The Block Oslo's Mitch and Mark seek North Bondi buyer

Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie, who are being promoted as the ‘‘stylish grandads’’ on The Block’s upcoming series, are professional property flippers.

By my count these serial renovators have flipped 15 properties.

They have pocketed $3.5 million in gains over the past 13 years, excluding $560,000 in stamp duties, plus the estate agent and conveyancing fees.

And less whatever they spent on the renos.

They’re now seeking a buyer for their own North Bondi apartment (above and below) which they’ve renovated since paying $855,000 last year. It has been listed by Tony Dowling and Vicki Laing at Laing Real Estate.

Their participation in the Channel 9 show has already been called into question by The Block’s diehard fan base who quickly recognised them from Channel 7’s renovation show Aussie Property Flippers.

Mitch, 56 and Mark, 57, were chosen from more than 45,000 entrants. Together 14 years, the couple have been flipping since they were a year into their relationship.

While they say that they have no practical building experience, and have never been “on the tools”, they are no strangers to the arduous parts of living through a renovation.

Their flipping has mostly been done around Kings Cross with the Elan apartment building having seen some of their money-spinning successes.

In 2009 they paid $890,000 for a two-bedroom 20th-floor apartment which sold for $1.34 million just 18 months later. They sold a 24th-floor two-bedder for $1,875,000 in 2017 having paid $1.47 million two years earlier.

They made $300,000 on a Tamarama apartment in just nine months, buying for $780,000 and selling for $1,065,000 in late 2016 just before the boom ended.

The Fletcher St offering was back for sale at $965,000, but recently withdrawn through Tom Murray at LJ Hooker.

The Block returns for its 15th season next month with a transformation of the Oslo hostel into five homes in Melbourne’s St Kilda. The workload was double last year’s Gatwick and six times the original Block in Bondi in 2003.

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.