Original subtitles

- I'm on a hunt to help find everyday Kiwis their perfect country house.

Things are a little different out here in the country.

You still have the hustle and bustle.

Your neighbours can sometimes be a bit noisy.

Time moves a little slower.

But you don't get this

in the city.

Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023

Today we're house hunting with two dog-loving best mates, Gail and Mandy.

These two have been friends for years,

bonding over their shared passion of breeding man's best friend.

Now Gail is looking for a new pad to start the next chapter of her life,

alongside her three beloved dogs.

Hopefully this is a walk in the park.

Today, we're in Levin with Gail and Mandy, two dog-loving best friends,

who are on the hunt to find a new home for Gail and her three canine companions.

And that nice studio.

As we said, it could be an office, a spare bedroom or even a little room for the dogs.

Who knows? Whatever you like.

We've got three homes to explore, and they all offer something unique.

I mean, in terms of entertainment,

it doesn't get better than this, does it? - Mm. No.

Plus, I get to indulge my sweet tooth with some tasty homemade treats.

So let's get moving and see if we can find Gail and her four-legged friends something to call their own.

- Yeah. Exceeds our expectations. It's just amazing.

I've known Mandy for more than 40 years through our shared love of dogs.

We probably lost touch maybe ten years ago, but then we reconnected.

One day I was down walking my dogs at Peka Peka Beach,

and who should I come across walking a Labrador, but Mandy? - Yeah.

- It's been really nice catching up again... - It has, yeah.

- ...and solving all the problems of the world now that we're quite wise.

So, my husband Lionel and I have always lived on lifestyle blocks.

Unfortunately...

he became ill last year and was diagnosed with motor neurone disease,

and he passed away quite quickly, within six months.

But I'd still like to honour that dream that he had of us,

the dogs and I, going back to a lifestyle block again.

If it wasn't for my dogs,

since my husband passed, I really...

I don't know how I would have managed because they've put routine into my life

in terms of keeping me occupied and not dwelling on things.

It's really important that I live somewhere where they're happy,

because if they're happy, I'm happy.

And in case I overlook things, I'm sure Mandy will pick those up for me.

I'll do my best.

- For those seeking a quiet change, Levin, New Zealand, is located about 100km north of Wellington,

and beckons with its promise of laid-back living.

Nestled amidst captivating landscapes,

this close-knit community warmly embraces newcomers.

Enveloped by picturesque farmland and rolling hills,

visitors can take in the natural beauty and savour the charms of this beautiful countryside.

I can see why today's team have chosen Levin for their new home.

Gail's after a home with a usable outdoor space for her dogs to run free,

plus a large entertaining area for when her human friends come to visit.

Something with a little bit of character would also be a bonus.

Gail has a budget of 1.5 million,

but there is a little bit of wiggle room for the perfect house.

So let's see if I can dish her up a winner.

First up on today's house hunt, we've got an American-style home

nestled atop three acres with beautiful established gardens.

Could this one work for Gail and her three dogs?

Here they are. Gail!

- Hello, Matt. - Yeah, gidday!

- Nice to meet you. - You too.

Hi, Mandy. - Mandy. How you going?

- Lovely to meet you two. Couple of best friends looking for a house today. This is great.

- Yeah, that's right. Mandy's here to help me today.

- Now, let's find out a little bit more about how you two know each other.

So, I know that dogs brought you together, didn't they?

- That's right. So, Mandy and I both used to show dogs, probably for maybe 45 years now.

So, we probably lost touch one― when I stopped showing anyway, maybe for about 10 years.

And I came across Mandy at Peka Peka, running her dog on the beach.

And then since then, we've spent time together walking the dogs, having coffee, just hanging out.

- So just a completely random bump-in on the beach?

Yeah. Well, you know, this is New Zealand, this, you know.

So it really is all about the dogs today, isn't it?

- They're a very important part of my life and have been obviously for 40-plus years.

- Well, in terms of what you're looking for,

the first house that I'm gonna show you, in my opinion, ticks all the boxes.

Built in 1995, this whole area was subdivided,

and one man built three homes, all in an American style and a decent size section ―

this is over three acres.

We got four bedrooms and lots of nice outdoor space as well.

- It is interesting-looking house. Very appealing.

- What do you think, Mandy? You reckon this one could be a winner? - Yeah, it sorta draws you in a bit.

It's almost like you want to explore it a bit.

- On that note... - Looking forward to seeing it. - ...shall we explore?

Let's head on in. - Great. Let's go.

- House number one. It's a lovely open-plan living area.

Actually, two separate living areas ― one to your left, just through there,

and then your main living area here with your kitchen and dining ― all open-plan.

Beautiful views everywhere you look.

So, how does it feel to you? First impressions?

- Well, I really like this open-plan area.

I like the fact that you've got the dining room, and I'd use this as a family room for me andthe dogs.

The kitchen looks a wee bit small, actually, in terms of storage from what I'm used to.

But what do you think, Mandy? What do you think about for the dogs in here?

- I think it flows really well, and I like the way that the tiling's coming all the way through

so that there's at least one area that doesn't, you know, get muddy.

- I did like that entranceway. It was nice and spacious.

High stud, looked good. - Yeah, it felt good. Felt welcoming.

- All right, time to have a good look around. I'm gonna be outside.

Have a look through to the bedrooms. There's three down that way,

and the main bedroom with a separate bathroom just to your left.

So, enjoy the space and I'll see you soon.

- Thank you! - Great. Thanks, Matt.

Oh wow. This is a great size master bedroom.

It's really nice. You've got access there out into the gardens.

I really like the layout of the living area.

I'm not quite sure how that carpet would work with the dogs.

- The laundry was really quite small. It's a long way away.

Muddy dogs. I would have liked more space for outside stuff. - Drying the dogs, yeah.

- Drying dogs, yeah. - Yeah.

- I think I would change the laundry to make it bigger,

cos with the dogs, you really need somewhere that you can come in and shut the door,

towel them off before you come into the house.

- Yeah, it's a really good point. - Thanks. Yeah.

- Well, if you're looking for a place with space for the dogs to roam, I think we've foundit.

- Absolutely. No, this garden area is just lovely.

It's really well laid out.

And the other thing is that a lot of these outdoor areas are covered,

which is really great in winter. I like that.

- So you can make coffee in the morning with the morning sun over this side of the house,

and then maybe a wine in the evening over that side of the house with the evening sun.

- That sounds a good plan, Matt.

- Overall, how does this house appeal to you?

- It's really nice. It's really well laid out inside.

I really like the living areas, and I just like the flow from the indoors

to the outdoors and then going out into the fields as well. The dogs would love that.

- Yeah, I think it's got a lot to offer. You know, especially in Gail's situation,

I'd be looking at it with the same eyes. Yeah.

- So, off to a good start. But, of course, very important point we have to discuss is what it's worth.

What would your guess be for this property?

- I think it's gonna be under my budget. I'm thinking maybe 1.3, 1.4.

- I'm surprised that you say that.

I... Yeah, I'd say maybe a little bit more.

- Gail, you've hit the nail on the head. - All right, so...

- Anything over 1.3, around that mark... - OK.

- ...you'd start to be looking at getting this house. - Oh. Very good.

Ohau wasn't somewhere really that I had considered,

but it is really quiet here,

and I think that the location's reflected in the really good pricing.

You're getting a big bang for your buck.

- Coming up, we have two very different houses to explore,

both of which I could see Gail making her own.

Plus, I check out some of the fresh produce Levin has to offer at Lewis Farms.

- I'm in Levin, helping Gail and Mandy on their quest

to find Gail and her three Irish Setters a place to call home.

The first house had a lot of potential and plenty of space for the dogs to run free.

But now, for something completely different.

This low-maintenance home might be an easy choice for Gail,

but does it have that sense of character she was after? Let's find out.

OK, Gail, Mandy, house number two.

You've got yourself a 240m2 house sitting on about a half an acre here.

Really modern build. This one's only about 10 years old, so everything's good to go.

Storage-wise, so many options.

You've got a double garage attached to the home, but also this gigantic shed.

Plus, a separate little office space.

You were looking for an office?

- Yeah. Probably not want one outdoors, but interesting.

- How do you like the style of the home so far?

- Perhaps not really my style, but you know, certainly appreciate that it's really low-maintenance,

and everything is new, so it's all gonna be in great condition.

- How about you, Mandy? What do you think of this style?

- For me personally, it's just not country enough.

- OK. Let's look around. - I just― - OK.

- You know, it reminds me of an Oreo cookie.

- Oh, the house? - The house.

You know, that sort of brown and brown with a little bit of cream in the middle.

- Yeah, an Oreo cookie. That's a good definition.

- All right. So, nice, bright, light and modern living area.

You've got a separate lounge through to the right.

And then the open-plan dining, living and kitchen.

I know it's not necessarily the style of home that you'd love,

but can you imagine yourself living in a home like this?

- Yes, I like... I like this flow.

And I like, in the kitchen, that butler's pantry.

That's really good to have everything that you can put away in there.

There's a paddock next door. If that was going to be built on,

your neighbours could potentially be a little bit close.

But the indoor-outdoor flow, that's really great.

- Yeah, I think it'd be an easy space to live in.

I just don't know whether I'd love it.

- And then there's that big question as well ― how would the dogs go in here?

- Yeah, with all the carpet... - Mm. The new carpet as well.

- So it'd be a bit of a sin, wouldn't it, to pull it up and extend the tiles through here?

Means you have to have a very efficient vacuum.

OK. Time for you to have a look-see around the rest of the house.

I'll be enjoying that deck, and when you're done, just come and find me out there.

- OK, thanks, Matt. - Thank you.

- Well, it's not as big as the last place, but I think probably it is quite a good size, I'd say.

It's a lovely family home. You need to do a little bit of work with the floor coverings.

The grounds are a little bit plain. - It's a great playground for kids, isn't it?

But there's not a lot of character to it.

- I'm thinking that this house is probably going to be less than the first house we saw.

I would think maybe 1.2, 1.3. - I think that would be generous.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- Right. - Kia ora!

I really think this side of the house,

right here where we are on the deck, is where it comes into its own.

You've got the louvered pergola,

so all year around you're nice and sheltered.

And that nice studio, as we said, it could be an office, a spare bedroom, or even a little room forthe dogs.

Who knows? Whatever you like.

How do you feel about this house now that you've had a good look around and seen this outdoor area?

- Yeah, I like this outdoor area, and as you say, that really does make a big difference tothe place.

Really good entertaining space. - Yes.

- I can see us sitting out here with friends and family, maybe having a barbecue.

- Let's discuss what you think this place would be worth.

- Well, to be honest, it's a lot smaller than that first place that we saw.

The location is equally as good, but I'm picking that it might be a little bit cheaper.

Maybe 1.2, 1.3. - It is a little bit more than that.

We're looking around the 1.4, 1.45 mark. - Oh, really?

- I guess it is a modern home, though.

Everything's brand-new. It's walk-in ready.

- And it does have a few extras like the spa pool. - That's true, yeah.

Don't forget the spa pool. Very important.

- I probably would find it a little bit difficult spending that amount of money,

knowing that potentially I was going to have to rip up all the carpets.

However, it's quite low-maintenance. - Yeah. - The house itself, it's new.

It's a possibility because, you know, it would be a sensible choice in terms of me managing it.

- Coming up, I try some sweet treats,

explore an architectural marvel,

and sit down for one very big decision.

- When driving through Levin, I couldn't help but stop off at Lewis Farms,

where I met up with Catherine to talk about what makes their strawberries oh so sweet.

Catherine, as a strawberry lover myself,

I reckon this'd be about the most dangerous place I could possibly work.

I'd be eating away half the profits every day.

- Yeah, well, they're sweet strawberries, so what can I say?

But, no, we do enjoy a few each day.

- Now, this is a family-owned farm. You've been in business for a long time, haven't you?

- Yeah. So, the asparagus part of the operation has been in business for over 40 years.

- 40 years? - Yeah, and we recently, about six years ago or so,

went into strawberry growing in the tunnel houses.

- Yeah, great. These tunnels are fantastic.

So this means you've got all weather, all conditions. You can keep growing these strawberries,yeah?

- Yeah. We got some protection. We work with the environment,

and this helps shade them from the rain and wind and other elements.

- Now, the great thing about here is you can pull in,

if you're driving through Levin, and come into the factory, have a look at what's going on,

and there's a shop as well. - Yes, that's right. Yeah.

- And there's some pretty tasty things for sale in that shop. I did have a wee look at the icecream.

That looked pretty good. - Yeah. Yeah, no, it's very, very popular, that.

- And the jam. Obviously, you make your own jam on-site. - We do.

- Tell me a little bit about that. - Yeah, so that's pretty famous.

We make our own strawberry and raspberry jam.

Basically, none of our fruit is wasted. We don't throw any away.

We keep it all, and in the winter, we kick-start our factory and make jam on-site.

It's definitely a destination on a road trip for sure.

- So, livin' in Levin's pretty good. - Pretty good. - Pretty bad joke, though.

Yeah, pretty bad.

- Tempting as it may be to spend the rest of the day eating ice cream,

there's still one more house we need to get to,

and I think this third house might just have the sort of character that Gail is after.

OK. Gail. Mandy. I have saved a pretty special house for our third and final home today.

Designed by Fritz Eisenhofer, a really famous, really well-known architect,

who was really active in New Zealand in the '60s, '70s and onwards.

And this is a really incredible example of his work.

Sitting on just about 2½ acres of land, two minutes from town,

five minutes from a river where you can walk the dogs.

I think this place, honestly, it could be perfect for you.

- Well, it is stunning, isn't it? - Ticks all the boxes!

Ticks a lot of boxes. - Yeah, it's got― Yeah, it ticks a lot of boxes, as Mandy says.

It looks fantastic from the outside.

The grounds are fabulous. The house, wow, the design is amazing,

so I'm really looking forward to seeing what there is indoors.

- Well, why are we standing around talking about it?

Let's head inside and have a look around.

- OK. Let's go. - Let's go.

- As you came up that long, long drive and you could see a bit of the house

and then the house just sort of keep on going around

and you just sort of didn't really know where to start with.

And then it was like, oh.

- So, real typical of Eisenhofer's style,

this home features really clean, straight lines

and lots of open spaces with that light filtering through.

This beautiful kitchen and dining open-plan area, it's all unique.

I've never seen anything quite like this home before.

- Yeah, well, it is special. It's stunning. It just is amazing, isn't it?

My husband would've loved this house.

He would have just loved these design features... - Yeah.

- ...and the outside alfresco dining area. And it looks well sheltered.

That looks fantastic. I can see us out there.

- This house, we've actually got a really great long view to the ranges,

even today when it's, you know, looking a bit troubled.

It's gonna change throughout the seasons.

- Now, I'm really looking forward to showing you this next part of the house.

I won't say too much. It's a bit of a surprise.

It's probably my favourite area, so let's head on out. - OK. Let's go.

- Wow. Gorgeous. Look at that. - Wow. - Uh-huh!

Don't you just instantly feel like you're on holiday when you walk out into a place like this?

- Now, I can see why it's your favourite spot.

- So if you do feel like you're on holiday, it's on purpose.

That's what the original owner wanted this place to feel like.

So, you get this beautiful plunge pool in the middle of a Balinese-inspired garden, I think.

Also a sauna, outdoor shower.

I mean, that's luxury, isn't it? - Absolutely it is. - Yeah.

- And I guess if your her best mate, you're gonna be coming and making the most of this pool as well, probably.

- Oh, I don't even mind cleaning it occasionally.

How about that?

- I mean, friends are good, but friends with pools are better, eh? - Yeah.

- You certainly make it attractive for friends and family visiting,

having a space like this.

- I'm blown away by this house, and I'm hoping you are too.

So, I'm going to let you have some time to really soak it in.

Make sure you check out the mezzanine. - OK.

- And I'll be in the backyard. Once you're done, we can talk about what this place might be worth.

- Oh, wow, Mandy. Look out here. Look at this view.

- Is that paddock there part of it?

Cos we could just sit up here and watch the dogs running.

- Great section, this one, especially for a dog owner, I reckon. - Yeah.

Yeah, no, they'd love it. My husband would've loved this as well.

This just fulfils the dream that he had. It, yeah, exceeds our expectations. It's justamazing.

- And what were your dog's names again? - Fernando and Francesca,

- Mm-hm. - and their daughter is called Fancy Pants.

- Pretty fancy pants house. - It is!

- It is indeed. Yeah. - So it has kind of matches, doesn't it?

So, having had a good look around, getting a sense of the home,

where do you think it sits in terms of the price?

- I have to say it's a fabulous house. It's just stunning,

so I'm thinking it's gonna be beyond my budget.

I'd say 1.8, you'd be doing pretty well, but I suspect it's much higher than that.

- I love giving good news.

It wouldn't need to be that high. I think an offer around 1.7- 1.75... - Oh, really?

- ...could secure this house. - Wow. That's amazing.

One thing that does worry me would be the maintenance on the place,

and I'm not quite sure I could manage this on my own.

One thing that really surprises me, Mandy, is the price of this place.

All of a sudden, with what Matt's saying there, this could well be a contender.

- I think you've got a lot to think about.

- Well, now that Gail has had a really good chance to think things over with the help from Mandy,

I just want to catch up and see if we were able to come up with a winner.

Gail. - Oh. Morning, Matt.

- Morena. How are you? - Good. Thank you.

- I've been looking forward to catching up with you. Had such a great day with you and Mandy

looking at those three beautiful houses here in Levin.

And I know that you've made a decision, so before we find out what your big decision is,

let's just go through those houses one more time.

I remember the first house was on about three acres.

Big property, really nice open-plan, good flow into the outdoor areas.

You had your two courtyards that you quite liked?

- Yes, I really did like those outdoor living spaces,

and I liked the flow from the indoors to the outdoors.

So, that place also had the benefit of established gardens,

plus a few paddocks for the dogs to hoon around in.

- And then the second house we looked at ― the more modern of the three ― it was about 10 years old.

Lots of shared space, lots of grass area for the dogs to run around on,

but definitely the smaller of the three.

- The house itself was nice inside. That flowed really well,

but the property itself was maybe a little bit small for my needs. - Yep.

- It didn't really have the character I was looking for. - Yeah, thought that.

And then came to house number three,

which really was a bit of a dream house, wasn't it?

- The third house blew Mandy and I away from the moment we went down the driveway.

And from the outside, it looked fantastic with the gardens,

and it just got better and better.

- I've got a hunch I know which way you're going, but let's find out.

Which house are you gonna put an offer in on?

- So that Redwood Grove House was fantastic, indoors, outdoors,

and the location, the setting, the vicinity to the walks for the dogs and I.

So we'd like to put in an offer on that one.

- On house number three. - Yes. It was just stunning,

and it was gonna be 'paw-fect' for me and the dogs.

Well, hopefully you, Fernando, Francesca and Fancy Pants... - Fancy Pants.

- ...hopefully you get your paws on it. Good luck with the offer. - Yeah, cheers.

- Gail, I'm sure that third house will prove to be a truly amazing choice,

so I wish you, Francesca, Fernando, and of course, Fancy Pants,

the happiest of lives in your new lifestyle property in Levin.

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