Second half of the year in Green Point

The news shortly after my return about the cancelled contract also made it the last one for this year at least.

It was at that time that I decided that my life and my way of doing things had to change. I had to borrow some money to keep me going. Hence the decision to sell Green Point Palace in order to settle all my debt and start ‘another’ life.





Some time ago, two old friends of mine and I had started to make some long term plans for our future. Ute, who lives in Far North Queensland for the last 20 odd years and Thomas, who lives in Adelaide and I we talked about building some kind of ‘retirement village’ just for the 3 of us, so we can look after each other when the need arises. And this should somehow be created in FNQ, somewhere between Cairns and Mission Beach.

And given my current situation, I suggested that we might bring this a bit forward or at least start with the first or so step to make it a reality. And hence the idea of selling my current house.

Those plans were somewhat delayed due to the Australian federal elections in August and the subsequent wrangling for a new minority government. The Australian real estate market does not like elections very much and auction clearances are falling significantly during those times. Hence I needed to push the start of marketing a bit back.





In the mean time, thankfully, the little company also got another job and the proprietor was able to earn some money.

And since I am in the business of telling other people how to better sell their products, I thought it only fair that I would sell my house myself and save the $25.000 or there abouts agent fee. Given that a lot these days happens over the internet, my focus was on a reasonable presentation on one of my blogs and some seeding ads in papers and an ongoing campaign on several relevant websites.



I knew and said to myself many times that selling Green Point Palace will not be easy since the house is very much built, structured and designed for me personally. And I am acutely aware of the fact that this kind of design does not suit the ‘average punter’ in the housing market. But there must be somebody around who might share my ideas of living in harmony with nature and in a house, which is actually 3 separate houses each with a specific purpose.

Well during the four open days which I had in November and December, I was not exactly inundated with visitors and interested people. And whilst knowing that selling the house will be difficult and a long process, it can sometimes be a bit frustrating when your ‘theoretical’ knowledge proves to be very practical reality.

In September I had the great pleasure of welcoming Thomas from Adelaide for a few days and later on Dorothea and Helmut during their visit of Australia. Thomas and I discussed a fair bit about our future plans and we considered to also incorporate some kind of bar/restaurant in the project and even one house which could be rented out to tourists. Our combined skills would be suited to such venture, since Thomas has been running restaurants for many years, respectively worked as a chef and Ute has looked after B&Bs for many years.

With Dorothea and Helmut we explored the area around Green Point a fair bit and took some very nice drives. One got us into the Hunter Valley, visiting a few vineyards. Another one was into Mangrove Mountain and down to the Hawkesbury River to Wiseman’s ferry. The main feature here, around this time, were the hundreds of Gymea Lillies which were in full bloom and Dorothea, being a keen gardener of exotic plants, could not stop taking pictures of those gigantic flowers







And as mentioned before, my brother Klaus and Sabine as well as Harry and Ruth then came mid December for a 4 day visit. And whilst the weather was not ideal, it was usually nice enough to sit outside on the veranda and watch the birds and other wildlife entertaining the visitor no end. I am sometimes convinced that the birds, in particular the Rozellas, put on a real show when they have a few people as audience on the veranda.

And yes, here we are now, at the end of December and the house is still mine. It was a welcome situation for my brother Klaus, his partner Sabine and two friends. And it was just yesterday that I guided them back to the airport for their second part of the trip through New Zealand. And now we have to pass into the new year before I can realistically hope to sell at a reasonable price.

Wish me luck as I wish you all the best for the coming year and the festive season which is upon us.