Bagshaws Residential in Derby was mocked online after advertising a £200,000 five-bedroom family home which used to be a cannabis farm.
House hunters were surprised to find the listing revealed that the property was previously used to grow cannabis, after images used showed plant pots, fans and other remains of growing paraphernalia throughout the property.
The Derbyshire property was listed for sale on Rightmove by Bagshaws Residential, part of Sequence, for a ‘bargain’ auction guide price of £150,000 to £200,000 last month.
However, the listing went viral when people spotted the rather surprising images.
It turns out that the home was a cannabis farm back in 2019, with police snaps showing it housed more than 500 plants across the 12-room dwelling.
The photos showed reflective silver material peeling off the walls, accompanied by what appears to be large carbon filters among many entangled wires.
Bagshaws Residential’s listing described the three-storey home as in need of ‘a full scheme of renovations’.
One online commentator remarked: ”Can’t believe the estate agents have uploaded these photos.”
Another said: “I’m literally two mins away from that house and I’m baffled how it was used for what it was being next to a primary school.”
Someone else joked: “Some serious indoor gardening going on there,’ with another adding ‘a bargain is a bargain in this economy.”
Derbyshire Police confirmed that a cannabis grow was found at the property in May 2019, but that no arrests have been made in relation to the investigation.
Chris Glenn, divisional managing director for Sequence Auctions, told the press: “Landlords that have had a difficult experience managing a property may have gone through months or even years trying to reclaim them and will quite often enter them into an auction for an efficient sale.
“However, following the pandemic the auction process has somewhat changed and many auctions are not back in the room.
“They have remained largely digital with many investors buying properties online without seeing them.
“This makes it vital that selling agents ensure the state of repair of the property is transparently shown so buyers can make informed decisions.
“This is especially true in auctions as the sale is a legally binding exchange, often on the day, compared with a private treaty sale which will take a number of months.”
