A Queensland couple’s almost $1 million dream home came so close to the wrecking ball they were ready to knock it down after making a horrifying discovery inside.

Court and Derk had paid $985,000 for the north Brisbane property, believing they were taking on a renovation.

Instead, once they started stripping back the modest 85sqm house, they uncovered severe termite damage and major structural problems that left them questioning whether the place could be saved at all.

MORE NEWS

Man loses $650k as builder rips up all sales

‘Severe obstruction’: Trees to be cut in view dispute

Son declared a trespasser, faces $90k bill

“We were happy to knock the house down at this point,” Derk told Yahoo News.

The shocking find turned the family’s plans upside down, transforming what they thought would be a cosmetic overhaul into a much bigger and far more expensive rebuild-style rescue.

The couple, who share their renovation journey online as the Dropout Duo and asked not to have their full names published, bought the Kurwongbah property outright late last year.

Queensland couple Court and Derk are transforming their $985,000 property in a major renovation. Source: TikTok

Their vision was to turn it into a long-term family base while setting themselves up for the future.

Instead, the home quickly became their biggest challenge yet.

Both Court and Derk work in construction.

Derk, 34, left school after Year 10 to begin a carpentry apprenticeship, while Court, 30, later studied construction management.

Today, they work as a commercial site manager and project manager, and have already taken on several property projects together.

The Kurwongbah house is their fifth.

The couple are renovating a property in Kurwongbah, north of Brisbane. Source: Supplied

They previously built their first home together, then a “forever home” in Murrumba Downs, which they later sold after about 12 months.

They also bought a rundown Brackenridge property, knocked it down and sold the empty block three months later.

That experience gave them the confidence to tackle another ambitious project. But the hidden state of this house still blindsided them.

After paying $985,000 for the property, they had only about $50,000 to $60,000 left for the renovation.

Almost immediately, costs began to mount.

The home was riddled with termites. Source: Supplied

Around $40,000 was spent on machinery alone.

When they later approached the bank for another $50,000, they were told the minimum loan available was $150,000.

They have since managed to reduce that mortgage to about $100,000 and are hoping to pay it off within 12 months.

Their original plan had been to renovate the house for around $50,000.

That estimate has now blown out to between $100,000 and $120,000, including the house, deck and pool.

To try to stay on budget, the pair have hunted for cut-price materials and second-hand deals.

The couple’s hope is to build a second home on the property and eventually turn the renovated house into a granny flat. Source: Supplied

Among their biggest wins was a high-end kitchen from a Gold Coast mansion for just $1000. They also sourced windows and cladding second-hand or as factory seconds, and picked up a container pool for $6000, which is expected to cost roughly $10,000 all up once installed.

But the damage hidden inside the house meant there was no cheap shortcut.

The property had to be stripped back to its frame, with new internal walls, windows, cladding and other major components installed.

Derk has handled much of the physical labour himself, including jobs such as tiling, despite spending the past decade away from hands-on trade work.

The renovation quickly became a bigger project than initially anticipated. Source: Supplied

“I haven’t been on the tools or been a tradesman for the last 10 years of my life,” he said.

“The physical side of it for me has been probably a lot more of a shock to my system than what I ever would have expected it to be.”

Despite nearly flattening the house, the family is now hoping to move in before Christmas.

In the long term, they plan to build a second main residence on the property and eventually convert the renovated house into a granny flat, creating an extra income stream.