Better Homes and Gardens landscapers Charlie Albone, Jason Hodges buy and sell in Sydney

As Better Homes and Gardens‘ new star recruit Charlie Albone takes the reins from Jason Hodges, the celebrity landscapers are also busy parlaying their know-how in the Sydney property market.

Albone and his interior designer wife Juliet Love recently took possession of a Maroubra property best described as one of the “before renovation” jobs for $2,355,000.

The red-brick semi with a north-facing rear is hoped to be a DIY home renovation for the creative couple, much as they did on the Ourimbah acreage retreat they bought in 2012 for $840,000.

The purchase was bang on the guide set late last year by Belle Property’s Shane Vincent and settlement records reveal the conveyance was by none other than Love’s lawyer dad Colin Love, former chairman of the Australian Rugby League.

The purchase follows Albone’s decision late last year to quit Foxtel’s Selling Houses Australia to join the BH&G team, replacing Hodges.

The Berry-bound Hodges told Title Deeds he was devastated to lose his job, but can console himself this week with an offer set to go unconditional by Saturday on his $1.9 million home in North Ryde.

The four-bedroom house looks like one of the “after” shots from the show that made his name, with a mix of rustic and ornate finishes and a manicured garden complete with a plunge pool added since he bought it in 2011 for $685,000.

Hodges declined to say how much was offered, but it was clearly a decent one given his profuse praise for McGrath’s John McManus.