Queensland woman refuses to pay for $1.6million farm as fight erupts during settlement

The buyer of a $1.6million farm in Queensland has attempted to pull out of the deal at the eleventh hour due to a list of grievances including the disappearance of two goats, unemptied wheelie bins, and an unmowed lawn.

Neveen Moussa was due to pay farm owner Mellissa Gai Eather the balance purchase price for the home and 3.04 hectares of land in Tamborine, Queensland, on April 24.

But she refused, instead suing Ms Eather a month later for ‘breach of contract’ in the Supreme Court of Queensland in May with a list of issues.

Ms Moussa claimed two goats which had been included in the price of the property on Greensward Road were gone, court documents seen by The Courier Mail said.

The issues included full bins, unmowed grass, a broken front gate, cider bottles and paint cans littered around the property, and a lack of vacuuming in the garage, shed and patio.

She also complained she was not left small furniture for the property’s tiny home, nor did she receive the ‘map of the fruit trees, their number, type and location’.

The court heard a special condition in the contract said ‘two rubber swans in the dam’ and 15 chickens would be included in the sale.

It was not suggested the rubber birds were missing from the home.

The property, which was valued at $1.6million, was due to be sold until the buyer claimed a breach of contract because two goats were no longer at the home (pictured)

Ms Moussa’s legal claim tried to force Ms Eather to hand over the keys to the home within seven business days of her anticipated legal win.

During the case, the homeowner denied there was a breach of contract.

In the Supreme Court on July 7, Justice Glenn Martin ruled there was no breach of contract, deciding Ms Eather would receive unspecified damages on a future date.

‘Ms Moussa, in her statement of claim, appears to treat all the breaches … as breaches of conditions of the contract,’ Justice Glenn said in his decision.

‘It is difficult to understand how, for example, an option to purchase two goats could be regarded as an essential term of the contract.

‘Likewise, it is not obvious that failure to empty a wheelie bin would constitute a breach of an essential term. Nevertheless, these were relied upon by Ms Moussa.’

During the case, Justice Martin found Ms Moussa ‘was taken to have admitted that none of the breaches… were of essential terms’.

‘Ms Moussa is taken to have admitted that she was not entitled to refuse to settle on 24 April,’ he said.

The sprawling home in Tamborine, an hour from Brisbane, has a tiny home and a dam

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, which was last sold in December 2021 for $1.38million, is still listed on Domain and RealEstate.com as for sale.

The property is located under an hour from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, sitting between the two cities and slightly inland.

It has renewable energy-friendly features including solar panels and solar hot water.

A 5m deep dam filled with silver perch is also on the property, fitted with a jetty and a pump for irrigation.

There are citrus, avocado and pomegranate plants in the landscaped garden as well as two separate outdoor living areas, including the tiny home.