will now be put up for sale.

These were the seven properties the council listed ahead of the auction.

6 Gretel Court at Cooloola Cove was listed on the council’s website ahead of the auction. Pics: CoreLogic

The council was unable to clarify at time of publication which of the properties was taken off the auction list.

26 Gympie View Dr, Southside

This vacant 600m sq block was last on the market in 2014 when it sold for $92,000.

8 Shayduk Close, Gympie

This three-bedroom home with bamboo flooring was previously sold in 2014 for $86,000.

It was put on the market briefly in 2015 with no takers.

Vacant land at 177 Kirsten Dr, last sold in 2014, was on the council’s list ahead of Friday’s auction. Pics: CoreLogic

Lot 45 Lynne Dr, Curra

This vacant 1ha block had been off the market for more than 20 years, last selling in 1996 for $28,000.

CoreLogic’s RP Data shows it was placed on the open market twice in the ensuing years; once in 2015 and again in 2018, with an asking price of $145,000 on each occasion.

69 Dan Meurant Dr, Curra

A three-bedroom house built on a 2.26ha block at Curra in 2000, this home last sold in 2008 for $277,000.

8 Shayduk Close was on the auction list Pics: CoreLogic

177 Kirsten Dr, Curra

A 2ha block on the eastern side of the Bruce Highway at Curra, this land last sold in 2014 for $100,000.

A vacant block at 26 Gympie View at the Southside was expected to go under the hammer. Dr Pics: CoreLogic

Lot 176 MacTaggart St, Goomeri

This 1098sq m block near the Goomeri showgrounds was last on the market in 2016, priced at $20,000.

RP Data records do not show it having ever sold.

6 Gretel Court, Cooloola Cove

This three-bedroom brick home in the heart of Cooloola Cove was last sold in 2007 for $245,000.