Property Development
Renovating property has always been a part of Nicole’s income strategy. As a builder’s daughter and the eldest child in a big Dutch Catholic family that kept outgrowing their homes, she developed a love of property. Watching her mother design a new home with more room and bedrooms, and being involved with the building process happened twice in her childhood, always resulting in a new adventure, a new home, new curtains to sew, new gardens to landscape and a new suburb to explore. Nicole didn’t think twice about buying land as a teenager and designing her own home.
Designed & owner built by Nicole. Finished in 1989 at age 22.
Unfortunately her first building experience did not result in a profit as it was during ‘the recession we had to have’ which she was totally unaware of at the time – being a 20 year old girl from the suburbs – 15% bank interest was what it was….it was her first steep learning curve.
Five years later she recovered emotionally and financially and purchased a two building property on a busy intersection in inner Brisbane so she could live and work on her new budding business at the time – Active Apparel.
The next project was a ground floor apartment across the road from Main Beach on the Gold Coast – the position chosen firstly for resale and secondly, for somewhere to live while she developed her marine industry business.
A booming property market led to her next 2 projects – the days where you could do no wrong in property – everything made a profit! Firstly a development site – originally a large home spread over two titles. The house had been half demolished and one block of land sold. She purchased the remaining block with half a house in an upmarket waterfront location and proceeded to contract an architect to redesign and remodel the home into a luxurious property while she travelled to Colombia in South America and contracted master craftsmen to manufacture the windows, doors, and furniture from recycled Amazonian hardwoods from demolished spanish colonial buildings.
Remarkably she had an offer too good to refuse before any work even began…so she sold the property and moved on to another one, this time the worst house in the best street – a high quality waterfront redevelopment surrounded by million dollar homes. Fortunately the 40ft container of Colombian furniture and fittings were successfully adapted to the new project!
The renovation was epic to say the least, with a quality property magazine journalist describing the home as “the most beautiful on the Gold Coast”. Renovations did take substantially longer than expected and although she did make a profit, she missed selling in the real boom.
In the middle of renovations and with a new furniture import business (Rustic Colombian of course), Nicole purchased two old houses side by side well positioned on a busy commercial road in the ‘design district’ of the Gold Coast firstly to house staff and stock and secondly to develop into a commercial premises. Unfortunately Council did not share her vision, but when she later sold them, the profits were still worth the effort.
In 2006 with everything so far happening before the age of 40, Nicole was somewhat exhausted to say the least and decided to consolidate, sell everything and move to the mountains for a year off. Of course she bought a ‘renovator’ so she had something to do in her ‘mini retirement’…she had also purchased a derelict farm cottage a few years prior which was screaming out for restoration. It never ends!
In 2010 after selling the renovated mountain home, she planted herself on the farm for 6 months to fully restore the farm cottage into a private Luxury Bed and Breakfast.
Gold Coast Property – BEFORE ‘NV’
Gold Coast Property – AFTER ‘NV’
The Farm Cottage
