Sunshine Coast real estate: Units in Palmer Coolum Resort to go on sale

UP TO 15 two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas located a short walk from one of Queensland’s best beaches are about to hit the market for as little as $220,000. But they come with a somewhat chequered history.

TWO-bedroom villas at the Palmer Coolum Resort will soon be listed on the property market for a “bargain price” as owners finally get their power and water restored.

This will be the first time people will be able to buy an entire villa, not a quarter-share at the once prestigious Coolum property, The Sunshine Coast Daily reports.

Body corporate committee member Chris Shannon said it was expected power and water would be restored to the President’s Club golf villas “within days” after villa owners had “bypassed” resort owner, Clive Palmer.

The about 200 golf club villa owners will be able to return to their villas for a holiday for the first time “in four years”.

Some had indicated they had plans to put the property on the market for anyone to buy, as long as their surname wasn’t Palmer.

“They won’t sell to any of Clive Palmer’s family or business connections,” Mr Shannon said.

“Quarter shares sold for between $75,000 and $100,000 in the 1990s and then in the early 2000s.”

After four years without power Palmer Coolum Resort villa owners are excited about having the electricity turned on. Villa owner Chris Shannon can hardly contain his excitement. Picture: Warren Lynam

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom, fully-furnished villas would go on the market for “between $220,000 and $240,000”.

“About 10 to 15 of them will be coming on to the market for sale,” Mr Shannon said.

“They will be the cheapest two-bedroom, fully-furnished villas around.”

Mr Shannon said the President’s Club golf villa owners had bypassed their electricity problem by installing a new system.

“Clive wouldn’t sign over the National Meter Identifier (NMI) from Energex, so they bypassed him,” Mr Shannon said.

Villa owner Chris Shannon says the President’s Club golf villa owners had bypassed their electricity problem by installing a new system. Picture: Warren Lynam

“A NMI is a registration number from the owner of the service.

“Whoever holds the NMI holds the service. So what they did is put another meter installation in front of his.”

Mr Palmer, who bowed out of political life completely last week, had “co-operated” with the golf villa owners to get their water back.

Mr Shannon said the villa owners were “keen to come back and have a look” now that power had been restored to the villas.

“We have also rekeyed the villas so people would not need to go to reception to get in.”

Not all of the resort villa owners were quite so lucky.

Mr Shannon said there were three body corporates at the resort, the Ambassador’s Club, the President’s Club Golf Villas and the President’s Club Tennis Villas.

Unfortunately for the 90 tennis villa club owners, including Maree Frecklington, progress hadn’t been made getting their power and water restored as Mr Palmer owned the lion’s share of this body corporate.

“Because the golf villa owners have the majority share, they can make decisions and get things done,” Mr Shannon said.

He said the golf villa owners were keen to return to the property from which they had been effectively locked out of.

“They’ll dribble in to see what’s going on after not being there for four years.”

The sale of the villa would not include use of resort facilities, but this might not be a detraction.

The resort had been spruced up when the Daily visited the property in December, but it appeared this was short-lived.

“It has all gone quiet again, the pools are drained and full of rainwater,” Mr Shannon said.

Mr Palmer could not be reached for comment.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast real estate: Units in Palmer Coolum Resort to go on sale