Border closures push top Sydney exec to sell

LEAP Legal Software Executive Chairman Richard Hugo-Hamman has only seen his Brisbane-based son's family once in the past 18 months due to state border closures.

Mr Hugo-Hamman is now looking to trade in his northern Illawarra Coast home at 26 Paterson Rd, Coalcliff for a property that will allow him to see both his son’s family and Sydney-based daughter’s family despite lockdowns.

The coastal weekender is being marketed by Ray White Helensburgh principals Mattias Samuelsson and Simon Beaufils and will go to auction with a mid-$3,000,000 price guide.

The Sydney-based executive will still retain his Darling Point home but said finding somewhere halfway between the two capital cities will make it easier to see his young grandchildren in the event of future lockdowns.

“We have not seen our grandchild in Brisbane in the last year so we want to buy somewhere on the mid north coast NSW so both our daughter and son's families can meet us halfway,” Mr Hugo-Hamman said.

“But it means we won’t have time to visit our Coalcliff home, so we wanted to pass it on to another family to enjoy.”

Mr Hugo-Hamman bought the property three years ago from ex-Premier Investments CEO Mark McInnes and said it was the location that sealed the deal for him.

“I don’t know how you could improve on the location. You have the ocean just steps from the house, there’s a tidal pool, surfing, diving, a creek and forest right there in your backyard. It will be really hard to give up,” he said.

“The proximity to the ocean was what drew us to the house originally, there are few properties that have steps directly from the property straight to the beach.”

Ray White Helensburgh principal Simon Beaufils said the campaign has already broken records for the office.

“We had 200 enquiries within the first 24 hours, that’s a record breaking number for us,” Mr Beaufils said.

“The majority of those enquiries are people coming from Sydney which is in line with what we’ve been seeing in the area as a general trend. Some are looking for a weekender to help them get out of the city while others are wanting to make a seachange permanently.”

Coalcliff is one of the NSW coast’s hidden secrets, just north of one of the state’s premiere tourist attractions, the Seacliff Bridge. The area is well-known for its relaxed, community feel, with a large population of permanent and weekender families.

The auction will take place on-site on February 13 at 11:30am.