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Inner west house torched in arson attack set for bumper auction despite being uninhabitable

This home on Campbell St in Glebe was firebombed last year.

A housing commission property in Glebe set ablaze during a night of random arson attacks has been attracting a spate of homebuyer inquiries.

The one-bedroom terrace on Campbell St was one of five properties torched in a series of deliberately lit fires in October last year and will go under the hammer this weekend.

It is expected to sell for over $700,000.

Much of the uninhabitable home has extensive smoke and fire damage and builders have estimated it would cost at least $100,000 to bring the home up to a liveable standard.

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The fire was understood have been started on the front porch, with smoke spreading into the rest of the house.

No casualties were reported from the attack but then resident Kevin Isdahl told reporters he was lucky to be alive.

Multiple Fires Glebe. Arson

The Campbell St terrace on fire in 2019. Picture: Bill Hearne

The home is now uninhabitable.

“There were big fires at the front of the house. Then this black smoke just hit me. I had black soot all over me and I ran out the back of my place,” he said after the incident.

“The ambulance took me to hospital because I had a lot of black smoke in my lung and this bad burn.”

Selling agent Peter Natoli of Ray White-Glebe will take the home to auction with a guide of $700,000 and said buyer inquiries were from a mix of builders and investors.

“Judging by the inquiries it could be a strong auction but we will see,” Mr Natoli said.

Multiple Fires Glebe. Arson

The home was one of five properties attacked in a single night.

“A lot of builders have told me the home is not as bad as it looks, it’s mostly smoke damage and the fire (damage) is mostly at the front of the house.”

Many of the keen buyers were attracted to the “potential”, Mr Natoli added.

“These types of homes tend to attract a lot of attention, partly because of the condition but also because of what you can do.”

Police reported at the time of the fire that it was one of five attacks they were investigating in the area.

Most of the damage was reported to be at the front of the home.

A nearby property at Derwent St was torched, with the flames spreading to a nearby garage.

Police also discovered a car burnt out on Westmoreland St.

Fire-damaged homes in Sydney’s popular inner west have often attracted bumper prices when going under the hammer.

Earlier this month, a burnt down Enfield house sold for $1.38m – almost $500,000 over reserve – despite lacking a roof.

The property on The Parade had been used as an alleged drug lab before going up in flames four years ago.

It was reported the two-level home had previously been used to grow marijuana but it was not known how the fire was started. Police called to the scene had identified it as “suspicious”, according to 2016 media reports.

The burnt down home on The Parade in Enfield sold for nearly $500,000 over reserve.

With 23 buyers registered to bid for the home on a 638sqm block, the price was marginally higher than the $1.32 million median price of houses in Enfield, according to realestate.com.au data.

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