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<\/p>\nSelling a home almost always hinges on one golden rule \u2014 the highest bidder wins.<\/p>\n
But in Malanda, on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, the sale of a 116-year-old railway worker’s cottage has proven that it is not always the case.<\/p>\n
Karli Bryant, 25, has just bought her first home despite offering $60,000 less than a rival bidder.<\/p>\n
And it all came down to a heartfelt letter.<\/p>\n
A home with history<\/p>\n
The timber-clad cottage was one of the town’s original railway workers’ homes, built in about 1910 when the rail line first reached Malanda.<\/p>\n
Ms Bryant grew up in the town and attended the school next door to the cottage, but always felt owning property was out of reach.<\/p>\n
The home was advertised for sale, with offers sought from potential buyers.<\/p>\n
“I actually went and viewed the house on a whim,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It was really cute \u2026 I just thought, I can make something nice of it.”<\/p>\n
She was not the only one who saw an opportunity \u2014 but she was the only one who put pen to paper.<\/p>\n
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Karli’s partner Sam and dad Mick get to work taming the overgrown garden. (Supplied: Karli Bryant)<\/p>\n
The words that changed everything<\/p>\n
Ms Bryant penned a letter to the seller, a woman in her 90s based in Western Australia.<\/p>\n
She wrote about her grandmother who taught at Malanda Primary, about attending the school herself, and how she was now studying to become a teacher there too.<\/p>\n
She said she knew the house was “filled with love”.<\/p>\n
“I just told her how much it would mean to me to be able to raise my kids in my hometown,” Ms Bryant explained.<\/p>\n
“I teared up when I was writing it, but I just told her how much it would mean to me and how I’d try and take care of it the best I could.”<\/p>\n
She was certain she had missed out.<\/p>\n
“I actually know someone that put a bid on the house, and it was $60,000 more than mine,” Ms Bryant said.<\/p>\n
“I dead-set did not think I was going to get it.<\/p>\n
“And so when [real estate agent] Janine called me to let me know, I could hear the shock in her voice, and I was just in disbelief.”<\/p>\n
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Karli and her family wasted no time getting to work to clean up their new property. (Supplied: Karli Bryant)<\/p>\n
Bulldoze or restore<\/p>\n
The elderly owner was determined that the house go to someone who valued its history and future, Janine Rielly of Elders Real Estate said.<\/p>\n
“I read the letter out to the owner, and she was quite touched,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Rielly said other bidders had made significantly higher offers, but planned to bulldoze the cottage to build duplexes or units.<\/p>\n
“She loved the idea of young people being able to enter the market.”<\/p>\n
Ms Rielly said the seller got a fair price for a home that needed a lot of work, but in a multiple-offer scramble, the letter tipped the scales.<\/p>\n
“She [Karli] was the only one that was willing to restore it,” Ms Rielly said.<\/p>\n
“And that was really important.”<\/p>\n
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Sam Saunders and Karli Bryant have a lot of work ahead of them after buying a historic Malanda cottage. (Supplied: Karli Bryant)<\/p>\n
Carpet, mould and a Bobcat<\/p>\n
Two days after settlement this week, Ms Bryant and her partner were already knee-deep in renovations \u2014 ripping up carpet, scrubbing mould, and waiting on a Bobcat to tame an overgrown backyard.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got heaps of plans,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But my grandma told me Rome wasn’t built in a day \u2014 I just need to take a breather, or I might burn myself out.”<\/p>\n
Ms Rielly said a potential risk in a situation like this was a loss of reputation if a buyer went back on their word \u2014 especially with old homes where renovation costs could spiral.<\/p>\n
“She doesn’t have a contract that says that she has to do anything, but integrity and honesty are everything in a small town,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Karli comes from a family with three generations in Malanda, and I believe that she will stick to her word.”<\/p>\n
The exuberant couple has already written a second letter to the seller and sent a photo of them standing in front of the house with the “sold” sign.<\/p>\n
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Karli has big plans for the property, including opening up the front verandah to its original street frontage. (Supplied: Karli Bryant)<\/p>\n
The bigger picture<\/p>\n
At 25, Ms Bryant is well aware of how rare her story is.<\/p>\n
Census data showed the average home ownership rate for 25-29 year olds dropped from 50 per cent in 1971 to 36 per cent in 2021.<\/p>\n
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