Latest news with #TamborineMountain
ABC News
18-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Queensland's new disclosure laws fall short when it comes to natural hazard risk
Leon and Olga Radunz should be enjoying their retirement but instead they're living in fear because their "forever home" in Queensland's Scenic Rim is falling down. In 2004, the couple settled on a secluded 8,000 square metre block of land at Tamborine Mountain because it seemed like the perfect spot. But without realising it, they built their home in an area prone to landslides. The Scenic Rim Council has a public landslide hazard map, but the couple was unaware at the time of purchasing the property that the document existed. The home owners said they did "the normal checks" before the sale and believed the seller should have disclosed the landslide risk. They made that discovery nearly two decades later in 2022 when heavy rainfall triggered a series of landslides, damaging their million-dollar home. "The back deck pulled off, the front side of the slab has moved and slipped," Mr Radunz said. "The floor has dropped, the driveway is all cracked, doors don't close very well, windows don't close, and it has substantially damaged the pipe system underneath." Their two-storey home has been held up by steel poles for the past three years to prevent it from collapsing and the Radunzes are looking to move. "The house has to be demolished at some stage as a result of the landslides [since 2022] … but it's safe to live in for the moment," Mr Radunz said. "We're hoping no new heavy weather comes in." The couple had intentionally underinsured the property to save on premiums, and while they had since received a payout from the insurer, it would not cover their losses. "We're so heartbroken because all the finance and the heartbreak we have been going through in the past three years is unbelievable … no-one should go through that," Ms Radunz said. Mr Radunz conceded that he and his wife did not do enough due diligence before buying their property, but said that realisation had only come with hindsight. "Looking back, we didn't know what questions to ask. "But how do you know to look? Because you wouldn't suspect it's a landslip zone." In Queensland, there is no legal requirement for sellers to disclose if a property is affected by natural hazards such as landslides or flooding. The state government passed the Property Law Act in 2023, which requires owners to disclose important information about a property to prospective buyers. The new seller disclosure statement comes into effect from August 1. Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella said the law would not have made a difference to the couple's "tragic" situation as sellers would not be required to disclose information about a property's natural hazard history. "There are just certain disclosures that the law doesn't consider that a vendor needs to make," Ms Mercorella said. She said vendors would not also be required to disclose the structural soundness of the building, pest infestations, the presence of asbestos within buildings, or improvements on the property. Instead, sellers were obliged to provide a range of information, including any encumbrances affecting the property, zoning information, building compliance certificates, and rates and water charges. Under consumer law, however, sellers would be obliged to reveal relevant information if asked. "For instance, if a buyer were to ask the question: has this property previously flooded? Then clearly consumer laws exist that make it clear that one cannot lie about that or mislead the buyer," Ms Mercorella said. She urged buyers to carry out their own investigations on a property, either through speaking with the real estate agent or lawyer, or by referring to the flood or landslide hazard mapping provided by the local council. Queensland councils have been advocating for years for the natural disaster disclosure to be included in the legislation and some remain disappointed it has been omitted. "This could have been an easy fix that could have helped create fewer headaches for people," Moreton Bay Council Mayor Peter Flannery said. Cr Flannery said that although council information about natural hazard risks was freely available online, it was often overlooked by potential buyers. "It's not put up front to them that this is something that you should be made aware of before you continue on with this contract." Mr Radunz said he hoped other prospective buyers could learn from their experience and avoid the same costly mistake. "Do all the searches you can, whatever you think might go wrong, go and check it out," he said.
News.com.au
18-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Dreamworld founder's Hinterland retreat hits the market
A luxury retreat built by Dreamworld founder John Longhurst has been listed in a Hinterland hotspot favoured by crypto traders. The striking A-frame home at 105 Wongawallan Rd, Tamborine Mountain was designed as a holiday retreat for the late Gold Coast theme park creator and remains the suburb's highest recorded residential sale. It last sold sight-unseen for $5.025m in 2021 to a crypto-trading family from New Zealand. Sprawled over 7.11ha, the property is marketed by Ivy Realty agents, Ivy Wu and Aidan Knox, and goes to auction on June 1. It includes five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a self-contained guest suite, and a triple garage. There's also a huge shed, a caretaker's cottage, dams, a horse facility, and a fully irrigated food forest packed with fruit trees and climbing grapevines. A lift connects the home's three levels, with floor-to-ceiling glass framing coastal and Hinterland views. The interiors feature quirky touches like an elk antler chandelier, while the master bedroom suite is housed in a dramatic wing that juts into the forest canopy, complete with a marble spa ensuite. Mr Knox said the rare estate had drawn unexpected levels of inquiry from overseas and interstate buyers. 'It's an awesome home and such a different lifestyle,' Mr Knox said. 'We've had calls from New Zealand, Perth, and Melbourne – all wanting that unique vibe. 'It is such a beautiful estate in a picturesque location with standout architecture.' Mr Knox said the owners had made their fortune trading digital currency, rolling profits into high-end real estate. Buyer of $12m mansion plans to give it away It's a trend reflecting the broader national interest in cryptocurrency, with new data revealing 57 per cent of Australian coin holders have reported profits over the past year. The 2025 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index shows 31 per cent of Aussies now own some digital coin. While 25 to 34-year-olds are the largest cohort of investors at 53 per cent, Baby Boomers are increasingly buying in, with 8 per cent of all owners now aged over 65 — up from 2 per cent five years ago. Sydel Sierra, dubbed the Gold Coast's 'crypto queen', is another cashed-up trader calling Tamborine Mountain home. Ms Sierra also churned Bitcoin profits into bricks and mortar, splashing $4.63m on a luxury retreat in the Hinterland suburb in December 2021. She views real estate as a strategic way to 'lock in profits from crypto's volatile cycles'. 'I like to say, it's time in the market and timing the market,' she said. 'The [Cryptocurrency Index] shows 73.5 per cent of all Australian investors made a profit if they stayed in the game for six to 10 years. 'Bitcoin has had an average annualised return of 86 per cent over the past 10 years — how do you argue with that?' Mr Knox said his clients had put the home on the market as they contemplated their next international move. M. Longhurst, who died in 2022 aged 90, purchased the site for $2.3m in 2010 from former Gold Coast councillor Eddy Sarroff and reportedly spent $5m redeveloping the estate. PropTrack data shows the median house price in Tamborine Mountain is $1.015m.
