2 days ago
Ravens Creek Farm owners list remarkable off-grid home in Moriac
A contemporary off-grid farmhouse in Moriac offers buyers a chance to banish utility bills once and for all.
The self-sufficient, six-bedroom home is the centrepiece of an idyllic 16ha lifestyle property currently home to free range producer Ravens Creek Farm.
Owner Hayden Findlay plans to relocate his successful egg and pork business once he wraps up the sale of 770 Hendy Main Rd, Moriac.
He designed the contemporary eco house to showcase sweeping northerly views centred on mature river red gums.
Built using passive solar design principles with his large blended family in mind, it continues to deliver financial savings.
'It is the house with no bills. There's no water bill, there's no electricity bill,' Mr Findlay said.
'We do buy bottled gas just for the cooktop but I think we have probably bought two in the whole time we've been there.'
He said an automated system, with 7.5kW solar panels and a 20kw battery, kept the lights on during all but the gloomiest winter days when the back-up generator kicked in.
The home's main pavilion is just 6m wide, a clever trick that maximises the north-facing aspect.
Burnished concrete floors and an internal recycled brick wall feature in the central living zone that extends out to a plunge pool via a deck.
Mr Findlay said he and wife Chelsea have five children between them, hence the six bedrooms.
But with their brood starting to leave the nest, they are now converting some spaces back into extra living spaces.
'The beauty of it is that because trusses span wall to wall there's no internal load bearing walls so if you went in there and said 'I don't want these bedrooms, I want a really big room out the back', you can just take a wall out,' he said.
He counts the main bedroom suite, with private access to a walled courtyard with an outdoor bath and shower, among his favourite spaces.
Buyers also have to the chance to explore commercial ventures at the property, which comes with a multipurpose venue.
Previously used as a cafe and event space, the ply-lined building includes a kitchen, cool room and a wood fire.
Maxwell Collins, Geelong listing agent Laura Vander Noord has set a $4.4m price guide for the property.
