LOOK INSIDE: Latest project from Toowoomba’s Reno Lads
NELSON and Baden Marino-Hall have made a name for themselves for turning run-down Queensland cottages into classic masterpieces.
Property
Don't miss out on the headlines from Property. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NELSON and Baden Marino-Hall have made a name for themselves for turning run-down Queensland cottages into classic masterpieces - so much so that the houses are selling before they're finished.
The Toowoomba couple, known across Australia as "The Reno Lads", have sold their latest project on Russell St, Newtown in a private arrangement.
Nelson said the property, which they bought as a dilapidated and tiny worker's cottage in 2017, was intended to be the couple's family home in which to raise their infant daughter.
But after circumstances changed, they settled on trying to sell it privately and were immediately met with several potential buyers.
One family made the boys an offer several weeks ago that they couldn't refuse.
"They're a local family, who are super excited," Nelson said.
"They said they wanted this one and that they'd been looking for 18 months - they fought us to buy it from us."
The couple, with the help of builder Clayton Jesse Constructions, tripled the size of the property and added luxurious features like a $6000 stove, antique mantelpiece, stone bathtub underneath a handcrafted arch window frame and a walk-through garage.
But since the property hadn't quite finished, Nelson said the new buyer was able to put their own spin on the final touches.
"It becomes personal, because we were at the stage where the painters were coming in three days later and we said that if they wanted to buy the house now, there was an opportunity to influence the house and add their personal touch," he said.
"With the interior colours and carpet colours, we changed it to suit the buyers.
"It's going to a wonderful family who will love it."
The sale has capped off a rollercoaster 12 months for the couple, who also made headlines in May after welcoming first child Amalia with a surrogate mum from South Australia in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With "Project Newtown" wrapping up, Nelson said the couple was already being hit with offers for their next project.
"We're getting messages from people who have a house they want us to renovate," he said.
Northern Rivers council axes public access
After several motions stating local communities were being cut from a fair and democratic process, a Northern Rivers council has voted to severely limit public access and question time in its meetings.
New ‘eco-village’ greenlit for Northern Rivers
After three years of planning, the Afterlee Ecovillage has received approval from Kyogle Council, bringing an intriguing development to the community of Kyogle.