Flooded retirees’ six-month wait for rental home

Brisbane couple Barry and Valerie Elliott finally secured a rental home after their house was damaged in the February floods. Picture: Glenn Hampson
Retirees Barry and Valerie Elliott helped their three children get a foot on the property ladder, but were left without a home themselves after their Brisbane house was flooded in February.
The couple was unable to secure a suitable rental property in the area after being told repairs to their Aspley home of 40 years would take six months to complete.
Mr and Mrs Elliott finally secured a lease for a furnished three-bedroom apartment in Southport this month.
“I’ve only ever owned two houses. I’ve never rented, so that’s been a bit of a nightmare,” Mr Elliott said.
“Not having a rental history probably would have gone against us with properties so scarce.
“I tried to put the power in my wife’s name and found she had no credit rating and she’s 72 years old,” the former long-haul truck driver said.
The couple had no rental history. Picture: Glenn Hampson
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PropTrack’s Rental Report shows Southport was among the top 20 Gold Coast suburbs with the biggest rental price growth.
Rent for houses in the centrally located area were up 26 per cent over the last 12 months to a median of $675.
Mr Elliott said he purchased his first home in Albany Creek for $10,000 when he was 20 years old. After 13 years, he sold that three-bedroom house and purchased the Aspley home for $85,000.
Insurers are still sifting through claims from the floods of earlier this year. Picture: Brad Fleet
With the property now valued at about $800,000, Mr Elliott was able to assist his two adult sons and one daughter to obtain finance for their own first homes.
“I helped them get into a house and now I’m the one stuck without one,” he quipped.
Mr Elliott’s daughter, Jodie, lives at Windaroo and searched for rentals near her on behalf of her parents, before widening the net to the Gold Coast.
The Southport unit was leased through Grow and Co director Ben Jorgensen, who said the agency had received about 700 inquiries for the 35 properties it had leased this year.
“We help people as much as we can but the reality is there are just not enough homes available,” Mr Jorgensen said.
Rent prices in Southport have surged over the past 12 months
After spending hours on the phone to his insurer, Mr Elliott said he was told flood repairs would be further delayed.
“We’ve lived there for 40 years and never been flooded,” Mr Elliott said.
“There’s a creek behind the house, but it didn’t come from the creek — it came from down the street and straight through the front door.
“We had about 15cm of rain right through the house. Everything has to be stripped and dried out,” he said.

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