An on-site auction will be held Thursday at 11 Temple Road to sell an 1850-era house owned by the town.
The property was tax-deeded to the town and has been empty for upwards of five years, according to Selectman David Lage.
The auction is an absolute auction, meaning there is no minimum bid and no reserve. The property includes a detatched one car garage and .28 acres of land.
The house comes with a condition that the new owner is required to restore or rebuild the house to current local and state building codes within 18 months. If the property is not brought up to standard in that time frame, ownership of the property will revert to the town. The house’s interior will need some extensive renovation to make that happen, said Lage.
“The building needs to be gutted and rebuilt,” he said.
“The condition of the house it’s been gutted and all the pipes have been torn out,” said Selectman Tim Johnson.
The house has a private septic system, but the state of it is unknown, said Lage. The property is on a well owned by the Mascenic School District that once was a part of the former Central Elementary School.
The home is about 1,932 square feet, with four bedrooms, one bath, rear porches, and is located near the town center and Memorial Park. Its assessed value is $123,500.
“It’s just sitting there, and not making any tax revenue while the town owns it,” said Select Board Chair Becky Doyle. “We’re hoping that someone will come that wants to do something with the property and put it back on the tax rolls.”
The auction will be held on site at 3 p.m. The house will be available for viewing an hour before the sale.
For further information, visit the New Ipswich town website or the website of James R. St. Jean Auctioneers at jsjauctions.com.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.