Who is Frank the mysterious bidder on The Block?

HE’S been dubbed “the breakout star of The Block” after getting a serious amount of airtime during last night’s grand finale.

Dubbed “Frank the baldheaded guy” by fans on Twitter, he whipped rivals into a bidding frenzy last night, having a crack at all four apartments.

He and his paddle popped up so much, he was almost omnipresent.

Frank Valentic is the managing director of Advantage Property Consulting who represented three clients who were interested in purchasing one of the Albert Park apartments.

Contrary to reports he bought Steve and Chantelle’s apartment out of “buyer desperation” after missing out on the other three, he wasn’t actually buying any of the properties for himself.

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Valentic said he had two investor clients based in Melbourne who were looking to buy both Brad and Dale’s and Alisa and Lysandra’s apartments in the hope of renting it for a return of six per cent.

Both were pipped at the post when bidding skyrocketed and were left “very disappointed”.

However, he did have success on the last apartment, securing Steve and Chantelle’s for a young couple in their early 30s who lived locally and were looking for a place to start a family.

Mr Valentic was so ecstatic that he ran across the floor and jumped on the agent in a moment of madness.

“I’m a bit crazy,” Mr Valentic told news.com.au. “I used to play soccer semi-professionally and when I’d score goals I used to jump on my teammates and kiss them and I had a bit of a brain snap and felt like I was back on the soccer field in my playing days.

“I’m a pretty emotional person and that’s what you get after battling it out and missing out on the three before.”

Mr Valentic said the client wanted either Chantelle and Steve’s or Kyal and Kara’s apartment due to their north-facing aspect and ample natural light, but was outbid on the Super Ks’ apartment.

He said criticism that Chantelle and Steve’s was the worst styled apartment was little concern to the buyer as they bought it more for the position in the building than the aesthetics.

“The black basin upstairs which was criticised by the judges can be changed for $1000, some people didn’t like the wooden feature in the bedroom, that can also be replastered for $1000.

“Forget the basin, forget the wooden wall, what you can’t change is those amazing city views and the north-facing aspect and in Melbourne you have to be north. They liked the natural light coming through, the other south facing apartments can be quite dark.”

Mr Valentic said the male client is an intensive care surgeon and does a lot of work at home so he liked the study area that Chantelle and Steve had that could be turned into a guest bedroom.

The couple also liked that the small study made for a larger living area than in Kyal and Kara’s apartment.

However, despite how thrilled his clients were, Mr Valentic says they almost missed out.

“They reached their absolute limit, we would have had to walk away had there been just one more bid.”

Mr Valentic says each of the four couples should be thanking executive producer Julian Cress for their incredible result, with each team taking home more than $500,000.

“They should be kissing him! He set a very nice, very kind reserve, there was no way in hell they would sell for $1.8 million looking at comparable sales in Albert Park with a similar footprint.”

He said the prices they sold for were right on the money, but conceded that the order definitely had an impact on the final result.

“I think the order had a big impact on Brad and Dale, in particular, they definitely would have gotten more if they went later,” he said.

“The first one is definitely the worst position because people were thinking ‘I won’t go that hard, I’ll have a go on another one, let’s see how this goes and how things roll initially’.

“When it came to the last one, bidders were desperate to buy, it’s a once in a lifetime warehouse conversion just 100m from cafes, with everything on your doorstep. People who would have gotten pipped on Chantelle and Steve’s if they’d gone earlier and therefore would have gone harder on the others. It’s the luck of the draw really.”

Mr Valentic initially thought Brad and Dale would win because of their low reserve (being on the south side of the building) and the overall feel of the apartment.

“They did a really good job but I think the order compromised their opportunity. My second choice was Kyal and Kara, their apartment had so many extras with all the bonuses they won and I thought that would influence some of the buyers to pay more, plus all the media hype was about them to win.”

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Mr Valentic has wielded his paddle at four of the last five editions of the show, purchasing three properties in total.

He says he’s already looking forward to making an appearance on the next edition, which is also being filmed in Melbourne.

Guess we can expect to see more of Mr Valentic in the future, or should we say The Frankinator?

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