The Brisbane house flip project that took 5 years to complete

Flipping a house typically involves buying undervalued properties, renovating them, then selling them at a profit. The general idea is to complete the renovation as quickly as possible and spend as little in the process to maximise profit.

But making an argument for the opposing viewpoint is a couple, Kylie and Sean Breaker, who purchased a Brisbane property in April 2016. Five years later, they have bared the fruit of their unconventional approach.

Deciding to take on the project as a financial strategy to help fulfil their dream of building a family home in Tasmania, the couple purchased a property in the outer northern suburb of Deagon. While it had “good bones”, it was a “lacklustre house with pokey rooms”.

“From the get-go, I was able to envision exactly what it would ultimately become; a light-filled, airy, contemporary home, with lush gardens acting as a private oasis, allowing for the feeling of being anywhere but suburbia,” Kylie says.

While television shows about flipping properties suggest that the road to real estate riches is a simple and swift affair, in reality, projects rarely go as scheduled, as was the case for the Breakers.

“At first, we thought the renovation would take around 18 months from council development approval, but it actually took us five years,” recalls Kylie. “We physically did all of the construction ourselves, aside from trade help from an electrician, plumber, house raiser, and tiler, and since we both work full time, everything was done over weekends.”

And though the extended process was physically and emotionally exhausting for the couple, the gift of hindsight has allowed them to see why taking advantage of extra time proved to be rewarding in the long run.

“Living in the house before designing the renovation gave us time to really think about the passive solar opportunities and really familiarise ourselves with the surrounding environment and neighbouring properties,” says Kylie. “The extra time also gave us nearly 12 months and a full growing season to have the garden looking like it was several years established.”

Beyond completely gutting the property and doubling its original size, though risky, the Breakers opted for a flexible budget that allowed them to make mindful and tasteful design choices.

“Some decisions can’t be compromised by budget. For example, we included authentic artisan tiles as a feature in the kitchen and bathrooms and offset the cost with less expensive tiles on the remaining walls,” explains Kylie. “We also created a beautiful garden, which we believe increased the value of the property, even though gardens are usually last to be considered, with budgets often already exhausted by that stage of the project.”

Once the renovation was completed, the couple then added further flair to the property before deeming it market-ready, with the home’s final presentation being highly considered.

“As we had been living in a construction site for five years, we didn’t have a lot of nice things in the house, so I purchased beautiful linens, towels, and cushions, and on top of the furniture we already had, borrowed some key pieces, making the place look and feel luxurious when all combined together,” says Kylie. “We could have had the house professionally staged, but it wouldn’t have been a reflection of us, and I think that has made a difference.”

Passionate about evoking an emotional response from potential buyers, Kylie also chose to sway away from typical “real estate images” and instead chose to engage a professional lifestyle photographer to help capture the property.

“I wanted them to visualise their life living in this home, and I knew we couldn’t create that with normal real estate images, so I engaged Hannah Puechmarin to take our photos,” Kylie says. “I also had my very talented friend Cheryl Carr help me with the styling for the photoshoot, teaching me how to orient furniture and allow a room to breathe.”

Ready to be listed, the Breakers spoke to a couple of agents, with one telling them they had made a mistake by building the best house on the street. Yet, with full confidence in their finished project, the couple placed the house on the market over a three-week campaign, resulting in record attendance over six open homes before selling under the hammer at auction and breaking a sales record for the suburb.

“I think our formula was definitely not typical for flipping houses, but we had to believe it would work,” says Kylie. “Certainly, there was an opportunity to do a much quicker and smaller renovation, and in the heavy midst of it all, we questioned if we had taken the right path, but looking back now, the love and time show in the finished home, and in the end result.”