Georgia Matts knows she got really lucky to be able to afford to buy a house 150 metres from Woonona Beach.
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"I know if it wasn't for COVID, I probably wouldn't have been able to buy it so cheap," Matts said.
"We're very lucky, it is a great first house for me and my girlfriend.
"It was a two-bedroom house when we bought the house in July this year.
"We have basically gutted the place and it is now a three-bedroom with a study. There is still a bit more to do but we will be probably do it after the Christmas, New Year period."
The 27-year-old was told by a property valuer that their renovations had already added $100,000 plus to the value of the home.
"It was pretty dark and dingy. I think the state of it scared some buyers away," she said. "The tenants were gross, there was a dead rat in the oven, food on the walls. Gross."
With the help of her parents and grandparents, the duo got to work and started knocking down walls.
"The first thing we did, after giving it a good clean, was knock down a wall and opened it right up," Matts said.
"We put the new kitchen in the front of the house so we have a open living space. We also divided the back of the house where the kitchen used to be and added another bedroom."
The family then turned their attention to painting a main wall and even added in extra details to the wall, such as a fluted glass to let more light in.
"We are just steps to the beach so we obviously wanted a beach styled interior. We purchased most of the decor from local shops such as Native Nest," Matts said.
"We still have a lot we want to do but have decided to stop until Christmas is over. We didn't want to have a half done house for Christmas.
"When it's all done it will turn the dark old two bedroom unit into a three bedroom and a study.
"We plan to knock the front wall down and put in huge glass French doors which will bring more light inside and add some space to the bedrooms.
"We are stoked with how it looks so far. We love it here."
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