Man’s shock at what $4.46 million buys you near Buckingham Palace

A ‘grand’ five-bedroom house a short walk away from Buckingham Palace has hit the market in a less-than-perfect condition. 

The traditional Georgian townhouse in the wealthy Pimlico area of London was listed for sale a few weeks ago with a price tag of £2.2 million ($4.46 million). 

David Burnip, an influencer from northern England, spotted the property online and decided to check it out. 

Burnip often tours abandoned or derelict properties for his YouTube channel, Wandering Turnip. 

He hoped the Pimlico townhouse would make a welcome change.

“It looks nice from the outside, it’s a nice area,” he said, panning the camera over the home’s heritage facade in the now-viral video. 

“We might actually be about to see a decent property.” 

But inside, things quickly took a turn. 

Many of the rooms were in a filthy condition with stained carpets and pieces of plasterboard littering the floors. 

There was a massive hole in the ceiling above one of the bathrooms. 

In another room, the carpet was littered with nails and sharp splinters of wood.

“It’s just grim,” Burnip said. 

“I get that a £10,000 house in the north-east of England in an old mining town that’s for sale may be trashed and dirty when you go to view it, but this is a £2.2 million pound house that is for sale in a very rich area of London.”

To put this in context, £10,000 is about $20,000.

Burnip toured the house in mid-October. The video he posted online has been viewed more than 160,000 times.

One day after his tour, the house was scheduled to go under the hammer.

However, the property was withdrawn a few hours before the auction was due to take place. 

The townhouse is still listed for sale on Auction House London, but the £2.2 million guide price has been removed. 

Instead, the advertisement invites prospective buyers to “refer to auctioneer for more information”. 

The listing describes the home as a “substantial five bedroom mid terrace house” in the “highly sought after area of Pimlico”. 

“There may be potential for future development as the property benefits from three separate meters and council taxes,” the listing reads. 

When touring the property, Burnip had noticed there were several kitchens throughout the building and speculated it may have once been divided into several flats. 

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