'A lot of goosebumps': What it’s like selling a home from your childhood

As Dimi Romero walked potential buyers through a recent listing in Curtin, she did her best to maintain a poker face.

The truth was the four-bedroom house on MacAlister Crescent was filled with special memories for the Marq Property real estate agent: it had belonged to her grandparents Eric and Isabell Gardiner. The Gardiners moved into the brand new home in 1964 and raised six children there. The house was for sale following Isabelle’s passing (Eric had sadly died in the 1990s).

“It was a case where every room held a memory for me,” Dimi says.

“I remember when I was little and thinking that the house was so big. It's only 117 sqm! But it had four bedrooms and for some reason I thought it was this big mansion.

“Even the backyard had memories, where we’d had so many Christmases, playing pool and darts under the pergola.”

Only the vendors who were serious about buying the home knew how special it was to its sales agent.

“There was one couple in particular who were like, ‘wow, you know every detail of this home’ and I said, well it actually belonged to my grandparents, I know it very well.”

Dimi had even lived at the south Canberra home for a few months as a child.

“Which was actually quite wonderful because my grandma would leave lollies on my pillow at night and I got all of her attention. She’d take me to do figure skating after school. It was a special time.”

Dimi also remembers walking along the lane to the side of the house with her entire family, uncles and aunts included, heading toward a new restaurant named Belluci’s at the rear of the house. The Gardiner family would celebrate special occasions like new jobs, birthdays and anniversaries at the iconic Italian eatery. (The old Belluci’s is today home to the Daana Indian Restaurant.)

Dimi sold the cherished family home for $1,017,500. Zango was the only local property portal she used in the marketing of the MacAlister Crescent property.

“Ever since Zango launched in 2020, Justin [Taylor] and I have listed primarily on Zango,” Dimi says.

“For me, it's a no-brainer. We've listed multiple properties on Zango, received multiple offers, had big numbers through open homes and achieved outstanding prices for clients.

“Buyers are really savvy and they’re on Zango.

“It's just another success story about listing locally on Zango-only and how powerful the marketing is.”

View Dimi's current listings.