Australian celebrities becoming home reno gurus: top tips on what to do when flipping a house

My Kitchen Rules star Zana Pali is now building luxury homes across Melbourne’s bayside region.

Some of Australia’s most-recognisable names are swapping stardom for screwdrivers and sharing their top tips to house flippers on how to turn a profit on their property projects.

From an Olympian sailor to former TV stars and footballers, these celebrities are offering advice like encouraging renovators to embrace colour and to choose the worst house on the best street.

And even one footy star has warned to steer clear of copying anything they see on The Block.

Here are their best bits of advice:

Carrie Smith

Carrie Smith opts for flipping homes in her time away from sailing.

When Olympic sailor Carrie Smith is not on a boat in the big blue, she is flipping homes with her partner and builder Lachlan Richards.

Smith represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics alongside fellow competitor Jaime Ryan, after they placed ninth in a World Championships event the previous year.

2 of 20 Cunningham St, South Yarra - for herald sun real estate

Smith’s renovated two-bedroom apartment at 2/20 Cunningham St, South Yarra.

Earlier in 2024, the pair renovated a two-bedroom South Yarra apartment they bought in 2022 for $855,000 and sold it for $1.22m in June, property records revealed.

The sailor said renovating homes brought out her creative side and she’d always had an eye for interiors and design.

One of Smith’s top tips for prospective house flippers was to show their personality in their renovation.

“A lot of advice was, keep it plain, keep it white, keep it simple … to attract buyers,” she said.

“We had people call me crazy with the way I like to do colour and I always just thought to myself, I like to live in a vibrant, happy environment.

“To me, that was colour.”

The apartment sold for $1.22m in June 2024.

She added that it was important to go with your gut as to what you loved and enjoyed.

Smith’s other tip was to take your time and be patient as the renovation wasn’t going to happen overnight.

She noted that it was also important to have high-end appliances and finishes.

Stewart Loewe

Loewe played 594 games for St Kilda.

MORE: Smart hacks that could add $100k of value to your home

Former St Kilda Football Club player Stewart ‘Buckets’ Loewe got into the property game when he was only 20-years old, after purchasing a block of land.

Once he retired from footy, he started up a construction company with a partner, which he now runs himself called Loewe Projects.

Loewe said he felt lucky because he loved his job, working in the residential and commercial property spaces.

One of the homes built by Loewe Projects in Newbay Cres, Brighton. Picture: Loewe Projects

His top tip for those looking to upgrade their home was not to believe what they saw on The Block.

“You watch these shows and that’s TV. Reality is you’ve got to get your trades in, sequence your trades and try not to rush. That would be my biggest advice,” Loewe said.

“You’ve just got to do things right.”

He added that you can’t put a band-aid over something that wasn’t right from the start and needed to make sure the foundation of the home was strong.

Loewe said no matter what, don’t take shortcuts.

“We’ve all probably been burnt over the journey on thinking that a shortcut was a quick fix to try and save a buck, but it just comes back to haunt you in a big way,” he said.

Another project on Gordon St, Hampton. Picture: Loewe Projects

He said to use qualified tradesmen to help with the renovation.

“You’ve just got to sequence your trades and try not to rush,” he said.

“Classic example would be the bathroom renovation. If you think you’re going to take a shortcut in trying to do a waterproofing yourself … it’s just going to come back and bite you.

“(It will) cost you three times what it would have cost you to do right in the first place.”

Zana Pali

Pali is passionate about constructing luxury mansions in Melbourne’s bayside area.

My Kitchen Rules star developer Zana Pali is in the luxury building game predominantly transforming and constructing high-end mansions in Melbourne’s bayside area.

In August, Pali and her husband Gianni Romano sold their former Brighton house for about $10m, which features an 800-bottle wine cellar, lift, pool, spa, five-car garage and even a basement entertainment area with a bar decorated with Brazil-mined Blue Roma Quartzite.

Zana Pali and Gianni Romano’s Brighton home which sold for about $10m.

But she said it was important for prospective renovators to know that developing or flipping homes didn’t guarantee a big payday; time is money.

“It’s a numbers game,” Pali said.

“(House flippers) need to be very aware of getting projects done in a very fast fashion.

“Take the emotion out of it.”

Pali said to have a good team of tradesmen and subcontractors by your side who would prioritise your build.

Pali’s home designs are largely centred around marble.

The MKR star said know your target market and don’t overcapitalise.

“People stuff up by building these dream homes … in the wrong location, or putting things that are too expensive in a home that you’re not going to get a return on so there’s no point,” she said.

She added that renovators needed to make sure they had enough money to back their vision.

“You can lose money as quickly as you can make it,” she said.

“You need to know your study, you can’t go in blind. Do your research, educate yourself.”

Lastly, Pali said to buy the worst house on the best street as anything you added to it was going to be of value.

Sam Blease

Blease and his wife Carol now run CS Real Estate Agency Palm Cove.

Former Melbourne and Geelong player Sam Blease has gone from kicking the footy to making moves in the property world.

The ex-AFL midfielder has flipped a number of homes, including the three-bedroom house at 36 Lascelles St, Coburg he sold in October 2022 for $1.57m.

36 Lascelles St, Coburg - for Herald Sun real estate

36 Lascelles St, Coburg sold for $1.57m in October 2022.

Property records reveal he purchased the residence in November 2019 for $871,000.

Blease, who’s now CS Real Estate Agency Palm Cove director in Queensland, told the Herald Sun earlier that it took him about six to eight months to get it where they wanted it to be.

“It was pretty much unlikeable when we purchased it,” he said.

Blease purchased the three-bedroom house for $871,000 in November 2019.

One of his top tips for house flippers was to focus on the location, as you couldn’t change where that was, and to find something that you could add value to.

“See through some of the imperfections of that particular property and what you can do to enhance its value to turn a profit in the end,” he said.

Blease said don’t get emotional in the auction process and stick to your budget.

“You make the money when you buy, not necessarily when you sell,” he said.

“It’s really quite easy to get caught up in the emotional and overpay.”

Marty Fox

Marty Fox just sold his 12th renovation in 15 years.

The Block judge and Whitefox Real Estate founder Marty Fox is a serial house flipper, having recently sold his 12th renovation in 15 years with his wife, Charlotte.

Property records show he purchased the four-bedroom house at 25 Allison Rd, Elsternwick in October 2023 for $2.425m which he sold a year later for $3.31m — turning a $885,000 profit.

Fox said he didn’t feel normal if he wasn’t in the middle of renovating and always had a house flip on the go.

25 Allison Rd, Elsternwick sold for $3.31m.

His biggest advice was that the highest return on investment was in a property’s facade, painting, flooring, lighting and its garden.

“To really get the emotional connection through buyers, and to create that sense of luxury, you do that through the emotion of really good lighting. That’s why they call it mood lighting,” he said.

“Essentially the garden, when you buy established plants, it gives, again, more of an emotive connection to the property.”