- 5 days ago
Find My Beach House - Season 3 Episode 7 -
Fraser Island
Fraser Island
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Many of us are now making the move to our beautiful coastlines.
00:06Our beachfront dreamers want crashing waves and salty sea air.
00:10So grab your sunscreen and join us on the hunt for the ultimate beach house.
00:16It's been a hard day hunting.
00:17It's been a hard day.
00:47The clock is ticking. Let's go shopping.
00:59We met on a blind date and we've been together ever since.
01:03We want to be together forever.
01:05And our children and our grandchildren can come here and enjoy their time with us.
01:09That's what it's all about.
01:11We've waited long enough to buy a house over here.
01:1420 years.
01:1520 years and the time seems to be right.
01:18We need somewhere to relax.
01:20We need a piece of paradise and this is it.
01:23This is the best island in the world, we think.
01:26We want to retire, maybe next year.
01:28But we've got a big business to run.
01:30That's why we want it today.
01:32We've got to work hard.
01:33So we want this to look forward to once a month to come to our little piece of paradise.
01:38We'd like to stick about the $800,000 mark.
01:42That's what we want to do.
01:43We could go higher but we feel as though the $800,000 would be right for us.
01:49Nothing for us.
01:50The must-haves for us would be location.
01:53We have to be close to the beach.
01:55View is also pretty important to us.
01:58Open plan.
01:59Preferably not double-storied, but whatever comes along today, that's what we'll make the decision on.
02:06Fraser Island, also known as Gari, is located a few hours north of the Sunshine Coast, right next to Harvey Bay.
02:21Being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island is made up of gorgeous beaches, rugged terrain and also some incredible wildlife that, much like the visitors, can't help but take in the beauty.
02:36With plenty of activities to do with their visiting family, plus many spots to just kick back and take in the ocean breeze, I'm not surprised why Marilyn and Kev want a slice of island paradise.
03:00Good morning.
03:02Morning.
03:02Another beautiful day in paradise.
03:04Of course it is.
03:04Welcome to our island.
03:05Well, thank you.
03:07Hopefully, we can find you your perfect beach house.
03:09We're not leaving until we have one.
03:11I love the sound of that.
03:12All right.
03:13You guys have been frequenting the island for a long, long time.
03:16What's made you decide to make the move over here permanently?
03:1930 years ago, came here, fell in love with the place and thought one day I'll either be living here or have something here to own.
03:26We just wanted a piece of paradise, hey, love?
03:28Here we are.
03:29Sounds like a great retirement plan to me.
03:31Now, we are on the main street, as you know, very close to the beach access, which is why this morning we're seeing so many four-wheel drives coming and going.
03:38Everyone's heading out for the day.
03:39Of course.
03:39This is the main gate.
03:41Shall we talk street appeal?
03:42You've got aluminium windows.
03:44You've got hardy planking, very low maintenance.
03:46I love the fact that you can get all the way around underneath.
03:49Underneath.
03:49Check out all your services.
03:50And, of course, then we've got a slab as well.
03:52So, really solid construction.
03:54It's not going anywhere.
03:55No.
03:56Do you know this is the first time it's been on the market since it was built?
03:59The front was outstanding and huge, easy maintenance-wise.
04:04We've been in this house before.
04:06We stayed here on holiday.
04:08We had the best time in this house.
04:10It was huge.
04:12Head on in.
04:13I'll follow you in.
04:13Let's go.
04:14So, that's the grandkids taken care of downstairs.
04:28They've got their own bedrooms, living space.
04:31This is where the grown-ups come.
04:33You know what?
04:33It's still the same.
04:35It is a little bit tired, perhaps.
04:37Could do with an update.
04:39Great for a holiday house.
04:40Yes.
04:40But if you're thinking of spending a lot more time over here,
04:42you might want a few more creature comforts.
04:44Always.
04:45Definitely.
04:45So, what would you do to this space, Marilyn?
04:47What's your vision?
04:48Repolish the floors.
04:49Floors.
04:50Paint.
04:50I think I'd probably redo the benches.
04:53Put a lot of furniture outside.
04:54We like to relax and we like our guests to relax.
04:58So, you want to turn this into the quintessential beach house?
05:01The beach house.
05:01That's what it has to be.
05:03Add some soft furnishings and colour.
05:05Yep, definitely.
05:07When we first walked in, it brought back memories of the last holiday we had here.
05:11We always wanted to buy this house or had it in mind to buy.
05:15Five years ago.
05:16Five years ago.
05:17And now it's come up a little bit dated, but there's a lot of potential.
05:22Take a look around, bedrooms, bathrooms, and I'll meet you out here on the veranda.
05:25Certainly.
05:25And we can talk about that view a little bit more.
05:27Okay, thank you.
05:39Okay.
05:41Maybe our room?
05:43It's a good size room.
05:44Yeah.
05:45I think a king would fit in here.
05:47The main bedroom, it's big, so we'd still be able to put a king bed in it, which we'd prefer.
05:54Nice breeze.
05:55Yeah, you've got to have the breeze.
05:57And the view.
05:59Beautiful.
06:00Look at this.
06:01This is us.
06:02This is nice.
06:07Do you even spend any time inside when you're here?
06:11No, very little.
06:11We live outside.
06:12Yeah, we're outside people.
06:14It's the Queensland way, right?
06:15Yeah.
06:15The barbie, the lounges.
06:18Yeah, there's plenty of room for barbecue.
06:19To have the elevation of this home is really lovely.
06:24You're always going to get a breeze from one direction or the other, I think.
06:27Definitely.
06:28The deck is great.
06:29More furniture, more lounges, and another fridge for the drinks.
06:35For the drinks.
06:36Got to have a drinks fridge.
06:37So, the house is on the market.
06:40It is being sold fully furnished.
06:42Take a stab at what they're asking, Ken.
06:45I reckon about 1.4.
06:47I would offer maybe 1.3.
06:51This is the first time it's been offered on the market since it was built.
06:54Yeah.
06:54So, the vendors are hoping for offers around 1.6.
07:10This is the first time it's been offered on the market since it was built.
07:14Yeah.
07:14So, the vendors are hoping for offers around 1.6.
07:19Mm-hmm.
07:19I think it's a bit over our budget, but after we have a look at the other ones, we...
07:25Yeah, we'll compare.
07:26We'll compare what is best suited for our budget and for where we want to end up living.
07:33Ready for house number two?
07:35Yeah.
07:35You bet.
07:45So, this is us here.
07:47The Fraser Island Beach Houses.
07:49It's a lovely little community.
07:51Imagine saying, I have to drive off-road on the beach to even get to my house.
07:56To get home.
07:57Isn't that crazy?
07:58A bit further away from the township now.
08:00You're not going to get that daily traffic coming and going off the beach.
08:03Beautiful colours.
08:04Obviously, they have kept up the maintenance on this one a little bit more than perhaps house number one.
08:08Now, I know this is your retirement plan.
08:10So, how do you feel about stairs?
08:12Yeah, that would be the only issue, would be the stairs.
08:15Maybe a gas lift on the outside, maybe, perhaps.
08:18How's that going to go beachside?
08:19I don't know.
08:19You might be replacing that one.
08:21We'll be rusted in a week.
08:23It looks like a beach house.
08:25The right position for a beach house.
08:27We love it.
08:28Very nice.
08:29Ready to head in?
08:30You bet.
08:31All right, let's go.
08:32Come on.
08:44So, you can see that VJ panelling follows all the way through the house.
08:48That's lovely.
08:48And then here you are.
08:49Where are you going to spend your days?
08:51Up here.
08:52I feel like the last house was a little undercooked with its styling and not quite as loved as this home.
08:57For sure.
08:58They've put a lot of effort into their decor to make it feel like a real beach house.
09:01Yes.
09:01Yes, it's very, very nice.
09:03This is definitely more beachy.
09:05This is what I call a beach house.
09:06Yeah, appealing.
09:07And the view.
09:08The view is to die for.
09:10Walking into the place had just a nice feel about it.
09:13A homely feel.
09:13Yeah, a nice homely feel.
09:14Felt like I'd been here before.
09:16Plenty of room.
09:17Plenty of room.
09:18The stairs.
09:18Could be an issue, but...
09:21No, I think it's a bit of us.
09:22Very nice.
09:24Would you like to go and have a look down there?
09:26Yeah, yeah.
09:27See how that's going to work for you as a layout.
09:29Then let's check out this view together.
09:42Oh, wow.
09:44Oh, this is good.
09:46It's your own little quarters.
09:48Kitchen, bed.
09:50You could virtually live here and family could be upstairs.
09:55The extra bedroom, the kitchenette, it'd be good for us if we had all the family here
10:00or even friends.
10:01We could stay downstairs and still have our brekkie and go to the beach and we wouldn't
10:05disturb the rest of the family, you know.
10:07We could just do our own thing.
10:09Very appealing for us.
10:12Let's go and look upstairs and take in the view.
10:15That's what we're here for.
10:16It's funny, isn't it?
10:27When you're looking for a beach house or a holiday home, you can sort of sacrifice the
10:32living areas for either the aspect, the view.
10:35And I think this house really has a beautiful combination of the two.
10:39It has, yeah.
10:40And plenty of deck, plenty of deck space.
10:42We'd find that we'd live out here.
10:44This would be us, the million dollar view.
10:46Yeah.
10:48The sense of community here.
10:49Can you imagine in summer when this is really bustling and you've got kids riding their bikes
10:54around?
10:55It's very family orientated, which is lovely.
10:57Let's talk price.
11:00I'm guessing maybe eight, nine hundred.
11:03I'm thinking maybe high sevens.
11:06So the asking price is $750,000.
11:11Oh, you're joking.
11:12Which is almost a million dollars under house number one.
11:15So a lot of room for improvement.
11:16I think it's very reasonable.
11:20Very.
11:20After looking at number one, we were quite shocked that there'd be such a difference in
11:25price.
11:25Family location here more than there.
11:28Like I couldn't have my six grandkids running out on the front lawn over there, whereas I
11:33could here.
11:33This is better suited to us, isn't it?
11:35Certainly.
11:39Coming up.
11:42So this is the one that we're heading into now.
11:44It looks great because it's low.
11:47That's it.
11:47Single level living.
11:49Definitely been taken care of.
11:51Very fresh.
11:52Very appealing.
11:53Very appealing to us.
12:07Previously.
12:09We want to retire maybe next year, but we've got a big business to run.
12:14And that's why we want it today.
12:16Now we are on the main street, as you know, very close to the beach access.
12:20We've been in this house before.
12:22The last holiday we had here.
12:24We always wanted to buy this house or had it in mind to buy.
12:29So Fraser Island Beach Houses.
12:31It's a lovely little community.
12:34It looks like a beach house.
12:36The right position for a beach house.
12:38We love it.
12:38So this is the one that we're heading into now.
12:50It looks great because it's low, I think.
12:52That's it.
12:53Single level living.
12:54A little bit of elevation.
12:55But again, that's great in this Queensland environment to get that airflow through the home.
12:59I'm taking you in the back door because there's a beautiful surprise out the front.
13:03But you are right down the end of the cul-de-sac here, which is a lot more private.
13:07But it is part of a complex, so you don't sort of have your own yard.
13:10There are little gardens that you're allowed to work on.
13:13But there's slow maintenance too, right?
13:14Yep.
13:15It hasn't got a lot of street appeal.
13:17We'll have less work to do, I think, at the back.
13:20At the back.
13:21And it's all on one level, which is really appealing.
13:25Okay, you ready to head inside?
13:27Oh, definitely.
13:28Definitely.
13:28It is a very warm day.
13:30Beautiful one day, perfect the next.
13:32That's it.
13:32Come on in, Kev.
13:42Oh, this is nice.
13:44This is a bit of me.
13:45This is definitely a bit of us.
13:47Yeah.
13:48Bless dance.
13:48Bless dance.
13:49Oh, no, this is nice.
13:50It's nice and cool.
13:51Now, you can tell this house has been loved.
13:54This one is immaculate and it's done,
13:57but it means you probably can't add as much of your own personal touch
14:00without making big changes.
14:01No.
14:02So, does the styling here sort of suit the way that you would like?
14:07We'd probably do something with the kitchen.
14:09The rest of it is nice and open.
14:10There's plenty of airflow.
14:12Direct access to the beach.
14:14Oh, the view when we walked into the living room was...
14:18We can't describe it, hey.
14:20It's just...
14:20Magnificent.
14:21Very homely.
14:22Definitely been taken care of.
14:24Very fresh.
14:25Very appealing.
14:26Very appealing to us.
14:28Go and have a hunt down the back there.
14:30I can see some cars flying along the beach,
14:32so I'm going to go and check that out.
14:33We will.
14:33Oh, nice.
14:43Plenty of room.
14:44Big bedroom.
14:45Bigger bed.
14:45Bands.
14:46En suite.
14:46I think maybe the carpet's got to go.
14:52The carpet would have to go.
14:53Maybe a paint.
14:54Very appealing.
14:56I'd like to know what the cost will be.
14:59Okay.
15:00Yep.
15:00Oh, my love.
15:09This is very special.
15:10Oh, fancy coming home to this.
15:12Yes.
15:13And I love the fact you get this lawn space for this property as well.
15:17Very nice view.
15:18Very nice.
15:18We like the long deck, just one deck instead of round corners,
15:22which would suit us and our family.
15:24Yes.
15:25Feel that breeze, Marilyn.
15:26Oh, it's beautiful.
15:27Oh, isn't it lovely?
15:28I can't believe walking from the front to here,
15:31the difference is just wow.
15:34We love the deck.
15:35We love the deck.
15:36Overlooking our ocean.
15:37And it's all one.
15:38No corners.
15:39Yeah.
15:40No, it's the goods.
15:42Yeah.
15:42The deck's the goods.
15:44Price plays a huge part in any decision that you're going to make,
15:48so, well, $800.
15:51Okay, so you'd be offering $800.
15:53Well, the vendors are asking $850.
15:57So if there is some wriggle room, put your best foot forward.
16:00And if you are interested in making an offer,
16:03it's a great place to start.
16:05The asking price, we'll have to sit down and do our finances
16:09and go from there.
16:12We've got a lot to think about.
16:14We're not leaving this island without a piece of it.
16:17At some stage of the day, we will have made a decision.
16:21Definitely.
16:21Definitely.
16:26Coming up.
16:27I think we've made our mind up.
16:29Okay, so one, two, or three.
16:32We've thought about it deep and seriously.
16:45While Marilyn and Kev are busy making their quick decision,
16:48I took the chance to do a whirlwind tour of the island in style.
16:53I was lucky enough to catch up with Ash,
16:55who runs Fraser Dingo 4WD tours,
16:59where he told me more about this island paradise.
17:02Thank you for loaning me a high-vis four-wheel drive for my trip onto the island today.
17:08I'm not going to get missed and I'm not going to get bogged.
17:11So, Ash, when did your love affair with Kigari begin?
17:14Oh, my God, it's a long story, but it goes way back, about 40 years.
17:18My parents hired a houseboat in Harvey Bay and we ended up here on the west coast of Fraser
17:23into Central Station.
17:24I still remember it.
17:25It's just one of those magic places on Earth that we just love to come to.
17:29And then it's just developed from there.
17:31Basically, we started out of our backyard, small business, over 14 years ago.
17:35It's been a journey.
17:36It's been amazing.
17:37We have about 30 cars now, about over 10 staff, so a bit of a success story because we have
17:42a lot of passion.
17:43People come from the other side of the world just to come here.
17:47They come over here.
17:48They're just blown away by the amazing beauty of this place.
17:51And they come back and they say, look, that was the best thing we've done in Australia.
17:55I'm working with a couple today.
17:57They live on the mainland.
17:58They've always holidayed here.
17:59And now they're ready to make the move and live here permanently.
18:02Yes.
18:03Big decision, right?
18:04But for all the right reasons.
18:06I say good on them.
18:07You know, we always get comments from people that leave the island and they go, oh my God,
18:11I want to go back.
18:13Must be hard getting them back on the barge to go home.
18:15Oh, it is.
18:17Well, are you going to tag along with me or am I tagging along with you to get back to
18:20the barge?
18:21Well, you can tag along with me.
18:22Thank you, mate.
18:23I'll see you there.
18:23Well, that was an amazing scenic route to get us back to town.
18:42It's now time to catch up with Marilyn and Kev and hear if they've come to a speedy decision.
18:51Now, guys, I don't want you to feel pressured into this decision.
18:54I know you had a time frame for yourselves, but buying a home isn't something that you
18:58need to jump upon.
18:59Having said that, I think you're fairly decisive and you've made a lot of decisions in your
19:03time and this one's going to be a breeze.
19:04We have.
19:05We have.
19:06Really?
19:06We have.
19:06A couple of phone calls.
19:09Okay.
19:09Well, let's talk through the properties that we saw earlier today.
19:12House number one, right there in the middle of, I call it town, right there in the middle
19:16of Yerong Village.
19:17Yes.
19:17Very easy access to all the facilities that were on offer there.
19:21Needed a bit of love, though, didn't it?
19:22It did.
19:23Needed a bit of love.
19:24You could make it something really special.
19:26Oh, we could.
19:27We're up to that.
19:27We're up to that.
19:28We're up to doing up and making it beautiful.
19:31It had a great layout where you could keep upstairs and perhaps rent out downstairs or vice versa
19:36if there was a big family coming.
19:38So then what about house number two?
19:40It was sort of split over the levels.
19:42Again, it had the separate studio.
19:44Which was good for us.
19:45Quite convenient.
19:46Yeah, depending on how you're going to use the property.
19:48Very beachy.
19:49It's a great part of town, that second valley.
19:51And I think the idea of being in a complex like that, if you are traveling or coming and
19:55going, you've got that extra level of people looking after the whole area.
19:59And it did have that real quintessential beach house feel.
20:02Yeah, definitely.
20:04Definitely.
20:04House number three.
20:07Same complex, single level, right there, front row with, I would say, a million dollar
20:12location, but under a million bucks that you have to spend.
20:15That's for sure.
20:16Still a little bit of work there.
20:18There would be changes that you'd want to make.
20:20Yeah, there's definitely changes we'd make, but things that we can do ourselves.
20:25I think we've made our mind up.
20:26Okay, so one, two, or three?
20:31Definitely three.
20:32Three.
20:33We've thought about it deep and seriously, and location and stairs, I think, might have
20:39been our choice.
20:41Three is what we are happy to take on.
20:44It's the right price.
20:45Right price.
20:46It's in our budget.
20:47Plenty of room for all the grandkids.
20:48The grandkids.
20:49Yes.
20:49We love it.
20:50It's us.
20:54Since our island adventure, I've heard from our couple that the offer on the house was
20:59indeed successful.
21:00I wish you and your family all the best in this incredible part of the world.
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