Desperate man attempts to stop wife bidding at Sydney auction

A humorous scene played out in front of Nine News cameras at a Sydney auction as a concerned man tried in vain to stop his wife from bidding nearly $1 million on a fire-destroyed house.

Ge Chen looked defeated yesterday as he tried to physically restrain his wife, Sonia, who was determined to see off more than 20 bidders at the St Peters auction.

Ms Chen ended up forking out $790,000 for the cottage, which was totally gutted by fire in August.

At one point Mr Chen tried desperately to hold down his wife's straying hand during the intense bidding war.

But neither love nor money would stand in her way, with the delighted buyer securing the three-bedroom house in the end for $90,000 above the reserve price.

The Chens' new home, located a stone's throw from the airport on Frederick Street, St Peters, will require extensive work before they can even move in.

The house was rendered unliveable by a raging blaze that left extensive smoke damage throughout the property.

Speaking to Nine News, a weary Mr Chen said he was not impressed with his wife's impulsive buy, clearly dreading the renovation process to come.

"She is excited … not me," he said.

"Because I have to do a lot of work for this one … I don't know how to do that."

Previous owner, Tom Noicos, owned the property for more than a decade but was forced to sell after his insurance company suspecting arson, refused to pay up.

With the home selling significantly higher than the Sydney median house price of $725,000, Mr Noicos said he could now see the silver lining and planned to use the huge profit to finance a new property.

Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Matthew Henry
Source: Nine News