In 2021, Mark King and Veronica purchased a $970,000 farm, envisioning a luxury retreat. Their plan: renovate the cottage first, then build a larger home for family use and rental income. The couple aimed to transform the property, but their ambitious project faced unexpected challenges, as they soon discovered.

The couple, who run the building company King Homes NSW, purchased the 30-hectare property in August 2021. The farm came with a cottage, three dams, sheds, and more than enough room for the home they had envisioned.

After successfully renovating the cottage, they hit a bump in the road. The couple found themselves caught up in council requirements, with hefty costs and no approval in sight. Veronica revealed in a post to her Instagram followers, “I’m married to a builder. And even this dream build didn’t go ahead, we got buried.” Council records show the pair submitted an application for a single-storey dwelling and in-ground swimming pool that was returned in May 2023.

The second application, which was lodged the next month, requested approval to build a secondary dwelling and pool. Goulburn Mulwaree Council records show the application was then referred for environmental health and native vegetation assessments, before even more information was requested in September 2023.

The couple decided to withdraw the application, with Veronica explaining the project didn’t reach the point of being formally refused. The cost of keeping the farm was becoming hard to justify. Veronica explained they had hoped that income from the rental would help to cover the property’s costs, including mortgage, insurance, and maintenance.

There were also cattle and sheep on the land, and without rental income, the farm’s increasing costs meant they had to make a decision. “So we made the call nobody posts about. We walked away from the dream and sold it,” Veronica wrote. The property sold for $1.3 million in August 2024.

A new development application for the same property, likely submitted by its new owners, was approved by Goulburn Mulwaree Council in September this year. Despite having to abandon their original plans, Veronica said she was happy the property had found new owners.