A FAMILY home that was bought for just £7,000 is now on the market for a staggering £9million.
Stephen Bailey and his three sisters Hilary, Alison and Nicola, inherited the Sandbanks property, with views of Poole Harbour from their grandfather.
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Oswald Bailey, an entrepreneur, bought the six-bedroom house in 1945, when the area was yet to become a tourist holiday hotspot.
And, his property investment paid off – as the 105-year-old home is now 1,200 times more valuable.
But, the next buyer will have to fork out a lot more than the original price – as it’s on the market for the first time in 80 years for £9million.
Sisters Alison and Nicola still live in the property but brother Stephen said: “We have never had any money out of the house because the home has always been the important thing, not the money.
“But inheritance tax is driving the sale now.”
“It is very sad but we have accepted it now. It will obviously be a wrench for all of us, especially my two sisters who live there”, the 68-year-old added.
The siblings acknowledged the real possibility their beloved childhood home will be demolished to make way for new flats.
Stephen recalled nostalgic memories of rowing across to Brownsea Island from the bottom of their garden – which featured a private beach until the 1960s.
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“My father had a 45ft motor boat and moored it in the harbour and he would just take us off to France in it,” he added.
“We knew Sandbanks was getting expensive when the house next door sold over 20 years ago for over £1m. Within two years it sold again for £3m.”
The three-storey house boasts a kitchen, dining room sitting room and office on the ground level.
Up the stairs house hunters will find four bedrooms, two bathrooms – and another kitchen,
On the third level sits an apartment layout with two more bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen.
Outside, a potential buyer could enjoy a split level garden with terrace and private jetty into Poole Harbour.
Adrian Dunford, of estate agents Tailor Made, said: “The house is probably on one of the best plots on Sandbanks.
“It is quite a wide plot and the house sits quite high up on it in an elevated position and so has wonderful views of the harbour and Brownsea Island.
“It is on the north shore side which is a more private side of the peninsula. It is away from the main channel so boats can’t get close to it.
“Our expectation is that whoever buys it will knock it down and replace it with an architecturally-designed, bespoke home.
“We have had interest in it already and we have had a bid that hasn’t been accepted. That just shows the quality of the plot.”
If the property is knocked down to make way for a modern luxury mansion, estate agents estimate it could be worth £13million.
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