The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance has regained control of its financial accounts one month after former CEO Ryan Weyandt seized the accounts, after ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud of Minnesota on Friday. Weyandt seized the accounts after allegations surfaced that the trade group had fallen into disrepair. 

According to the ruling, Weyandt — who is facing felony charges in Minnesota for allegedly possessing explicit content of minors — must return the group’s domains, emails, social media profiles and financial accounts.

Additionally, he has been ordered to close the group’s Chase bank account by Aug. 25 and is barred from accessing the remaining accounts. He is also not allowed to speak or act on behalf of the alliance. Tostrud said this decision is due in part to the criminal allegations against him. 

Weyandt left the Alliance in December 2024. The legal battle between him and his former employer began roughly six months later in June 2025, when he sent an email to the group’s leaders and members notifying them that he had taken emergency oversight as the alliance’s incorporator and listed agent with the IRS and Minnesota Secretary of State.

In a Substack post, Weyandt said he decided to do this due to issues within the group’s leadership. These issues included leaving board seats unfilled, unchecked spending, pursuing bankruptcy without notifying him as CEO, and cancelling national votes and events without proper notice.

Weyandt requested a temporary restraining order against the alliance from the Dakota County District Court, but his efforts stalled, leading him to pass his evidence to the state attorney general’s office. 

According to a spokesperson at the alliance, Weyandt’s claims are “completely baseless” and he “could not substantiate [them] in court.”

Weyandt is facing five felony charges in the Dakota County court for allegedly possessing explicit content of minors. That came after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a tip in November 2024 with Weyandt’s IP address.

An arrest warrant issued earlier this month shows that authorities seized electronic devices with thousands of videos and images of minors engaged in sexual activities.

Weyandt posted a $150,000 bond earlier this month, but he is not allowed to leave the state without prior court approval, and he is prohibited from contact with minors both online and in person. His charges carry a maximum prison sentence of five years each and a maximum fine of $5,000. 

With Queensland claiming 11 spots in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, here is a look at the homes owned by the sunshine state’s hottest acts.

THE GO-BETWEENS

This indie rock band was formed in Brisbane in 1977 and their track ‘Streets of Your Town’ was No. 84 on the countdown.

Six months after forming the band, singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan moved into a share house at 10 Golding St, Toowong

Between 1978 and 1979, the band recorded a number of songs live in Forster’s bedroom, which were released on ‘The Lost Album’ in 1999.

Property records show the Golding St home was built around 1930 and was last sold in May 1984 for $50,000. It is estimated to be worth about $1.36m.

REGURGITATOR

Forming in Brisbane in 1993, this alt-rock band had ‘!(The Song Formerly Known as)’ appear at No. 67 on the Hottest 100 list.

The group formed in the garage of 40 Coopers Camp Rd, Bardon, which was owned by Lien Yeomans, the mum of lead singer Quan Yeomans.

Ms Yeomans sold the property in 2016 for $975,000.

At the time of the sale, Yeomans said he wrote all of Regurgitator’s early songs downstairs on a 4-track tape machine.

“Mum let me set up full drum kits and amplifiers and I made a racket,” he said.

“My base player came downstairs and saw me tinkering away and that’s what kicked it (Regurgitator) off.”

THELMA PLUM

Gamilaraay woman, Thelma Plum appeared at No. 53 on the countdown with ‘Better in Blak’.

Born in Brissy, Plum spent most of her life in the river city and her third EP, ‘Meanjin’ was a love letter to her hometown.

The singer-songwriter bought an apartment in the suburb of West End in 2022 for $780,000, with the home today estimated to be worth more than $1m.

SAVAGE GARDEN

This ARIA award-winning pop duo’s hit ‘I Want You’ scraped into the 100 Hottest list at No. 97.

Cornubia

Savage Garden formed in 1993 with Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones rehearsing and recording at Jones’ home at 10 Ballan Ct, Cornubia.

When Jones sold the home in 2002 for $230,000 he left behind a plaque that read “built in 1982, this room was converted to a sound studio in 1994 where Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones of ‘Savage Garden’ wrote and recorded most the songs from their self-titled debut album”.

The property sold again in 2019 for $590,000 and in 2020 for $618,000. It is now valued at $1.06m.

Cleveland

In 2006 Jones sold a waterside residence at 32 Sentinel Ct, Cleveland for $5.8m.

The home sold again 2013 for $4.96m and smashed the Cleveland sales record went it sold for $8.5m in 2020.

POWDERFINGER

Powderfinger, formed in Brisbane in 1989, appeared in the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs three times, with ‘My Happiness’ at No. 6, ‘These Days’ at No. 14 and ‘(Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind’ at No. 70 while lead singer Bernard Fanning came in at No. 57 with ‘Wish You Well’.

Camp Mountain

Guitarists Ian Haug owns and operates Airlock Studios in Camp Mountain, where he also has a home.

Wights Mountain

In 2016, Powderfinger lead guitarist, Darren Middleton listed his Wights Mountain home of 15 years for sale for $1.395m.

The 2.05ha property came with a dam, barn and mango grove.

“We stumbled across this block of land and made an offer, as soon as we saw it we thought we could build a house here that could become the ultimate hideaway,” Middleton said at the time.

Paddington

Also in 2016, Fanning sold a two-bedroom investment unit in Paddington for $520,000, having bought it in 2011 for $422,500.

He listed a second nearby two-bedorom unit for sale for offers over $400,000 around the same time.

Toowong

In 2022 a link to Powderfinger may have helped save an old Queenslander from developers.

‘Goldicott House’ and its outbuildings, including a former Brisbane Boys College music room where Fanning learned his craft, was bought by developers in 2017.

Developers sought to demolish the music room building, but numerous objections from locals based on the historic nature of the estate caused plans to be rejected by council.

BBC, in partnership with the Presbyterian Methodist Schools Association, purchased ‘Goldicott’ in February 2022 for $17m.

THE VERONICAS

Brissy twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso formed pop duo The Veronicas in 2004 and made the Triple J list with ‘Untouched’ at No. 4 and ‘4ever’ at No. 76.

Albany Creek

The pair grew up in Albany Creek, with their family home selling in 2007 for $580,500 to Defence Housing Australia.

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom property now has an estimated value of $1.35m.

Fortitude Valley

In 2015 Jessica sold her inner city apartment in the McWhirters building for $599,000, after buying it in 2009 for $465,000.

When the property was listed for sale, Jessica said if the walls could talk, they’d have some wild stories to tell.

“There have been some awesome parties in this apartment, I also really do love to host dinner parties,” she said.

“I had my friend’s hen’s party here and have had lots of other musicians over to jam.”

Landsborough

In 2020 Lisa and Jessica sold a 2.7ha property in Landsborough for $770,000 after buying is in March 2019 for $695,000.

The property included a three bedrooms home with two master suites, a huge shed with granny flat and a spa.

“It has been a dream living on the Sunshine Coast, so close to Australia Zoo, and among the most beautiful hiking trails and beaches in the world,” the duo said when the property was listed for sale.

Bowen Hills

Lisa sold her Bowen Hills townhouse in 2021 for $815,000.

The property had been her Australian home base for more than 12 years.

At the time, the pop star said “a lot of music” was made in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.

“I lived there with Mummy and Jessie, so I have a lot of really beautiful memories,” she said.

Gold Coast

Jessica and her fiancee Alex Smith bought a double-storey apartment on the Gold Coast for $1.73m in 2023 with plans to renovate.

The beachfront two-bedroom, two-bathroom home had terracotta floor tiles, a dated kitchen and a leaking roof in the bathroom.

The couple said they had grand plans for the unit.

“We want it to feel like it has a lot of personality. We want it to be a little eccentric,” Jessica said.

While these iconic Queensland acts didn’t make the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs cut, they too once called a slice of the sunshine state home.

KEITH URBAN

Country music star and husband of Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban grew up in Caboolture, just north of Brisbane.

At one point he lived on an acreage block on Pumicestone Rd with his family.

The property is not visible from the road but the ‘Days Go By’ singer did revisit the home in 2005, chatting with the new owners and a horse from his childhood named Gypsy, according to a Sunshine Coast Daily report from 2006.

It is also believed the Urban family once called a little weatherboard home on Douglas Tce in Caboolture home at one point during Keith’s childhood.

The home still stands and has and estimated value of $665,000.

THE BEE GEES

The Redcliffe Peninsula’s most famous export, the Bee Gees once called an old cottage on Tramore St, Margate, home.

Unfortunately, the property was gutted in a fire in 2012.

The property was one of several Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb lived in while growing up in the area.

Post-fire, the empty block sold for $350,000 and then again in 2021 for $535,000 before a house was built on the land.

THE SAINTS

A modest tin and timber building at 4 Petrie Tce was once the share house, rehearsal space and live venue for The Saints, with a shopfront space at the front of the home becoming known as ‘Club 76’.

The rock band formed in 1973 and singer Christ Bailey moved into the Petrie Tce home in 1976.

Due to the place being unlicensed and unregulated, its time as a music venue lasted only until early 1977.

The home is now a commercial property with a number of businesses having operated from the former ‘Club 76’, including a law firm and a digital marketing agency.

The post Revealed: Homes of Qld’s hottest musos appeared first on realestate.com.au.

First home buyers are repeatedly being outbid for homes they can actually afford, with 20 per cent reporting they had missed out on at least three properties.

And according to Finder, the strong demand compared to supply is a sure sign that the market is stacked against first time buyers.

Finder’s First Home Buyer Report 2025 – based on a survey of 1006 first home buyers in Australia – revealed a whopping 61 per cent had missed out on a property they were seriously considering.

Being outbid by a competing buyer was the most common reason, affecting one in three (33%).

Almost one in four (23%) didn’t get the property they wanted because another buyer made an unconditional offer, agreeing to buy the property without contingencies.

And a further 11 per cent lost their chance because they couldn’t secure pre-approval from their lender in time, while 7 per cent missed out because a competitor offered a shorter settlement period.

Finder’s report shows almost half (42%) of first-time buyers who secured finance missed out on a property they were seriously considering two or more times, while one in five (20%) had this happen on at least 3 properties

Finder personal finance expert Sarah Megginson said the majority of first home buyers were beaten to properties they wanted.

“Securing a first property can be a very frustrating and exhausting process that drags on for months on end, which is why it’s so disappointing when you’re pipped at the post,” Megginson said.

“When nearly two-thirds of buyers are missing out on properties they’re serious about, it’s a clear sign that the market is stacked against new entrants.

“With only a few houses to choose from at an affordable price, buyers are often competing for the same properties.

“As budgets get stretched, buyers resort to whatever it takes to secure their dream property.”

The research also revealed that 60 per cent of first home buyers wanted to buy now following recent interest rate cuts.

One in four buyers are looking interstate or in a different region, with 65 per cent saying they expect to spend 30 per cent or more of their income to meet mortgage repayments.

Seventy per cent are buying or have bought with less than a 20 per cent deposit meaning they are subject to Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Nearly two in three (65%) first home buyers are already, or expect to be, in mortgage stress which is defined as spending 30 per cent or more of gross income on mortgage repayments.

“The Australian housing market is in a league of its own,” the report said.

“Residential property accounts for 64 per cent of household wealth, compared to a global average of less than 50 per cent and when adjusted for population, the value of Australian property is double that of the United States.

“Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008, Australian house prices have consistently outpaced both the United States and the UK.”

MORE: Unexpected suburbs lead home lending

How sleepy Aussie suburbs were jolted awake by Covid living

Revealed: Aus trend helping buyers beat record house prices

Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said the dominant motivator for buying was no longer just the aspiration to own a home, but the fear of missing out (FOMO).

“FOMO, fuelled by rising prices and social pressure, has overtaken traditional financial planning for many buyers,” Cooke said.

Forty-five per cent of buyers who purchased in the past year say they regret their decision, with 14 per cent of those surveyed reporting they had no savings left.

And 26 per cent revealed they paid to much.

“This kind of financial risk-taking reflects not just ambition, but anxiety – the belief that if you don’t buy now, you may never be able to,” Cooke said.

Interestingly, 14 per cent of those surveyed in both NSW and Queensland said they were looking to buy outside of their home state.

To help Australians have a better chance of cracking the property market, Finder is hosting a free, online First Home Buyer Masterclass.

Participants will be guided through how to turbocharge their deposit, get approved for a loan easily and quickly, and get prepared for property ownership.

Megginson said being prepared can make all the difference when the right property does come along.

“That’s why we’re hosting this free masterclass – to help buyers understand the process, avoid common pitfalls, and improve their chances of success,” she said.

“Our expert panel is going to share some of the steps you can take to have a competitive advantage over other buyers and hopefully, be in the category of first home buyers who get to sign a contract and secure their home.”

The masterclass will be held online on August 5 at 12.30pm with spaces now open for enrolments.

.

The post Why the Aus property market is stacked against first time buyers appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Speculation is mounting over how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will fund their lavish lifestyle after their $150 million deal with Netflix was scrapped.

The streaming giant will not renew their contract when it expires in September.

A source at Netflix said of Meghan’s efforts: “She had everything going for her — name, platform, press — and the numbers were dismal.”

Lifestyle and cookery show “With Love, Meghan” only ranked at number 383 in Netflix’s six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3 million viewers across the globe.

Described by one critic as an “exercise in narcissism”, it was beaten by re-runs of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days.

Once judged by some as Britain’s greatest soft power asset since Princess Diana, Meghan was filmed for her show making ladybird-shaped canapes from cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls.

RELATED: ‘Toxic’: King’s staff stage mass exodus

George must abide by sad rule

‘Desperate’: Harry’s fear when Wills is King

‘Dull indulgence’

Even The Guardian was moved to describe With Love, Meghan as “the sort of gormless lifestyle filler that, had it been made by the BBC, would be used to bulk out episodes of Saturday Kitchen”.

In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband’s vanity docuseries “Polo”, blasted as “a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit”.

In the first six months of the year the program attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3442 out of around 7000 shows.

Re-runs of the nine-year-old cartoon “He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe” scored similar numbers.

A Netflix insider has pronounced the couple’s lucrative contract “dead”, adding: “they’re just waiting for the credits to roll.

“They’re letting it expire without drama. There’s no appetite for anything new.”

The end of what many regarded as a reliable source of vast income for the former HRHs has set off a bomb under Project Sussex and its bold ambitions.

And of course it is not the Sussexes’ first media deal that has gone south.

Their reported $29 million podcasting deal with Spotify was terminated in June 2023, with senior Spotify executive Bill Simmons labelling the duo “f***ing grifters”.

Hosted by Meghan, the Archetypes podcast featured conversations with friends and celebrities including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah.

Critics said that in the episode with Williams it took 11 minutes before the tennis legend got a word in edgeways.

In 2023 Simmons said: “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation.

“The F***ing Grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them.

“I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea.

“It’s one of my best stories. F*** them. The grifters.”

The Sussexes’ undoubted TV hit was docuseries “Harry & Meghan”, released in December 2022.

It became Netflix’s biggest documentary debut, with more than 28 million watching in the first four days of its release.

In it the couple accused the Royal Family of “unconscious bias” and claimed Palace aides were complicit in negative media briefings against them.

Podcast boss Simmons said of Harry that year: “You live in f***ing Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the Royal Family and you just complain about them.”

While the Netflix deal will lapse, Meghan’s As Ever collection of wine, jam and cookies is displaying “sold out” signs on her website.

It raises the question of whether it will be her earnings that are increasingly relied upon to fund the family’s expensive Hollywood lifestyle, and if so, will it be enough?

PR expert Nick Ede believes that in the future the Duchess will provide the surest revenue stream, saying: “Meghan is the best way of making money for the two of them.

“She is the breadwinner.”

However, marketing experts Camille Moore and Phillip Millar accused Meghan’s As Ever brand of being “not intelligent” and “not well executed”.

Speaking on “The Art Of The Brand” podcast this week, Mr Millar accused Meghan of trying to rinse the maximum value from her “fame that came from “Suits” and being a part of the Royal Family”.

Mr Millar added: “Her brand wasn’t one built on substance. It was based on using people.”

Meanwhile, Harry, who has two paying jobs — with sustainable tourism firm Travalyst and coaching company BetterUp — seems most passionate when he is undertaking his charitable endeavours.

During a recent trip to Angola, The Duke followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana by walking through a minefield on behalf of his charity The Halo Trust.

‘Life of service’

Harry said in a statement: “As a father to young children, it breaks my heart to see innocent children still living and playing next to minefields”.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond commented: “I think this is precisely the sort of work that Harry should do.

“It is not only a hugely worthwhile cause, but it also connects him with his mother, which is something he yearns for.

“I think he is coming to recognise that the LA celebrity world is one in which he is not especially comfortable.

“And he seems quite willing to let Meghan take the limelight over there.

“He speaks frequently about a life of service, and trips like this certainly serve a very good cause indeed.”

Yet charity missions, while good for the soul, do not pay the bills.

And the Sussexes’ court in the Californian sunshine is not a cheap enterprise.

Their home, a nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion close to the Pacific in Montecito, is in America’s fifth most expensive postcode.

The Sussexes splashed out $US14.65 million ($A20.9 million) after the drama of Megxit in 2020, and the following year Harry said in his tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that his father has “literally cut me off financially”.

Without the money left to him by Diana — said to be £10 million ($A20.4 million) — Harry said “we would not have been able to do this”.

Harry’s finances got a boost last September when he turned 40 and a fund set up by the late Queen Mother gave him access to around £8 million ($A16.3 million).

But while most people could live very well on that kind of cash, Harry and Meghan’s lifestyle is not like most people’s.

They have more in common with the super-rich of California than your average couple. Indeed, they are said to have mortgage payments of around £350,000 ($A715,000) a year, while staffing costs come to an estimated £180,000 ($A367,000).

Harry has also spent on court cases and could be in line for a £1.5 million ($A3 million) bill for his failed attempt to get the Home Office to pay for his security in the UK.

Security is a very real worry for Prince Harry, who served two tours of Afghanistan.

Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan estimated the Sussexes’ protection costs come to at least £3 million ($A6 million) a year, adding: “Security is not a fashion accessory, it’s a need”.

Eye-watering tab

It leaves the Sussexes with an eye-watering tab just to meet their estimated outgoings.

Last month, royal financial expert Norman Baker told Channel 5 show Meghan And Harry: Where Did The Money Go? that the Sussexes’ earning potential was on the wane.

The former Liberal Democrat MP said: “They’ve done the big hits that they could do.

“They’ve done the big Spotify event, they’ve done the big book, there is nothing else to come, nothing else to sell apart from themselves.”

Harry’s autobiography Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever and has gone on to sell more than six million copies worldwide.

With their Netflix deal over, perhaps Meghan will feel the time is right for her to release her own blockbuster tome to get the cash registers ringing again.

Both Netflix and Harry and Meghan are yet to comment.

Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun was republished with permission.

RELATED: Harry and Meg slash staff in brutal move

Wild reason Charles can’t kick Andrew out

‘Disrespectful’ Charles slammed as Diana’s home left to rot

The post How Prince Harry, Meghan Markle will fund lavish life after $150m Netflix deal ends appeared first on realestate.com.au.

A UK couple has won a bitter neighbour dispute over an untrimmed hedge after five years of furious feuding.

Keith Smith, 71, and his wife Julie, 68, were locked in a feud with their neighbours in Prestonfield, Edinburgh, over the height of a hedge, The Sun reports.

The Smiths claimed the untrimmed cypress trees, belonging to David Hunter and Niena Hunter Mistry, made their lives a misery.

The row of trees sparked a five-year battle between the two couples.

The neighbour war grew so bitter that it involved the Edinburgh City Council, the Scottish Government and even the police.

The Smiths claim the trees cast a shadow across their garden, forcing the pensioners to live out their retirement in darkness.

Demanding the trees be chopped down, the Smiths turned to the local authority but were left frustrated when they were refused.

The couple paid a massive £350 ($A712) fee for a High Hedge Notice application which was denied after a visit from a city council officer.

Appealing the decision, the Smiths won and managed to successfully have the trees trimmed back to 8.5ft in 2023.

MORE: ‘Fat c**t’: Neighbour war erupts into a BRAWL

‘Bully’: Backstreet Boys star’s bizarre lawsuit

Neighbour war erupts over iconic TV town

After the bush was trimmed the Smiths claim that gaps where the tree once stood were suddenly replaced by gardening tools, including ladders, pipes and concrete.

The pair went on to claim the trim was inadequate and called for the council to come back, which they did and agreed that the remaining trees should be further cut back.

Mr Hunter left a single tree standing untrimmed however which he claimed was not part of the “boundary hedge” and therefore not subject to the High Hedge Notice.

The Smiths then insisted the remaining tree be cut back too with the dispute turning ugly again.

The couple, who have lived in their home for 44 years, continued their brutal battle to have the foliage lopped back.

Things got so bad that in June of last year the police were called to the quiet suburb where they issued “two men” with “recorded police warnings”.

Mr Smith previously claimed to Edinburgh Live his neighbours’ behaviour had been “atrocious” and branded the couple’s actions “absolutely appalling”.

The hedge owners refused to chop down their bush and claimed they felt harassed and intimidated by the Smiths.

The Smiths previously said: “We, the Smiths, have suffered hugely financially, emotionally and physically by this process and sincerely hope, this will now lead to resolution.”

An appeal launched by Mr Hunter in a bid to save his tree was rejected and the last remaining part of the hedge will now have to be cut back to 8.5ft.

Mr Hunter insisted the remaining tree was not part of the hedge and begged that it be allowed to stand.

He said in a document seen by the Mail Online: “The individual tree identified in the varied notice cannot reasonably be said to be part of the boundary hedge.

“It appears as a separate individual tree and has never been trimmed.

“We would be very grateful if you would take all our points and concerns into account and request that you quash the revised high hedge notice.”

Despite his pleas Mr Hunter was ordered to cut back the remaining piece of his hedge to 8.5ft in line with the previous High Hedge Notice.

The Smiths were delighted after a government official stated the tree did in fact cast a shadow over a “significant” portion of their garden.

The official also stated the previous High Hedge Notice applied to the whole hedge, including the remaining tree.

Despite the best efforts of Mr Hunter the government official ruled the hedge damaged the Smith’s enjoyment of their home.

The government ruled the remaining part of the hedge is now subject to the High Hedge Notice and should be trimmed to 8.5ft.

Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun was republished with permission.

MORE: Fed-up man’s ‘ridiculous’ neighbour standoff

Airbnb owner forced to tear down 12m find

Bon Jovi dragged in $65m mystery showdown

The post Huge update on 5 year neighbour dispute over untrimmed hedge appeared first on realestate.com.au.