A HOLIDAY to Marks Point three decades ago was enough to convince Sydney couple Bruce and Lexy Kennerson to relocate to Lake Macquarie.
In 1999, the couple purchased a lakefront property perched high on the northern tip of Marks Point that not only offered a home with a spectacular view but also a historic 1920s cottage that the Kennersons have since renovated to use as a holiday rental.
"There is another little cottage nearby called Selby Cottage that is on the waterfront and we stayed there many years ago on a visit from Sydney," Bruce said.
"That's how we came to know that little area of Marks Point.
"We fell in love with it and then we found this house and cottage, so that's how it all started."
Now, after 24 years, the couple has listed the much-loved home and cottage for sale.
Selling agent Shelby Telfer from LJ Hooker Belmont has listed the property at 135 Marks Point Road with a guide of $2.95 million to $3.2 million by negotiation.
The battle axe block spans 1062 square metres with the main residence positioned at the top and the cottage down on the water's edge.
Bruce and Lexy have resided in the multi-level three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at the top of the block while operating the cottage as a popular holiday rental.
The agent said the cottage provides consistent additional income with plenty of future earning potential.
It features a fully equipped kitchen, air conditioning, two large bedrooms and a bathroom with a spa bath, and is a short walk from Marks Point Marina.
The cottage was in a very different state when the couple purchased the property and over time, they restored it to its former glory with the addition of new jarrah flooring in keeping with the original timbers.
It was during the restoration work that Bruce discovered a plaque underneath the house with the name 'Iona'.
"I found this nameplate under the house that somebody had taken off and thrown away," he says.
"It said 'Iona' and so that's what we called it because, according to that, it must have been the original name."
The cottage is being sold fully furnished with the sale of the property.
The upper level of the main house has a master suite with ensuite and a walk-in robe, a study or guest room, a powder room and an open-plan lounge, dining, and kitchen area.
There is also direct access into the house from the garage.
On the lower level are two bedrooms and a main bathroom, with each room providing access to another large covered deck, the gardens and a path down to the lake's edge.
The upper level also had a large hardwood timber deck with 180-degree views across the lake, along with the addition of in-built zip track blinds to provide shade.
Bruce said the view is what they will miss most.
"The views are the best thing," he said.
"There is a big deck on the top level and another along the bottom and they both give you beautiful views across Belmont to Green Point and Coal Point, and right up to Toronto."
Bruce said the land was originally owned by brothers Henry, Charles and Maurice Marks who were early settlers in the area. The suburb takes its name from the family.
In the early 1920s, a resident of Newcastle bought the land and built the fisherman's cottage.
"It was built by a man from Newcastle named Kenneth Lindsay but apparently his wife didn't like the fishing cottage right on the water's edge, so he built a house up near the road instead," Bruce said.
That house still remains to this day next to the driveway leading to Bruce and Lexy's house.
Mr Lindsay owned the property until the 1950s when it was sold to a local electrician, Trevor Bull, who went on to found Rovert Lighting.
"He owned it until we bought it so we are only the second owners of this house," Bruce said.
The median house value in Marks Point is $885,000, according to CoreLogic.
