For the love of property (part 1)

Q When did you first become interested in property?

Henry Kalus: At age 12. The moment that my parents were ready to purchase their first home and move us from our rented flat, I found myself ringing real estate agents, none of whom were accustomed to taking a 12-year-old seriously when it came to making a sale.

For some reason, my parents allowed me to become heavily involved in the decision-making process. Even then at that young age, I understood the importance of property as I felt the security that comes with owning the roof over your head.

Then later, professionally, I found myself gravitating to transactional property work and became fascinated by the creative ways in which good developers were able to dramatically change the use and value of real estate.

Over time, I saw the profound impact that property can have on peoples’ lives.

I saw how much it could do for people, and in the late ’80s and early ’90s, amongst the devastation caused by large debt and high interest rates, I saw how property, when handled in the right way, actually saved people and their families.

Q What was it that attracted you to becoming a property lawyer?

Lisa Fowler: As a graduate lawyer, you only really have one year to decide on your speciality, but I knew pretty quickly that property was for me. I always wanted to work with something tangible; something that I can see and feel.

I’ve always loved being able to visit a property, being talked through a client’s dreams/vision for that property, and then seeing it come to life. That part of the job gives me a real thrill.

I was also especially attracted to the industry as there are so many amazing people with different skills who you interact with.

On any one matter, you get to enjoy working with your client as well as their accountants, financiers, real estate agents, architects, planners, surveyors, valuers, builders, environmental consultants … the list goes on and on. This is by far my favourite part about working in property law.

Q How have you seen residential property development progress over the years?

Henry Kalus: When I started in legal practice, property development was pretty much about land subdivision and flat renovations. Then, all of a sudden, we were doing high-rise developments of 400-plus units. Off-the-plan stamp duty savings (which are now severely limited), depreciation, negative gearing and population growth supercharged that market as residential property morphed from being accommodation to an investment commodity.

Apartments also became smaller and smaller to achieve price points at which there was maximum demand.

Then, townhouses became popular (own your own piece of dirt), as did mixed-use developments so people can live where they shop, eat and exercise.

And whereas in the past, selling high-end property off-the-plan was nearly impossible (because if people are going to spend a lot of money, they want to know exactly what they are getting), in recent years we have seen high demand for luxury apartments as people look for amenity and less maintenance.

Trends change for many reasons, and for us at Kalus Kenny Intelex, it has been incredibly satisfying to act for innovative developers who are ahead of the pack, and want to be proud of what they produce.

Q Tell us more about the diversity of your work in the property industry?

Lisa Fowler: No two days are ever the same, that’s for sure.

My work is largely in the major transactional and property development/redevelopment space. I advise on and transact property sales and acquisitions across a broad range of asset classes (including commercial offices, retail shopping centres, standalone retail, industrial and farmland, to name a few), which often include unique leasing deals.

I also do lots of the work in the off-the-plan residential/mixed-use space. Being a part of the redevelopment of large infill sites, mixed-use projects and the creation of whole new suburbs and precincts has been exciting. Some of these projects can take us on a 10-year journey!

Q What are some of the most interesting projects you have worked on?

Henry Kalus: There have been so many, but there are a few stand outs. Being involved in the creation of the Forest Hill Residential and Commercial precinct adjacent to the South Yarra train station was exciting.

We were involved from the outset in transforming factories into a dynamic new precinct with multiple towers, thousands of residences, communal laneways, and commercial and retail spaces, which dramatically changed the face of South Yarra.

The work was innovative; acquiring existing strata property to subdivide and create air space lots to secure views forever was perplexing for some, but it achieved great outcomes.

Being involved in YarraBend, the new inner city suburb which grew out of the Amcor Paper Mill has been a privilege. As far as legal work goes, it has had everything.

Another memorable project was Morris Moor, where we helped realise a vision for the re-imagination of multiple old buildings, formerly the Philip Morris headquarters, into the most extraordinary new neighbourhood of commerce, hospitality and innovation.

Each of these projects were special because of their scale and the complexity of the legal and strategic issues. The outcomes were brilliant. For lawyers, whilst property is often the medium or the commodity, the legal work reaches into commercial work, structuring, finance, construction and, where absolutely necessary, litigation.

Part 2 of Henry Kalus and Lisa Fowler’s reflections on the property industry is coming soon. 

For more information on Kalus Kenny Intelex Lawyers, visit their website. 

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