A BELCONNEN real estate agency, together with local businesses, have joined forces to help a Fraser family “doing it tough” sell their home.

Fran and Andrew Armitage have been trying to relocate to Kempsey, NSW, to move closer to family for “support” since the couple’s 17 year old daughter Talicia was diagnosed with kidney failure, for which there is no cure.

But the family have so far had no luck selling their five bedroom house, which has been on the market since July with little interest.

The family were using Ray White Belconnen director Ben Faulks as their agent, who says potential buyers were starting to “dwindle” and any offers received were well below the asking price.

Ben says he and the rest of his agency were so “touched” by the family’s ability to remain strong in the face of their daughter’s tragedy, they decided to help fund renovation of the property, free of charge, in an effort to attract more buyers for a quick sale.

“Just seeing what they’re going through was so tough, they maintained such a sense of humour and were so courageous about it. We wanted to do what we could to help,” Ben says.

The team at Ray White Belconnen enlisted the support of 14 local companies with tradespeople who donated their time and skills over three weeks to install new blinds, install a ducted heating system, renovate the main bathroom, and repaint the property, using neutral colours to flatter the living areas and bedrooms.

The Armitage family were “floored” when they saw the updated house for the first time, says Ben.

“They were very humbled by the help they received, they said they couldn’t believe this was their house,” Ben says.

The property has already attracted renewed interest and inquiries since the renovations, says Ben.