7 minute read
Bila Vista: Bali beauty brought to Bila Vista
Bali beauty brought to Bila Vista
By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter
This month from the beautiful boutique property, Bila Vista Holiday Apartments at Bilinga on the Queensland-NSW border, onsite manager Malisa Horwood tells Grantlee Kieza how breaking her leg helped her find her feet in management rights. What was your experience in management rights before taking over Bila Vista?
Mum and Dad had management rights at Surfers Paradise when I was growing up. My brother works in body corporate, and I worked in real estate when I first left school and so, it wasn’t anything new. I broke my leg two years ago and it made me reconsider what I was doing for work, after a career in retail with boutiques in Sydney I decided to return to real estate.
After I completed my licence while I was convalescing for nine weeks when I couldn’t walk, my husband Warren and I began to take an interest in management rights again. When we decided it was the right time to proceed it took us 18 months to find a property that we really wanted on this part of the coast. Warren is a carpenter, so we saw management rights as the ideal business for us to combine our skills. He enjoys the caretaking side of things, and I am well suited to the admin and front office duties because I like people and love a chat.
Warren and Malisa Horwood
How long have you been running Bila Vista?
Fourteen months. It’s been a good experience so far. It was a good time to take over after the main onslaught of COVID had passed. We’ve had no trouble so far in the business and we can’t complain.
Are you from the Tweed area?
No, I’m from Sydney but we moved to the Gold Coast 20 years ago. Our son Nathan was seven and our daughter Tabatha was three, and we made the decision to move up for the lifestyle. We’ve always lived around Currumbin and the Tallebudgera Valley. We prefer the southern side of the Gold Coast because it’s still very much ‘untouched’ and a lot quieter than other parts of the coast. We don’t have the big highrise properties here, but we do have proximity to the airport and that’s handy. It’s a perfect spot for our guests and many of them just walk here from the airport, how about that for location! At Bila Vista our guests appreciate the homely feel of the spacious units and enjoy relaxing by our lagoon style heated pool and spa. They like nothing better than taking a walk along the ocean
Leaders and experts in Management Rights
Congratula� ons Malisa and Warren. Flood Legal are proud to partner with you as your trusted legal advisors. Thank you for your kind words.
I couldn’t fi nd anyone more professional than Sharon, her knowledge of Management Rights is impeccable and is she is always available to answer questi ons.
– Malisa Horwood, Bila Vista Holiday Apartments
Buying and Selling Agreements or Variations General Advice All at Fixed Fees
to the North Kirra Surf Club to fi nd the best view on the coast.
What was the appeal of management rights?
We recognised that it was a business my husband and I could run together, and it would give us more time with each other. He was working as a carpenter, putt ing in long hours and I was working long hours too, so we never saw each other. I thought since I like people-oriented jobs and he likes building, working with his hands, and looking aft er places it would be a good fi t. With our kids grown and off our hands, we saw it as a business that we could put in as much time as we wanted and do it together.
I was right because it does suit our lifestyle…
I like that in the morning I can take the dog for a walk, go to the coff ee shop, and plan out my day to suit. I like that we can pick and choose our hours. The fl exibility is great but then when it’s busy we are always prepared to get stuck in. Of course, the good returns in management rights also att racted us to the industry.
Coming from retail it’s great that you don’t have to carry stock. It’s a lot easier in that regard.
How were you aff ected by COVID?
We dodged the worst of it. However, when we fi rst moved in, we were still experiencing some border closures, but we worked around them by moving permanent residents into our holiday accommodation with six-month leases. This allowed us to ride the wave. It is a mixed building, we have 42 rooms, with 16 rentals and many of our holiday makers come from Brisbane, so we were able to restart the domestic short stay business quickly and successfully.
What was it about Bila Vista that enticed you to buy the management rights?
I fell in love with the tropical feel of the property with all the palm trees. My favourite holiday spot is Bali, it is where we used to go on holiday two or three times a year. Bila Vista has the same sort of energy as Bali and the property is centred around the gorgeous tropical pool which is a very big drawcard for guests.
BILA VISTA BILA VISTA
10% Discount for Resort News readers when booking direct
Ph: (07) 5536 9099 info@bilavista.com.au info@bilavista.com.au 37-43 Golden Four Drive, 37-43 Golden Four Drive, Bilinga Qld 4225 www.bilavista.com.au
What advice would you give someone buying management rights for the fi rst time?
Anyone who goes into management rights must be ready to work when you need to and then enjoy the time you have when it’s a bit quieter. Most importantly you need to be a people person, you can deal with anything so long as you get on with people.
What about when you and Warren want to go away for a holiday? How do you arrange things?
I put my daughter Tabatha through the training to get her real estate licence and so, when we want to go away, she can step up and look aft er the place. The challenges of COVID taught us all that we can do everything by computer. We can have self-check-ins and I think people have adapted to that. I use a self-checking system and it helps, regardless of COVID. Sometimes a guest will turn up late at night and be happy to check themselves in, they arrive off the last fl ight, walk across the road, check in without seeing anyone and are very happy to go to their apartment like they’re going home, especially if they’ve had a big day or a long fl ight and they’re tired. If I need a day off , Tabatha helps us out and if we’re tied down with cleaning (and you get days when you’re really busy) Tabatha rolls her sleeves up to give us a hand.
Are you saying that management rights is a great business for families?
Absolutely. And we have some other great people who also help, I have a terrifi c cleaner who lives on site and that’s such a bonus because good cleaners are really had to fi nd.
What do you see as the future of management rights?
I don't think it will ever disappear. I’m dealing with 42 owners now, and they all have diff erent personalities. If you don’t have an onsite manager, I don’t see how that would work. You need that person in the middle who can resolve things or take issues to a meeting, especially in the big buildings with a lot of owners.
That’s why the business of management rights is so important.
