Couple buys abandoned ‘ghost house’ to tackle four floors of mould and ruin

Defeated by a frustrating search for their first home, Jay and Stacey White were about to sign contracts on a modern duplex when they pulled the plug.

Perplexed, the real estate agent asked what was wrong, and plasterer Mr White replied: “It’s a little bit too perfect.”

The agent paused. “Oh, so you’re after a renovator? How much of a renovator?”

The couple soon found themselves the owners of a multi-storey, mould-infested monolith on an overgrown 8,918 sqm parcel in a blue-chip Gold Coast suburb.

Ms White: ‘Four storeys of potential in our favourite suburb’ Pictures: Adam Head

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For the Whites, the appeal was simple: “Four storeys of potential in our favourite suburb.”

“Anyone who knows us knows we don’t do things by halves,” said Ms White, who owns the local cheerleading gym, Flex.

“While this is taking things to the extreme, Jay’s got a trade and tradie mates and I’m a huge hype queen, so it felt like a no-brainer.”

Mr White, of Whitewall Plastering, said their buy-in was well under replacement cost for the concrete and blockwork house.

“You wouldn’t get change out of two mill if you were to build this house today,” he said. “If we can clean it up, ready to renovate for the cost of a demolition, we are well in front.”

The couple purchased the property for well under the median house price in the beachside suburb, where home values have surged 13 per cent in the past 12 months, PropTrack data shows.

The concrete home has stunning ocean views and cost about the equivalent of a modern duplex in the beachside suburb. Pictures: Adam Head

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Abandoned for at least a decade, the 1990s-built mansion comes with a maze of local whispers. Previously owned by a wealthy businessman and inherited by his daughter, it was briefly cleared in 2017 to be rented out before being left to the elements.

Now the couple, both in their 30s, spend long hours sifting through mountains of debris beneath the house, uncovering remnants of its former grandeur.

But resurrecting a decrepit ghost house carries big risks.

Just months into the project, the couple was robbed over two consecutive nights by “job site junkies.”

Thieves armed with bolt cutters stripped the property’s wiring across all four levels. For what amounted to a few hundred dollars’ worth of scrap copper, the break-in left them with a $60,000 rewiring bill.

Water damage and mould are rampant. Pictures: Adam Head

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Water damage and mould are rampant, with Mr White discovering more defects with each passing week.

“Let’s just say, the big, bad wolf would barely have to huff and puff to blow this thing down,” he quips, pointing to a makeshift upstairs room where the ceiling sags from water dripping through the roof.

Renting closeby, the couple is working furiously to make the sprawling ruins habitable and showcase its elevated ocean views.

“Demo and clean up seems defeating some days, but it’s equally rewarding,” Ms White said. “To be completely honest, it’s all exciting right now.”

Documenting their journey on social media, they have already amassed a following of 23,500, proving the public’s enduring fascination with ruined real estate.

View from the master bedroom? Pictures: Adam Head

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