Lauren Klemt, 28, and her husband Gerard Melchior were reportedly stunned after inspecting a townhouse in Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches, where the master bedroom included a bathroom installed without walls.
The couple attended an open house for the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property, which was listed for $1.83 million and sold prior to auction for that price just 22 days later. According to Ms. Klemt, the unusual bathroom layout, which offered no privacy between the toilet, sink, shower, and bed, was an "absolute deal breaker."
"It was absolutely wild, absolute disbelief, and it was funny," Ms. Klemt told Yahoo. She recounted her husband briefly considering the two-level townhouse, suggesting, "It's not that bad" and "Maybe this is the best we can do." However, Ms. Klemt responded, "Some things are better kept a secret between husband and wife."
While the floor plan indicated an ensuite attached to the master bedroom, it did not convey the exposed nature of the bathroom. Ms. Klemt noted that finding a home in the current market presented more challenges than she and her husband had experienced about four and a half years prior when they purchased their previous residence.
"We were only looking for a couple of weeks before we ended up getting a property within our budget, that ticked our boxes," she said of their past experience. "We kind of thought, 'Oh, it was easy last time, surely, it's going to be this easy again,' and that was a rude awakening for us. Now, there is so much more compromise."
The townhouse was described in its listing as a "refreshed townhouse between beach and lake" offering a "calm sense of separation while remaining close to the water’s edge." Additional features included a garden-framed terrace overlooking a shared lawn, a wrap-around kitchen with underfloor heating, timber floors, and a private balcony off the master bedroom.
Ms. Klemt and Mr. Melchior eventually found a new home within their budget of $1.5 million to $2 million.