A stunning investment…

We assist many clients with exciting investment purchases; from renovators to “move-right-in’s” but it is rare to find houses quite as beautifully renovated as this beauty. Yesterday in a wave of exhilarating bidding, pass-in negotiations and contract signing, two wonderful clients of ours had to take some time to adjust to the shock of their new investment purchase.

We’d only really been working with them for a few weeks and this beautiful property surprised us all.

The brief was very interesting because our well-researched clients had nominated South Melbourne and Port Melbourne as their chosen investment areas of interest. But with a budget around a million dollars, we were quick to caution them that their brief would need to change. In accordance with our ‘quadrant’ approach, something would have to give for their metrics to align. Either they’d need to target smaller properties (most likely strata units/townhouses), face the prospect of a serious renovation project (not ideal with small children and busy careers), move to areas with slightly lower land values, or increase the budget (which is never our preferred option – we do try to respect budgets).

The most acceptable compromise was to consider other areas. And that they did.

We canvased Collingwood, Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill…. and even ventured over the Westgate Bridge to nearby Yarraville.

Upon spotting this impeccably renovated double-fronted property our clients were drawn to it. Based on the quality of the renovation, the width of the block and the proximity to the revered Yarraville village, we knew that this pocket was tightly held and we feared that the budget-fit would be highly in question.

The inspection didn’t disappoint. The property was a completely stunning package – but interestingly the level of interest was mixed. This house featured luxurious finishes; from clever architecturally designed, light-filled spaces in the living area, to a completely specified hostess kitchen. The dreamy bathroom took up what would have once been a bedroom and the courtyard outlook was an attractive focus from almost every part of the living area. But what was unusual was the layout and in particular, the number of bedrooms. This double-fronted Victorian only featured two bedrooms in a sea of similar houses offering either three or four. A clever conversion and incredible workmanship offered a perfect couples’ home; or even a family with a child.

Happily for us, our ‘target tenant’ we have in mind for our investor couple is a professional couple. The grandness of the facade, the beautiful internal spaces, the exciting entertainer’s space pouring out onto the back deck, and best of all, the short walk to the cafes and bars in Yarraville’s quaint village make this property a compelling choice for any tenant who is looking for something extra-special in a great locale.

Determining a suitable auction-bid upper limit was very difficult indeed. Comparable sales didn’t offer too many hints, because we could not identify any recent sales of any such configurations. In the end, we stuck to our budget, bid with confidence and to our surprise, bought this property for within $5,000 of our original budget.

Champagne flowed once the realisation of this beautiful purchase sunk in.

Our clients have secured a beautiful piece of history with an incredibly glamorous twist and we’re ever-so-proud to have helped them buy this beautiful investment.