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Inside Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez’s new $45 million island home in Florida

J. Lo and A-Rod Pick a $40M Mansion on Star Island. Picture: Realtor

J. Lo and A-Rod have splashed out on a $45m mansion on Star Island. Picture: Realtor/Getty

For the couple who has everything, adding a spectacular piece of real estate to a burgeoning portfolio is par for the course.

A-listers Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have acquired a staggering $45 million (US$32.5 million) waterfront property on the celeb-studded Star Island in Miami Beach, according to TopTenRealEstateDeals.

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Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

The home has its own jetty. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

The sweeping abode sits on Star Island in Florida. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

What a view. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

One of the home’s 10 bedrooms. Picture: Realtor.com

Built in 2003, the estate last changed hands in 2011 for $US25.5 million. At that time, it was one of the highest-priced sales ever in Miami Beach. The owner proceeded to renovate and expand the home to make it even grander.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, who have been together since 2017, both share a love of real estate, and have been collecting houses almost as often as Rodriguez collected base hits for the New York Yankees.

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

The kitchen Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

The huge shower in the bathroom. Picture: Realtor.com

With multiple homes across America’s east and west coast, and currently living in one of their homes in Coral Gables, Florida during most of the pandemic lockdown, the pair ventured out recently to purchase this mansion, which is located on South Florida’s island of super-rich CEOs and entertainers.

Star Island is one of several man-made islands built back in the 1920s, and access to the oval-shaped island is by a single road. The guard-gated, exclusive enclave has just under three dozen extremely expensive homes, and is often referred to as Miami’s Millionaires’ Row.

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Luxury everywhere. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

What a view to wake up to. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Island living. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

J-Lo & A-Rod. Picture: Realtor.com

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Consisting mostly of Old Florida-style homes with a few modern builds, the Lopez-Rodriguez mansion features large open-and-airy rooms that open to the sea from their backyard Biscayne Bay.

Residents, past and present, include Gloria Estefan, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Don Johnson during his Miami Vice days, and Shaquille O’Neal.

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Most of the rooms open to the sea. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Tonnes of natural light in the living rooms. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

What a palace. Picture: Realtor.com

Sitting on almost an acre of land, the 1,370 sqm home has 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, an elevator, library, wine room, stunning kitchen, family room, a guesthouse and a 33m wooden dock.

The expansive pool deck has an infinity pool with spa and views of the bay and Miami skyline.

CFDA Fashion Awards - Arrivals

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez in 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Tonnes of room to entertain. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Another bathroom. Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Room for a pair of shoes or 40. Picture: Realtor.com

Architectural details include exterior white rendering, large arched windows, interior Venetian plaster walls and antique fireplaces including one in the main bedroom.

It won’t be long until Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez move in, and will soon be enjoying life in their new mansion on the water with the twinkling lights of Miami in the background.

MORE: See Justin Bieber’s spectacular holiday homes around the world

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Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com

Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com



Inside J-Lo & A-Rod's New Florida Home. Picture:

Picture: Realtor.com

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Live like royalty in a palatial Novar Gardens home

The Novar Gardens residence at 3-5 Old Drive is palatial inside. Pic: realestate.com.au

Fancy a lavish home where you can live like royalty?

The glamorous Novar Gardens residence at 3-5 Old Drive won’t disappoint.

Silk wallpapers, Waterford crystal chandeliers, an Adam-style fireplace, arched pocket French doors, domed ceiling roses and marble bathrooms are among the classy features that make the house feel like a palace.

The much-loved family home on a 1724 sqm block is on the market for the third time since it was built in 1969 by racing identity Pat Cummings.

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Waterford crystal chandeliers and an Adam-style fireplace are among its classy features. Pic: realestate.com.au

It’s grand and elegant at every turn. Pic: realestate.com.au

Even the curtains give it a palatial feel. Pic: realestate.com.au

Owners John and Dawn Eastwood bought it in 1998 as a grand home but they are responsible for making it the elegant residence it is today.

“The layout of the house attracted us, very much so,” Mr Eastwood said.

“But we’ve upgraded it quite substantially.

“Pat Cummings built the house and he had five children … so it’s quite a large house.”

Like a palace, the house is split into separate wings, with five bedrooms on one side and the main living areas on the other.

The backyard is just as elegant, with a sparkling white-tiled pool and manicured gardens setting the scene.

The arched French doors offer picturesque views of the backyard. Pic: realestate.com.au

Name a more impressive bathroom than this, we dare you. Pic: realestate.com.au

The perfect spot to wind down after a long day. Pic: realestate.com.au

Harris Real Estate agent Karen Dorman, who is selling the property with Tobi McFadyen, said it would be difficult to replicate the house’s style today.

“To build something like that now, it would be very expensive,” she said.

It hasn’t been on the market long but Ms Dorman said it was already attracting interest from prospective buyers.

“It’s more from established families or people living locally who don’t want to build anything massive,” she said.

It is on the market with a price guide ranging between $1.45 million to $1.55 million.

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Buyers paying millions in cash for Brisbane homes despite COVID

This apartment at 3/81 Moray St, New Farm, sold to a cash buyer for $4.8m.

BUYERS hamstrung by COVID-19 are pouring their life savings into bricks and mortar instead of shares or holidays, paying cash for multi-million dollar properties across Brisbane.

With more buyers than listings and money cheaper than ever, local agents are seeing a growing trend in the number of home hunters “with money in the bank” who are not prepared to wait out the pandemic to secure their dream home.

And local agents say now is the time to buy without having to compete with interstate buyers for the best homes on the market.

Joseph Lordi of McGrath Estate Agents sold a home on Brisbane’s bayside this week for a whopping $8.5 million — and the local buyer paid for it in cash.

This property at 32 Sentinel Court, Raby Bay, has sold for $8.5m in a cash deal.

Mr Lordi said the sale of the five-bedroom home on 2300 sqm of beachfront land at 32 Sentinel Court in Raby Bay attracted seven offers — all from cash buyers — before selling to a middle-aged couple with “money in the bank”.

“Cash is king right now,” Mr Lordi said.

“At this price point — north of $4 million — there’s a lot of cash buyers.”

The view from the property at 32 Sentinel Court, Raby Bay.

Mr Lordi said he had started to really notice the trend in the past 12 months, when his agency sold four properties for more than $3 million each to local buyers, and all were cash contracts.

“We’re finding interstate buyer inquiry is pushing up the local buyers’ (prices),” he said.

“The inquiries from interstate are still there, but they just can’t get here. I have one lady with a budget of $10 million who has sold in Toorak and is now renting, but can’t wait to get back to Brisbane to buy because that’s where she’s from.

“The window of opportunity to buy without having to compete with interstate buyers is now. That’s what we’re telling (buyers) and I am noticing more urgency.”

Brisbane’s bayside is attracting cash buyers, according to local agents.

Mr Lordi said smaller sales around the $1 million to $3 million price bracket were to buyers who had either sold their previous home earlier in the year or had pre-approval and cash ready to go.

He said some buyers were even taking their money out of shares and putting it into property instead.

“I sold another one this week for $1.29 million in cash,” he said.

This townhouse at 5/1 Cross Lane, Cleveland, recently sold for $1.46m in cash.

The five-bedroom home in Tarragindi is yet to go unconditional.

Mr Lordi said he sold another property — a four-bedroom townhouse at 5/1 Cross Lane, Cleveland, prior to auction earlier this month for $1.46 million in cash, and another at 36 Raby Esp, Ormiston, for $1.225 million in cash, also prior to auction.

“I think people are seeing the value for money in the bayside, and the lifestyle,” he said.

“We’re getting a big feeder market from inner-city suburbs like New Farm, Bulimba, Ascot.

A knockdown property on a double block at 36 Raby Esp, Ormiston, recently sold for $1.225m to a cash buyer.

Especially downsizers who have sold their home for $2.3 million and are getting a waterfront property with a pontoon here for the same sort of money.”

“I feel people are seeing the advantages of having cash at the moment,” Mr Lordi said.

Place Kangaroo Point agent Simon Caulfield said buyers were turning to property because they were getting such low returns for having their money sitting in the bank and or in the volatile sharemarket.

“I think this might be the new norm,” Mr Caulfield said. “It makes sense economically, and from a lifestyle perspective.

“If you do the maths on $4 million and buy a property with it versus having the money in the stock market or getting a 1 per cent return from having it in the bank, you might as well buy something nice that you can also live in and get further enjoyment from.”

This apartment at 7/2 Scott St, Kangaroo Point, has sold for $4.4m in a cash deal.

Mr Caulfield has just sold an apartment in Kangaroo Point for $4.4 million to a younger cash buyer, who wanted an amazing property to enjoy because they could no longer travel.

“It’s hard to comprehend that level of funds and not think; ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money to put in one asset, but it shows the level of confidence,” he said.

The view of Brisbane CBD from the apartment at 7/2 Scott St, Kangaroo Point.

Mr Caulfield said buyers at the top end were no longer prepared to wait out COVID-19 to secure their luxury home.

“I think the reality has sunk in for people who have been sitting on their hands for six months. If you’ve got a lot of money, what do you do with it?” he said.

“There a lot of cash buyers, but not a lot of stock, so that’s starting to create a bit of competition.”

Patrick McKinnon of Place Ascot recently sold a home in Hendra for $2.4 million in a cash unconditional deal to a local family.

Mr McKinnon said the five-bedroom property at 36 Newmarket Street was on a 506 sqm block, with a pool and pool house.

This home at 36 Newmarket St, Hendra, sold for $2.4m cash.

He said he had three offers on the property before the vendors settled on the price.

“As long as COVID stays away, I think we’re going to have a cracking Spring,” Mr McKinnon said.

“Because people aren’t going on overseas holidays, they’re restructuring their lives and deciding where they want to live.”

Mr McKinnon said a number of sale-ready properties that had been put on hold a few months ago were now coming back on the market as vendors regained confidence.

“It’s just crazy money,”

“I just think all these people who are now buying are saying; ‘We want a nicer house, money’s cheap, let’s buy now’.”

The front of the house at 36 Newmarket St, Hendra.

And when it comes to properties, the bigger the better it seems, with the coronavirus changing buyer preferences.

“I think people are very mindful they need room to be able to work from home now,” Mr McKinnon said.

But buyer’s agent Lauren Moore of Lauren Moore Property said she did not recommend her clients buy with cash.

This apartment at 3/81 Moray St, New Farm, sold to a cash buyer.

“Unless a buyer literally has the full amount of cash for the purchase sitting in their bank account, it’s an extremely risky move in any market, but especially in a market like this,” Ms Moore said.

“There are purchasers that are prepared to take the risk, but as a buyer’s agent we guide our clients on the risks associated with making a cash offer and always recommend they discuss with their solicitors.

“If one party loses a job, or the valuation doesn’t stack up and they only have pre-approval, they need to find the rest of the money to complete the purchase.”

A render of The Oxlade penthouse, which sold to a cash buyer for $7m.

BRISBANE’S BIGGEST CASH HOME DEALS OF 2020

Address Sale price

32 Sentinel Court, Raby Bay $8.5m

Penthouse at 80 Oxlade Dr, New Farm $7m

404 Bowen Tce $2.24m

3/81 Moray St, New Farm $4.8m

7/2 Scott St, Kangaroo Point $4.4m

36 Newmarket St, Hendra $2.4m

5/1 Cross Lane, Cleveland $1.46m

36 Raby Esp, Ormiston $1.225m

3 & 4/59 Byron St, Bulimba $3.075m

1102/59 Byron St, Bulimba $1.95m

(Source: Place Estate Agents, McGrath Estate Agents)

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Mix business with pleasure in versatile Cudlee Creek home

The Cudlee Creek property at 163 Cudlee Creek Rd offers a quiet retreat. Supplied: Williams Real Estate.

A Cudlee Creek home offers an idyllic Hills lifestyle close to quality wineries, and could be used for a range of businesses.

Donna and her husband bought the home at 163 Cudlee Creek Rd three years ago, and have since renovated it throughout.

“Everything that could be changed, repaired, replaced or repainted, from the front door to the back fence, we’ve done it,” Donna says.

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The owners have renovated the property. Supplied: Williams Real Estate.

It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Supplied: Williams Real Estate.

“It used to be a BnB and we’ve done that part up and modernised it – I don’t rent it out but you easily could, and friends stay over and can wake up and have their own wing of the house, and all of our guests want to stay longer.

“We hosted my sister’s wedding here and set up a massive marquee out the back – it’s certainly a place to entertain and have parties.

“The property itself is like really stepping into a botanical gardens – you can hear the creek run from the house, it’s lovely.”

The home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, covered parking for seven cars, an extensive 90-panel 20kW sun-tracking solar system, a cellar, an outdoor entertainment pavilion and extensive equestrian facilities.

“You can make around $8000 a year from the solar panels, and that’s on top of your free power,” Donna says.

It’s listed with an asking price between $1.1 million and $1.15 million. Supplied: Williams Real Estate.

“We also put a massive commercial generator in I call the ‘Yellow Submarine’, and that can power the home for four days on one tank.

“It’s a great income-producing property, which, if you wanted to run the BnB could be something really special.

“It would be perfect for young families with ponies, or if you just want to run some sheep and have a beautiful country lifestyle it would be great even for downsizers.

“It’s very easy to maintain. I’ve got some ponies and horses and the home has CCTV throughout the property, even in the stables, so I can be inside and watch my horses sleep and you can check up on them from wherever you are.

“There are plenty of opportunities here.”

With the property transformed, the couple are now ready to let someone else enjoy it.

“It was my forever home, moving up from the city, but now our situation’s changed and we’re looking to downsize to something that’s a little easier to manage as we get older,” Donna says.

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Coffee abandoned as bidder mixes up auction start time

This four-bedroom house at 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill sold at auction for $895,000.

BEN Balderston was about to order coffee from a Stones Corner cafe before heading to the auction of 88 Raven Street at Camp Hill on Saturday when his phone rang.

Four kilometres away, Place Bulimba lead agent Joanna Gianniotis was trying to give away a bottle of French Champagne to the first person to bid on the four-bedroom worker’s cottage on 607sq m but no-one was taking the bait.

That had a lot to do with the fact that one of her star bidders wasn’t there.

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Auctioneer Paul Curtain outside 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill

“I thought the auction started at 10,” Mr Balderston said afterwards.

At 9.06am, and with nothing but a vendor bid of $800,000 and some creative talk passing from the lips of Place Bulimba joint-managing director and auctioneer Paul Curtain, the auction was paused.

While the crowd of 40 waited, a sales assistant called the absent bidder.

“How far away are you?” she asked.

The main front bedroom.

The investment property, which had been rented out for the past four years for $615 a week, was owned by a software engineer who was watching from the main front bedroom as Ms Gianniotis put down the bottle of champagne and started working the crowd to gauge the level of interest from the three registered bidders who were in attendance.

The rear deck.

“I thought it was about to be passed in,” the owner said.

Mr Balderston, a local investor who was interested in land banking the property, had abandoned his coffee and was racing down Old Cleveland Rd to get to the auction.

At 9.13am he arrived, brushing passed onlookers and registering to vote over the front fence just as Mr Curtain recommenced the auction after finally gaining a bid of $805,000 from a family of four who were looking to move closer in to the city.

The crowd had thinned to half by this time but those remaining saw a robust auction of 35 bids as the family struggled to shake their new competition.

Mr Balderston stands on the road after arriving at 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill. You can register to bid at any time before the hammer falls at an auction.

“There’s strong demand for bigger blocks,” Ms Gianniotis said after the auction. “ And a lot are first-home buyers recognising the value of the land.”

SEE WHAT ELSE IS FOR SALE IN CAMP HILL

At $895,000 the family bowed out of the auction and the property sold to Mr Balderston, but they did not leave empty-handed.

“I always give away a bottle of champagne to the first bidder at my auctions,” Ms Gianniotis said.

Champagne has been part of Joanna Gianniotis’s auction campaigns for 18 years.

Mr Balderston may have missed out on his flat white coffee but there was a bottle of champagne for him also as the winning bidder.

“Lucky I rocked up,” he said.

The house was one of more than 50 to go to auction across Brisbane yesterday.

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Young buyers stepping onto the property ladder in favourable conditions

2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove is due to go to auction this weekend.

Low interest rates, coupled with perceptions of a softer market due to the recession and COVID-19 conditions are inspiring young professionals to get off the rental roundabout or out of home and onto the property ownership ladder.

Agents are reporting higher numbers of buyers fitting this profile at apartments opened for inspections in the past few weeks.

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At the first open of 2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove, Patrick Lang, of Belle Property Lane Cove, had 120 people through the front door – all socially distanced of course.

“It’s fantastic to see young professionals out there in their 20s and 30s buying property,” Mr Lang said.

“Money is so cheap and people are seeing that you can spend the same or a very similar amount each week on rent or a mortgage. They see rent as dead money.

“Bricks and mortar is becoming trendy again.”

And Lane Cove is shaping up as something of a hot spot, he said.

Last week he auctioned 8/557 Mowbray Rd, Lane Cove, a two-bedroom apartment with a price guide of $800,000.

It sold under the hammer for an undisclosed amount, understood to be well above the price guide.

The Pacific Highway apartment, which also has two bedrooms, has the same price guide and is due to go to auction on September 5.

2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove.

Lane Cove has a median apartment sale price of $800,000, which represents a 12-month growth of 5.5 per cent.

Mr Lang said young professionals were mostly uninterested in buying apartments needing work or renovations, and were looking for trendy homes in boutique blocks or complexes with pools, tennis court and other shared facilities.

Some were either upgrading from a one-bedders or looking for their first home, and many were couples looking to form households together for the first time.

He said about 60 per cent of young buyers he was seeing at open homes and auctions were there with their parent or parents for moral and/or financial support.

“It really is good to see them out there and with less investors in the market, they have less competition,” Mr Lang said.

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Badgerys Creek block on the doorstep of Western Sydney Airport for sale ahead of rezone

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No. 100 Martin Road at Badgerys Creek is on the market ahead of a rezone later this year.

Developers are circling a prized parcel of land on the door step of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.

The 2.26ha site at 100 Martin Road, Badgerys Creek, is being offered to buyers, just months from it being rezoned from rural to enterprise use.

The development upside is drawing interest from builders, investors, developers and construction companies looking to cash in on the airport when it opens in 2026.

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No price guide has been made public, but comparable sales in the area have fetched in the range of $250 per sqm. This translates into a possible sale price close to $6 million.

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The 2.26ha site is right near Western Sydney Airport, which is under construction.

Listed with Colliers International agents Thomas Mosca, Nick Estephen and James Cowan, the landholding will go under the hammer on September 10.

Mr Estephen said 100 Martin Road will be the second property in Badgerys Creek to go to a public auction in recent memory.

“The last time a property in this suburb was sold via an onsite public auction it exceeded the last suburb record by 60 per cent,” he said.

Described as the third CBD of Greater Sydney, Western Sydney Aerotropolis has seen companies such as Suttons Automotive, Hanson, Adelaide Brighton and Mirvac purchase land.

An artists impression of the new Badgerys Creek airport to be built.

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Ideally located between the aerotropolis and the airport.

The area, which is set to accommodate a population of more than 1.5 million people by 2036, is experiencing immense growth, with the CSIRO also planning to build a research hub and Amazon committing to a 200,000sqm robotics fulfilment centre within the Aerotropolis.

When the site is rezoned for enterprise use, a number of different commercial and mixed employment uses will be able to be built including a warehouse complex.

“There is a lot of anticipation around the rezoning of the land in this precinct and developers are very keen to purchase land in the area,” Mr Cowan said.

Alan Walker and Andrew Lakomy of Cor Cordis are selling it in their capacity as receivers.

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Three level extension hides behind historic Queenslander

This home at 16 Strath Street, Highgate Hill has undergone a major restoration and extension and is now for sale.

Brisbane’s earliest rail lines were being built when a railway surveyor moved in to 16 Strath Street, Highgate Hill.

BEFORE: 16 Strath Street, Highgate Hill.

Nearly 140 years later, rail lines have expanded and so has the house, but transport solutions for a growing city remain the focus of the current owner.

Michael Roth is a passenger and freight transport consultant who has lovingly restored the three-bedroom worker’s cottage and joined it to a three-storey extension that has tripled the house size and added three more bedrooms.

BEFORE: The rear sleep-out.

AFTER: No longer a sleep-out, this room has become the main bathroom.

“This is one of the beauties of Brisbane,” he said.

“It’s on top of a hill near South Bank, with views to the east and west and the city. We can see sunrise and sunset from the front veranda and the new deck.”

“What we know is that this was one of the three original houses on the street. We know it was built somewhere between 1881 when the land was subdivided and 1883 when it appears in the post office book.”

But despite the romance of its origins, the house was rundown when Michael and Susan Roth bought it in 2013.

“We rented it out for 18 months while we worked out what to do and then we took the plunge to start the renovation,” he said.

BEFORE: The old kitchen was added on to the original building in an extension that was demolished.

The design for the extension and renovation was completed in 2015 and then building approvals were sought with construction taking place between 2017 and 2020. “I’ve done about half a dozen renovations but this is the biggest job by far.

AFTER: The new kitchen is built in almost the same spot as the old one, as part of the new extension.

Mr Roth, who is a mechanical engineer, decided not to go with an architect, choosing to design the house himself in consultation with a building designer and draughtsman. He also had project manager Ben Kelly from Kelly Constructions oversee the build.

The house was raised slightly and built in underneath, demolishing a previous extension which had a kitchen and bathroom behind the home.

BEFORE: The previous extension.

AFTER: The new extension.

The original home now has three bedrooms and a lounge upstairs and a guest bedroom with an ensuite, laundry and garage on the ground floor.

A front sunroom in the original house has been converted into part of the front veranda and the rear sunroom has become the main bathroom on the first floor.

BEFORE: The front enclosed sunroom.

AFTER: The front sunroom is now part of the veranda.

The extension is barely visible from the front of the 549sq m property and has a self-contained granny flat on the ground level, while the main living, dining and kitchen areas are on the first floor with a rear deck.

AFTER: The property’s footprint as it looks today.

The second floor is taken up by the master bedroom.

Wide blackbutt floorboards have been laid throughout the house to link the old and new sections and instead of building cupboards in the bedrooms, extra storage space has been built into the attic.

AFTER: The central stairs and hallway represent the point where the original house meets the new extension.

AFTER: Another view of the join between the two buildings, with a pond that features bricks from the existing home.

A passive solar design underpins the home with a central corridor that sucks the air from the front to the back of the house, creating a sustained breeze and reducing the need for airconditioning.

And wherever possible the couple managed to recycle original materials.

“We recycled what we could in terms of some of the wood and the bricks, there was an old chimney that was falling down from 1900 and we took that apart carefully and used all those bricks for the pond that we built and the pathway.”

BEFORE AND AFTER: The same aspect as before but the city has changed.

But in making a multi-generational home, the couple, whose children have left home, say the house is now too big for their needs so they have put it on the market with Bettina Jude of Belle Property West End.

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A grand restoration has created a luxury lifestyle property on the Bellarine

The facade at 3 The Avenue, Ocean Grove

THERE’S restorations and renovations and then there’s this magnificent offering on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Broome Cottage, circa 1890, has been gloriously restored and transformed into a classic stately home that’s sitting pretty on a sprawling 1066sq m property at 3 The Avenue, Ocean Grove.

The incredible home is listed with a price guide of $3.3m, and in this story the historical aspects are just as interesting as all of the aesthetics.

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“The history is a big talking point, it’s such an iconic house, one of a kind” said Bellarine Property, Barwon Heads agent Ben Roberts.

The original cottage on the site was built for Geelong merchant Thomas Hawkes and the property’s tennis court, which no longer exists, was frequently used by David Cup tennis player Jack Hawkes and his contemporaries.

A Heritage Victoria citation also states Gladys Bell, who donated the first boats to the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club, instigated construction of the present home in the early 1930s.

Fast forward to the present owners.

They saved the landmark property from the wrecker’s ball seven years ago, and have spent the past few years restoring the grand two-storey residence, although grand almost seems an understatement.

With expansive views over the Barwon River estuary, Ocean Grove beach and the Surf Coast, almost every room guarantees a sensational view.

This beautiful living zone would be hard to leave.

The double-height entry makes a statement, so too the bluestone paved sunroom with epic views towards Geelong beyond the adjoining lawn.

The entry certainly makes a statement.

Many original features, including the timber balustrade on the staircase, crystal cut glass door knobs, brass push plates, open fireplaces and decorative cornices have been retained.

But there’s plenty of luxe modern features, starting with the open-plan living zone that has parquetry flooring.

And, the designer kitchen has a modern feel, with stone benchtops and a marble-look splashback with Siemens appliances and a Vintec wine fridge.

Plenty of room for grazing platters here.

Living, eating and viewing large.

The house has three living areas and six fireplaces, while the main bedroom has a private balcony.

Such a grand sense of living space.

The study gets a river vista and there’s even a room for the coats.

Parents will love retreating to the expansive main bedroom.

Outside is like a private oasis and offers plenty of options to entertain, including a spotted gum deck facing the estuary to the west.

The Spotted Gum deck has a west-facing estuary vista.

Mr Roberts said the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house was in a league rarely seen on the Bellarine Peninsula.

“It’s hard to buy in Ocean Grove in a prestigious street like The Avenue with a home like that, the block size and the uninterrupted views,” he said.

“Here, if you are lucky enough, you can be in a premium street in old Ocean Grove, within walking distance of the shops.”

Extras include gas ducted heating, ceiling fans and alarm system.

The post A grand restoration has created a luxury lifestyle property on the Bellarine appeared first on realestate.com.au.

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