A Sydney jewellery designer has drawn criticism after claiming she bought a waterfront home for just $15,000, only to later reveal there was one major catch.
Zahli shared a video showing off the home she and her partner ‘bought’ at a holiday park in Wisemans Ferry, a town on the city’s northern outskirts.
However, it was later revealed the couple had leased a plot of land at a waterski park that only allowed them to stay at the premises for 180 days of the year.
Zahli and her fiancé, who co-own a building business on top of her jewellery brand, spent two years trying to buy a home in the city.
However, they were repeatedly outbid or turned down due to being self-employed while paying ‘insane’ rent for an apartment on the Northern Beaches.
‘So, I started looking at alternative ways to live and since my fiance loves to wakeboard and waterski, I was introduced to this whole idea of waterski resorts. Basically, resort parks with multiple plots of land that you can build your own house on, on the waterfront,’ Zahli explained.
Plots of land surrounding the popular waterpark largely varied in price with some going for as much as $200,000.
‘Since we own a building company, I was like, “show me your worst plot of land with your best view”, which is when we were shown this glamour, which was literally uninhabitable,’ Zahli said of her new home.
‘But she was $15,000 so we bought it and immediately started to rip it down.’
The couple had initially planned to build a house on the land but ended up outsourcing an expandable two-bedroom home for $35,000 – which came with the bonus of being easily transported as Wisemans Ferry is prone to flooding.
However, the business owner was quickly accused of ‘misleading’ viewers by starting her video with the statement: ‘I bought a house in Sydney for $15,000’.
‘So what do you do when you can’t live there 365 days of the year?’ one person said.
‘I don’t think you actually own the land when you do this. Good if you have extra spare cash for a weekender but not a wise investment,’ another wrote.
‘Don’t those ski parks only have a 180-night occupancy like caravan parks?’ a third commented.
Zahli addressed the comments in a follow-up video and clarified she and her partner lease the land under an annually renewed contract.
‘I was not expecting that post to get as much traction as it did,’ she said.
‘While the statement “I bought a house in Sydney for $15,000” is correct because I bought the house on top of the land, I totally understand how that could be misleading but it was not my intention.
‘I simply wanted to show a way that you could get your own house through different avenues if you are struggling to buy in Sydney, like so many of us are.’
Zahli then further explained the details of the couple’s lease to help anyone considering buying a holiday park lot.
‘Part of the leasehold agreement is that we can only live there for 180 days of the year. It’s perfect for us because we’ll mostly be spending weekends there,’ she said.
‘We pay quarterly levies and if you split them into weeks, it works out at less than a quarter of rent for a two-bedroom apartment.’
Zahli also addressed commenters who said the lease was a ‘bad investment’.
‘All the people who are saying, “What about investment? It’s the land that appreciates”,’ she said.
‘You’re assuming that I bought it as an investment, and while I would never want to lose money on it, my fiancé and I bought it so that we can spend weekends down there, create memories and enjoy life on the river.’
Others applauded them for finding a ‘creative’ way of getting on the property market.
‘Good on you! People should be sharing more information like this as it’s so easy to get into a state of panic at just trying to stay afloat there are alternatives to the norm. Fact is, it’s yours,’ one wrote.
‘I can’t believe how negative some people are being. I’m super proud of you, we’re all struggling,’ another said.
‘Calling it Sydney is a stretch but worth the commute for that lifestyle and affordability,’ another wrote.
‘Pivoting when things weren’t working out – love it!’ another said.
Daily Mail has contacted Zahli for further comment.