Skatey...The life of Les Skate

Skatey
The Life of Les Skate
Family homes
I’d like to talk about our two daughters and their first two houses, which they bought
opposite each other in East St Kilda. Lynne had spent a bit of time boarding in this area.
This particular spot was one of the oldest areas, the streets were very narrow. They were
all mostly little single frontage villas lining the street on both sides. They were mostly in
very dilapidated conditions. I dare to say they had never been renovated in their early
lives.
At that stage things were starting to move, lifestyles were changing. At that point those
houses were selling for around $25,000 – $27,000. If you’d had a bit of money behind you,
you could have bought the whole street. Anyway, Lynne managed to save up enough and
she bought this place in very poor condition. But that didn’t throw out too much of a
challenge to me. I was able to jack it up, straighten it up, and add a bit on to it. It ended up
quite a comfortable two-bedroom home, with a nice kitchen, bathroom and so forth.
But that didn’t throw out too
much of a challenge to me. I
was able to jack it up,
straiten it up, and add a bit
on to it. It ended up quite a
comfortable two bedroom
home,
She lived there for three or four years or thereabouts, until she was able to get a block of
land up here in Lilydale. She borrowed the money and I built her a nice home there and
that’s where she has settled for the last thirty years. Which is very handy for us as she’s
just around the corner.
Les at work on Lynne’s house in East St Kilda
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