About Soona Property Services

Soona Property Services founder, Richard Higlett, was born and bred on a farm in regional Victoria and like most farmers, that made him hard working and resourceful.  As a strong young adult Richard moved to Melbourne to pursue his sporting dreams and a career in Physical Education.

A few career moves, a wife and three daughters later Richard’s love of physical work, the outdoors and meeting new people led him to establishing Soona Property Services.  In the 10 years since he has developed a business that is highly focused on the care of the homes and gardens of his clients in the same manner that he would care for his own.

Many other businesses with quality branding and service like Soona have gone down the franchise route.  However, Richard’s love of working directly with his clients and pride in getting the job done well means he remains hands-on in the business supported by his small friendly team.

No job is too hard for Richard and the team. This includes general home maintenance services, residential gardening, landscaping and general maintenance in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Richard says, “I always offer quality and reliability – my three daughters guarantee it.”

Here Richard talks about some examples of the work the Soona Property Services team have done.

New Garden construction

Ocean Grove – 9/04/2019

We had ten days leading up to Easter to turn a building site into a beautiful garden.

With the help of the owner we designed a functional garden with zones that would suit a family of four.

The owner wanted to rent this house out, so ease of maintenance was essential.

Instead of grass being the dominant feature in this garden we divided the area into two zones. The area directly out from the dining room featured artificial grass bordered by garden beds with lush plantings and black mulch to accent the green of the grass.

At the other end of the backyard we created a play area of mulch, again bordered by garden beds.

We also utilised the use of black scoria in secondary beds and areas that weren’t suitable for planting. This use of scoria or any similar product in this way is useful for minimising maintenance, especially for a rental.

In the front garden we used native plants selected from the local authorities preferred planting schedule, and mulch.

The nature strip was filled with Tuscan toppings and the garden bed bordering the driveway was planted with native grasses.

The ten days spent on this garden included, 10m3 of mulch, 8m3 of scoria, 8m3 of crushed rock, timber edging, plants and equipment. We also liaised with suppliers, so every product turned up on site when needed and when my help was available.

After ten days of hard work the result was a beautiful garden, finished on time and on budget.

Not one blade of grass was used. No mower needed, no watering required and no overgrown grass.

Fence Extension

Doncaster  11/11/2019

This customer had built a deck out from the dining room of his new house. The level and slope of the block was such that whilst sitting on the deck he could view who was passing by, and they, him.

This was a modern block and the fences were Merbau. He already had part of the fence with a customised fence extension consisting of a frame and infill of bamboo, however these were looking shabby and didn’t really provide the privacy that he required. The fence was also stepped which provided a challenge and didn’t suit a commercially produced lattice fence extension.

Using the existing customised fence extension as a template and using a superior infill of cement sheet, I was able to create a customised fence extension that looked good, was strong, suited the varied stepped fence line and provided complete privacy.

This customised fence extension could be painted and therefore match, either the building behind or the fence it sits on.

A great result for the customer and great satisfaction for me. I had to use my knowledge of products and building processes to create something that looked good and was strong.

Retaining Wall

Doncaster – 16/12/19

We had to replace 20 metres of retaining wall that had rotted away, with a height of 1 metre in sections, and shaped in an arc.  Replacement took quite a bit of planning.

The customer wanted to use superior products such as red gum sleepers instead of treated pine. Galvanised posts instead of wooden posts and drainage pipe behind the wall to redirect ground water.

Over 3 days we removed the old sleepers and posts, cemented in the galvanised posts and slotted in the new sleepers.

Once the new wall was completed, we dropped the ag pipe in behind and back filled with scoria and dirt.

The use of quality products and a skilled tradesman meant a happy customer and a strong retaining wall that will last for years.

Commercial Real Estate

Warrandyte – 4/04/2020

We work on a group of ten shops in Warrandyte near the bridge over the Yarra, called the Bridge Arcade.

I am contracted to keep the gardens tidy, the roses pruned and the weeds under control.

I also keep the gutters cleared and keep leaves out of the drains.

I liaise with the shopkeepers and make sure I address any of their concerns.