Strolling down this tree-lined suburban street, one of the poshest in the area, you are treated to a view of handsome Victorian villas as the characterful street scene.
Until you come to one three-storey semi-detached house that will probably stop you in your tracks.
This house on Westbourne Road in Penarth has been battered by the elements, so much so that a significant portion of the front facade has literally fallen off.
All the windows are rotten, some don't even have glass in them and working guttering and downpipes are external features of distant memory.
The garden is overgrown but, based on the size of the neighbour's garden, once cleared and landscaped will be a big bonus to a family moving into this seven-bed property.
Still full of the previous owners belongings, if the walls could talk it's likely they would tell a sad story - at least about this home's most recent past.
With trepidation, push open the big blue front door to enter and commence a tour of the property and there's a glimpse of Minton floor tiles to hearten you in the small porch, but then the tour becomes a little more treacherous.
The hall is surprisingly in average condition, there are cobwebs but there is also an original staircase, decorative ceiling arch, picture rail and maybe more of that lovely Minton tiling under the tired carpet if you pick it up to investigate.
The front reception isn't as bad as some people might have feared judging by the state of the front facade of the property.
There's a large bay window that, once restored, will let the light flood into the space plus behind the abandoned furniture a fireplace that could be the feature focal point in the future.
The second reception room, though, begins to suffer the home's rundown condition.
There's a fireplace dating back decades, chairs and a sideboard, plus a coffee table packed full of items - including an ashtray full of cigarette ends that look frozen in time to the moment the owner left them.
Then things start to go somewhat down hill as you travel down the hall.
The kitchen is a good size space and after a complete renovation will be a sociable and attractive space for the family to gather, but there are still pots and pans piled up on the drainer.
The kettle is even still plugged in, there's the past owner's 'best' china displayed on a Welsh dresser and even jars of food still on the worktop.
In every room downstairs there are the sad reminders that this house used to be someone's home. Each space is strewn with personal possessions and this continues on the two upper floors where the bedrooms and bathroom can be found.
Again there is furniture from past decades littered throughout these levels and one room is so full of stuff it is a challenge to even contemplate pushing past it to enter the space.
With spider webs in abundance downstairs, it's obvious that the house is occupied with bugs - but there are also visitors, or even sitting tenants, from the bird world too.
With gaping holes in the roof this upper level of the house is littered with pigeon droppings scattered across much of the rooms up here.
Throughout the home there is evidence of occupation from furniture to clothes, photos in frames to china in cupboards, but left abandoned and in place, as if the last owner had just popped out to the local shop.
There are shoes still in the cupboard, wine still in the rack and clothes still on hangers in the bedrooms.
On the top floor part of the house the ceiling has caved in due to a massive hole in the roof and this is no doubt one of the main factors leading to the structural problems cascading down the levels of this house below.
The house is going to online auction on February 10 with Auction House South Wales for a guide price of £325,000.
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Auctioneer Marc Morrish said: "Stepping inside is pretty much fear of the unknown.
"Once inside it is pretty much a time warp; old furniture is present along with clothing hung up inside which include old sheepskin coats and other retro looking items.
"The elements have really got to the condition of the property and certain sections at the front of the house have had to be propped up.
"The house has a lot of pigeon guano present from an infestation and part of the top floor no longer has a roof present.
"You are basically starting from scratch and almost rebuilding the entire property."
Marc states that the person most likely to buy this property would be a professional developer or a builder who would have experience of taking on a project this extreme.
The buyer will have to be a cash buyer too as the condition of the house means getting a mortgage will not be possible.
Marc said: "The purchaser will need cash to purchase the property as the property is leasehold with less than 30 years remaining on the lease.
"Therefore negotiations would need to be carried out with regard to purchasing the freehold."
But all is definitely not lost for this run-down home on a high-end street.
It's a well-known scenario for a buyer who wants to move to an area out of their price range that usually the only way to achieve it is to buy the worst house on the best street and bring it back to life.
The auction house estimates the outlay to renovate, as well as acquiring the freehold, would be in excess of £300,000.
According to property portal Zoopla a similar property on the street close to this house sold in 2015 for £775,000.
Based on sales data and the continuing rise in popularity for substantial period properties in this pretty Vale of Glamorgan town, Marc estimates the resale value for the wreck could be as high as £900,000, if the house is renovated to a luxury standard complete with high-end interior design.
Marc added: "Being a Penarth resident born and bred, I've often walked past the house and thought what an opportunity it could be for somebody, but also feeling sorry for the neighbouring properties.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result once a successful purchaser has put their own stamp on the house and brought it back to life.
"Once they had developed the property, it would certainly be a forever home giving its fantastic location on one of the most sought after roads within this wonderful seaside town."
The house is going to online auction with Auction House South Wales on for a guide price of £325,000 plus fees on Wednesday, February 10 from midday.
Call the auction team on 029 2047 5184 or estate agent David Baker & Co on 029 2070 2622 to find out more about this wreck looking for someone to save it.
