$100,000 worth of damage as teenagers vandalise Canberra home

In a painful lesson to get insured upon settlement, a Canberra home was left with $100,000 worth of damage after 70 teenagers turned up for a party.

According to the ABC, the uninhabited house was advertised as a free house party on a social media website, attracting around 70 15 to 18 year olds who smashed windows, pulled down doors and kicked in walls. Police said the owners, who were renovating the house and living elsewhere, did not know any of the teenagers and had not heard about the party invitation. They had only recently bought the Tuggeranong house.

Police arrived at the home just after 9pm on Tuesday, finding teenagers leaving.

The ABC reports that Sergeant Mark Roswell, Tuggeranong Station's acting officer in-charge, said the owners were "obviously quite upset and pretty devastated by the damage caused to their house".

"For any teens that were involved, I urge you to come forward and talk to us... It would be better for them to come forward than wait for police to come knock on their door,"said Roswell. He said the owners of cars on the street that night would be contacted.

"This is a rarity, it doesn't happen often in Canberra," he said.

"People do have house parties often, most people don't break into other people's houses to do so."