Profiles

Elvera On Lygon

A chance reading of a Brisbane newspaper article about management rights in 1999 inspired Tasmanians Julie and Tim Russell to book into a day information session held at the Gold Coast.

AN27-1-PRO-Elvera_logo“We were living in Brisbane at the time and Tim was with Telstra and I was a financial loans officer at a bank,” said Julie. “Tim was made redundant from Telstra and we thought management rights would be a great alternative.”

Twelve years later the Russells are in their fourth management rights business and loving it at Elvera on Lygon, a new boutique development at 330 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, Melbourne, completed in November 2010.

East Brunswick was quoted as ‘one of the coolest places on the planet’, by The Age’s Domain Magazine.

“We took over the management rights on 10 December 2010, the same day Elvera on Lygon received its certificate of occupancy,” said Julie.

Elvera is a 10-storey sculptured building specifically designed to maximise natural light, ventilation and space. The 100 apartments; 20 one bedroom units, 80 two bedroom units — all with additional study areas — feature spacious living areas, large windows and generous balconies with superb views. All sold quickly and are currently occupied either by owners or rentals.

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“It was a ‘piece of cake’ to lease the units. They were only advertised for two weeks on realestate.com before they were all gone,” Julie said.

Melbourne currently has the lowest vacancy rate for housing of any of the larger metropolitan cities of just 1.0%.

“In 1999 we bought our first management rights business at Reedy Creek, Queensland’s Gold Coast. From there we went to Sydney, then Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and finally here.

“This is our second new building. We’ve always managed permanent rentals,” said Tim.

Subscribers of the Resort News for ten years, it was there Julie and Tim saw the advertisement for Elvera on Lygon management rights.

“We chose this apartment complex because we thought it would be a piece of cake to manage overall. We signed up for management rights 12 months before starting here,” said Julie. “We left Tasmania in 1990 so it is nice to be back close to the family.”

The Russells have 34 units in their letting pool and 35 are managed by outside agents.

Resident management is still a new concept in Victoria as most permanent rental apartments have minimal office hours staff. The body corporate, owners and real estates embrace the concept of onsite management.

Elvera on Lygon is conveniently located 5km from Melbourne’s CBD and within the heart of an environment rich with cultural diversity, restaurants, cafes, fresh food markets and vibrant street activity. Lygon Street is home to one of Melbourne’s most famous food precincts.

“One of the main drawcards is the proximity to the city,” said Julie. “You don’t even need to look at the tram timetable — you just go outside and wait for it because they are frequent.”

Each spacious apartment features quality finishes, including stone bench tops and stainless steel European-style appliances. A New York style laundry and other modern conveniences allow a flexible lifestyle and there is ample provision for bicycles within the secure car park.

Environment and sustainability has been a key concept in the design and building of Elvera on Lygon. The combined expertise of the developer, Bensons Property Group; Metaxas Architecture; the O‘Neill Group of award-winning consulting engineers and managers services; and the builder, Hickory Group, which is committed to incorporating environmentally friendly design and products in their constructions, hence the solar panels, recycling and breezeways, produced an apartment complex envied by many.

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Peter Russell-Clarke, the legendary television chef and now a prominent artist, was commissioned by Bensons specifically to create an illustrious range of artworks for the delightfully curved light-filled foyer of Elvera and all hallways leading to apartments. Every painting tells a story and if you look close enough you will see how the artworks blend exquisite food with Australiana and some weave an interesting tale throughout the building’s various levels.

“Our clientele ranges from doctors, solicitors, students, journalists, a few from the bank and some families and it is a really friendly environment,” Tim said “It’s a great job and because of its clever building design it is easy to look after.”

There is allocated room for four ground floor retail outlets of which IGA is one opening soon.

Julie combines her past experience in finance and administration to ensure the required paperwork is organised and current. “When someone is making an application I look at it in the same way as someone taking a loan. I make everything crystal clear to tenants so there is no misunderstanding. In our four months here I have never had to issue a breach of tenancy,” said Julie.

Tim’s past experience as an electrical technician has been a valued asset in tracking down any problems as he understands how the building is wired and how things work.

When the Russells want to get away for an extended break — they are off to Vietnam in June —there are three willing staff keen to relieve them. “It was an easy transition to come here to work,” agreed Julie and Tim. “We are just a short plane flight away from Tasmania so we take it in turns going to Tassie to visit family and it is easy for them to visit us here. We enjoy the people here and love our work. It’s a ‘piece of cake’!”

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