The five most beautiful vacant rentals in Tasmania
With low rents and spectacular scenery, there’s a lot to like about renting a home in Tasmania. While New South Wales and Victoria were all about luxury, and the Northern Territory’s best properties took advantage of the warm climate, Tasmania stood out for its beautiful heritage homes and country estates.
1. 72 Hampden Road, Battery Point
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This four bedroom, six bathroom home in Battery Point is a great example of the many well-preserved heritage houses available in Hobart. The main house’s three bedrooms all have en suites, with another en suite attached to the office space on the lower level.
The two-storey house has Baltic pine floors and new pure wool carpeting, and is fully furnished, with chesterfield lounges in the downstairs living area. The upstairs bedrooms are tucked high in the building, ensuring high ceilings for the lower level, while the upper rooms incorporate the building’s peaked roofing.
French doors open the kitchen up to the rear courtyard, where a renter can find the spa and sauna – and another house. The ‘coach house’ has a downstairs living area and bathroom, with a loft bedroom upstairs.
The circa 1850 building was purchased by its current owners for $850,000 in 2010 and is available at $950 a week.
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This three bedroom cabin-style home is situated on an 11 acre property that the agents, Harcourts, advertise as providing “room for your horses.” While at Property Observer we’re a little wary of properties that are too horse friendly, this modest home located south of Launceston has us charmed.
The house’s wood-panelled and exposed brick walls close in the spaces a little, but also exude warmth and lend an intimacy to the living areas. A sunroom and covered deck provide all the room you need to soak up the country atmosphere and reflect.
The property also includes a kitchen with a walk in pantry, and a fully self-contained one bedroom granny flat. The property has been retained by its owners for more than 20 years, after it was purchased for $128,000 in 1993. The owners tried to sell in 2012, with no luck. It’s currently available to rent for $400 per week.
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Next on our list is a five bedroom country estate. The home is surrounded by manicured lawns, and is set far back enough from the road to ensure total privacy.
Situated north of Launceston, the property sits between local vineyards and the Tamar River. Renters might only be able to catch “glimpses” of water from the property, but there are plenty of sights to enjoy without the waterfront. The estate has extensive gardens with a tennis court, while a gardener is included in the cost of rent.
The country style home also has a private library in addition to its living room and formal dining room.
This Rowella property was purchased for a mere $85,000 in 1988. It’s now rented at $670 a week, less than most inner-city university students would pay for a beat up terrace in Melbourne or Sydney.
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Although the next home on our list appears at first to be classic Georgian homestead, it’s actually a recreation, constructed within the last 10 years. For any renters that might be heritage enthusiasts, the builders had authenticity in mind, using period era fixtures and fittings.
The property is pet friendly (a rarity, as renters will know), and has around seven acres of rural land, including two dams and several sheep to graze the land, along with some egg-laying chickens. There’s also room to grow your own vegetables, and landscaped gardens immediately surrounding the home. Again, a gardener is included in the $600 per week rental.
Inside, the four bedroom home has an open plan kitchen and living area which opens onto a large terrace for outdoor entertaining. The kitchen itself includes a walk-in scullery, with a hatch to take you down to the basement cellar.
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5. 13/84 Upper Fitzroy Crescent, Hobart
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Located on the third floor of a restored mansion, this unique apartment is so good we've featured it before.
The one bedroom, one bathroom loft makes the peaked ceilings of its building the apartment's main feature. The sloped white ceiling contrasts with the timber beams, which almost reaching the floor in places.
With polished floor boards, exposed brick and a red feature wall, the apartment plays up characteristics a lesser property would attempt to hide, without straying into kitsch.
This rental also includes a balcony and a skylight over the bed. It's available to rent for $525 per week.
jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au
