Latest news with #HobbitHouse
Courier-Mail
16-06-2025
- Business
- Courier-Mail
Nudity, grow houses: Agents reveal their selling horror stories
Queensland real estate agents have shared some of the craziest things they have encountered while selling property, and let's just say they well and truly earned their commission. In one case, an agent found wardrobes with 'glowing lights', while another had to make excuses for a topless sunbathing vendor at an open home. On behalf of News Corp, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) hit up their thousands of members to find out just what goes on before, during and after the doors open on a listed property. Here we look at the most recent ones, and revisit a few from the past. 1. There's Something About Mary Vibes One of my most memorable was when I was down the Gold Coast many years ago. We went to do an open home at this really lovely high end property in the area, rocked up and buyers were starting to arrive. I was still pretty young at this stage and new to real estate. I opened up the house and the owner said she would just be out at the pool during the open home and that was fine. What she didn't tell me was that she had planned to sunbake topless during the open home. She was a more mature lady and gave 'There's Something About Mary' movie vibes. Being not long in the industry I had no idea what to say so I just said to buyer, 'please excuse the owner she is just laying by the pool' and pretended it was normal. 2. Reluctant to Move My older couple had a contract on their house. Less than a week before settlement my agent went to see them to make sure things were on track for their move and they told her they were going to start looking after they had money in the bank from settlement and would let her know when they were going to move out. She then spent the rest of the day organising removalists, someone to pack for them, called their family to help and got them a rental. 3. Above and Beyond On settlement days we have packed trucks, mowed lawns, cleaned houses, moved livestock, found homes for chickens, rehomed goldfish, replaced plants that have been taken from gardens, gone on hunts for media system remotes because buyers are refusing to settle without them cause they can't prove its working and the seller accidently packed it and its in the truck somewhere. 4. Illegal Shrubbery Finding wardrobes with glowing lights that when you open you find a 'tomato garden' where the plants don't seem to have any fruit on them at all. MORE: Shock as city's distressed home listings surge 36pc in one month Work site, skip bin, fencing: River block fetches insane price Bogan to boujee: 'Hobbit House' a work of architectural magic 5. Jailhouse Block About 10 years ago we were selling a property for a gentleman who ended up in jail during the process. It was before all the electronic signing stuff came in so one of my agents had to go to the jail during visiting hours to get him to sign the contract. 6. Snake Gone Rogue Ray White New Farm agent Brandon Wortley recalled conducting an open house in one of Brisbane's blue chip suburbs when a snake went rogue, flying out of a bush and hitting the vendor in the chest. 'I was walking out to meet the owner on the river walk when I caught sight of the tail of a snake slithering in to a bush,' he said. 'It appeared to be making a beeline for the courtyard next door where there were two dogs. 'My plan was to jump the fence, grab the dogs, do something. I was just operating in the moment. 'But the snake had made its way up inside the hedge and then bam, as the vendor was walking past it, it literally flew out of the hedge and whacked her in the chest. 'She just bolted up the boardwalk. I have never seen anyone turn so white.' 7. Police Raid Henry Hodge of Hodge Real Estate recalled conducting an open house at a 'dingy apartment in Fortitude Valley' when police suddenly raided the building. 'There was lots of noise but we just minded our own business,' he said. 'I was mortified.' 8. 1% Club Place agent Ben Cannon recalled selling a house for a man who denied being a bikie. But the cache of firearms hidden around the property — and in the roof — suggested otherwise. 'He told me at the 11th hour that he wanted to cancel the open house because he had guns,' Mr Cannon said. 'I told him to stick them in the roof but he said he couldn't because it would cave in, it was so full of guns. 'I said, surely you can't have that many guns so I went around and sure enough, he showed me cupboards full of guns.' Feeling overwhelmed after seeing the arsenal of firearms, Mr Cannon said he wanted to find a way to 'fix it'. He said the owner pulled a handgun out from a bedside table and walked downstairs with it. 'He was saying, why isn't my house selling but it was so full of guns and he was always there,' Mr Cannon said. 'When I did present an offer, he pulled a handgun out and put it between us during the negotiations,' Mr Cannon said. 'I was glad to see that one gone.' 9. Squatters Paradise Ray White Bulimba principal Scott Darwon has dealt with everything from a cantankerous cat that refused to budge from under a house to a homeless man who invited himself into a New Farm property he was showing potential buyers. 'He (the homeless man) just came in and started ripping up the lino and stealing the newspapers,' he said. 'It was all a bit weird.' 10. Buff Audience 'I went to do an open in a brand new home and two gentlemen were tanning naked,' one anonymous agent said. 'One was scooping the leaves up into his pool net, butt naked, and the other splashing around the shallows. 'They were very angry when I showed up as I was 10 minutes early. 'I said we had an open and I had to open everything. They jumped into a car with just towels draped around them and fortunately left with a very amused buyer with three kids watching them get hastily into the car.' 11. UNRULY TENANT Meanwhile, another agent recalled opening a house for inspection only to find it was not vacant. 'I did not see a massive green python draped over the top of the shower screen in the main bathroom, which I would have walked right past to get to the light switch,' the agent said. 'A buyer found it when he was checking the shower. The buyer bravely locked the snake in the room, and I had to tell all the buyers at the inspection to not open the door that was shut downstairs as there was a snake that had snuck into the property. 'One lady just freaked out and left. I called a snake catcher and he came to the property later that day to rescue and release the snake. 'Funnily enough the buyer that found the snake put an offer on the property.' 12. WHEN PARANOIA STRIKES In another case, a paranoid agent who thought he was being secretly filmed by the vendor reportedly copped a dose right in the eye. Dobbed in by a fellow agent, the tale goes that Mr Paranoid 'noticed a small mobile air freshener unit on the mantelpiece in the lounge that was emitting a small flashing light every minute or so'. 'Convinced that he was being secretly observed and recorded, he sidled up to the unit to take a look straight down the barrel of the 'camera' that he believed his untrusting sellers had hidden in this sneakily arranged security contraption, only to have a metered dose squirted squarely and fairly directly into middle of his right cornea. There was no camera,' the source said. 13. CAN'T BE UNSEEN While another agent owned up to their own faux pas after accidentally escorting several groups into the wrong apartment in South Brisbane. 'I didn't realise I had walked straight into the unit next door to a naked couple in a very passionate embrace on their couch. That's was a tough day,' the agent said.
News.com.au
15-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- News.com.au
Bogan to boujee: ‘Hobbit House' a work of architectural magic
Locals call it The Hobbit House thanks to its award-winning circular entry, and this architecturally-designed masterpiece at Redcliffe certainly turns heads. It is home to Hayden Kidd, a pilot, and Dan McKerrow, a veterinarian, and was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Nicholas Elias of Architectus, with its statement circular door the work of Frits Jurgens. 'When we first moved here we didn't really tell too many people where we lived because it used to be considered a bit bogan,' Kidd said. 'People judged a bit more back then but now the sentiment is that they wish they bought here before it became so expensive.' The couple have lived on the Redcliffe Peninsula for over a decade, starting out in more affordable homes that they renovated. Kidd said that with each sale, they moved close to the water. 'Eventually we were able to afford a new build,' he said. 'We engaged a family friend (Elias) who didn't usually do residential work but I think he enjoyed the project as it pushed boundaries.' And it is a far cry from the tired post-war cottage that it replaced, with the couple sharing their favourite features of the house. For Kidd, it is the lighting at night. 'The lighting creates a whole different feel,' he said. 'A few people have described it like a hug. 'It is a different world at night. It is more of a feeling.' Meanwhile, McKerrow's favourite feature is the 580sq m of blind-fixed Queensland walnut that envelopes the interiors. 'It is a single tree and you can see the grain changes as you move through the house,' he said. 'It feels like you are inside something living.' Located at 12 Greenup St in Redcliffe, Lantern includes cutting edge design and technology, including a solar system, EV charging circuit, dual-zoned ducted airconditioing, integrated smart lighting, irrigation, blinds and pool controls. 'From the floating upper level and sculptural steel staircase to the seamless interplay of light, timber, and stone, this is a home of artistic resolve and enduring elegance,' the listing by Place New Farm agent Heath Williams says. Inside boasts that walnut cladding, cork floors, sculpted Verde Alpi marble benches, and etched glass pivot doors. The kitchen features a sculpted booth, integrated garden planters, high-end appliances, and a concealed scullery. Flowing from this central hub, a sunken alfresco lounge and 1.9m deep natural-plunge pool extend the living zones outdoors, offering year-round lifestyle amenity. Every bathroom has handcrafted Japanese tiles, solid steel pedestal vanities, and rainfall showers, while the dual master suites offer flexibility for multi-generational living, enhanced by gallery nooks and custom wardrobe systems. Outside, the surrounding gardens require no mowing, and were inspired by Burle Marx. 'We had a lot of fun with this build,' Kidd said, 'We met some great tradies and tried to use local builderes and frabricators so we now have this wonderful network of people that we enjoy dealing with so we decided we were in a position to do more.' Brisbane penthouse bought for $10m, sold for $17.5m in 4 years Areas where Aussies are striking gold As for Redcliffe itself, McKerrow said the area had undergone significant gentrification. And while they are ready to let someone new enjoy Lantern, the couple are staying in the area. 'Obviously, Newport is also exhausted, no more land,' McKerrow said. 'So the next thing that is increasing is knock down rebuilds on the peninsula.' Kidd added: 'It's definitely not bogan anymore'. 'It is very much a case of people wishing they had bought earlier,' he said. 'We call it the northern beaches of Brisbane.'
