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.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024

Today's couple met in a rock-and-roll pub in Kent in the UK.

Fast-forward to today, and they find themselves on the opposite side of the world,

looking for a place to call home in Te Aroha.

Now they're after a unique, quirky home that's big enough to house them and their four furry companions,

but most importantly, it's got to be within a short walk to the local pub.

Challenge accepted.

Today, I'm in Te Aroha, helping to find the perfect country property for our couple, Sam and Candy.

Also coming along for the ride are their four dogs, so plenty of backyard space is a must.

Almost room to put a rugby field out here, mate. It's a huge backyard.

- It's not a bad shout, that. - Yeah. - Get the boys down here.

- I'm going to show them through three unique properties,

each offering its own style and charm.

Possibly could just walk in

and start living in this one, other than the carpets. - Yeah, exactly.

- Get the dogs on the wall instead of all the horses

that are currently living here. - Get down the horses.

- Come along with us to see if we're able to find them their perfect country house.

- Hi, I'm Candy. - And I'm Sam,

and, yeah, we're looking to move to Te Aroha from Kaiwaka.

Looking for a new property to chill, really. - Yep.

So we're from Kent in England and we honeymooned here back in 2016.

- Just fell in love with the country ― so much diversity, such a beautiful country,

and, you know, we just really wanted to come here and explore it some more.

We've partly come over here to set up our own kennels, Wandering Willows.

We built it from scratch ― a lot of blood, sweat and tears, literally.

Yeah, we've just been building over the last two, three years,

working seven days a week, just really grafting hard and, you know, it's starting to payoff.

- We really focus in on the behaviour and the welfare of all of the dogs,

cos that's what I've done my degree in, so I kind of wanted to transfer that into the business.

- Yeah, to really promote that enrichment for the dogs, isn't it? - Yeah.

So we came over from England with one of our dogs, and then the other three were our fosterfails.

- We just couldn't say no. - Yeah.

- Yeah. We were drawn to them and they were drawn to us, it seems, and we just kept them.

- And then now I've been banned from fostering dogs.

Yeah. No more.

- I was offered a promotion to basically look after the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty areas

as a senior project manager within civil engineering,

so we've been here a few times before and we just fell in love with the town,

and then just thought, yeah, if we're gonna move kind of in that area...

- Central, yeah. - ...that's the place to go.

Confident, I think, it would be a nice spot for us.

- Te Aroha is just an hour's drive northeast of Hamilton,

nestled at the foothills of the gorgeous Mount Te Aroha.

The town itself is filled with stunning scenery, a cosy community

and a rich history.

Whether they're hiking on one of the trails, relaxing in a hot spa,

or just taking in the unbeatable views,

I know Sam and Candy are going to love living in this amazing town.

It's now time to get house-hunting, and I can't wait to bring in our couple

and show them this hidden gem I found nestled amongst the trees.

Kia ora korua. Candy, how you going? - Hi. Good, thanks.

- Nice to finally meet you, Sam. - You too, mate.

- How are we feeling about a bit of house-hunting here in Te Aroha today? - Yeah, excited, yeah.

- So, obviously there's an accent ― you guys are from Kent in the UK, is that right?

- Yep, that's right. Yep. - Nice. But you came to Aotearoa on your honeymoon a few years back.

- That's right, yeah. We got married in Australia,

and then honeymooned there and come over here, have a look around. - Yeah.

We just loved both places, didn't we? - Yeah.

- So you'd already kind of seen Australia, seen New Zealand,

and then when you were looking to move to this part of the world, New Zealand got the tick.

- Yeah. We had a good idea, didn't we, yeah.

- Such a beautiful country, and there's so much to see and do, you know?

- Lots to do, yeah. - Yeah.

- You run a kennel here, don't you? - Yeah, that's right.

We run a kennels, and yeah, it's really important.

We've got four dogs at home, so we're just looking for somewhere

where they can run around and have a good time. - Yeah.

Any other kind of must-haves for the house hunt?

- Uh, I think we wanted to be a bit closer to a town, didn't we?

Walking distance. - Yeah. Walking distance to a pub would be good.

If we can get that in there, that'd be great. - Yeah, of course, yeah.

- But, yeah, somewhere to chill out, bit of character,

get away from― you know, when we're running the kennels up there.

- And the budget we're working with is about 900K.

- Yeah, the max. - Yeah. - Up to 9.

OK, excellent. - Yep.

- All right. Well, I reckon I've found some great options for you today,

and starting off in this beautiful spot ―

I mean, just look around you. We've got established native bush all around us,

the view of the hills, plenty of walking tracks for the dogs.

There's a nice stream that runs through the property as well.

It's a nice '80s home. Honestly, this is character-filled.

- Good start. I like it. - Yeah.

- I just like the bush, and― - Nice and peaceful, isn't it?

- Yeah. I like the view of the mountain as well. That's cool.

- Yeah? - You can hear the birds. It's nice.

- Location-wise, I reckon it's probably an eight-minute walk to town,

probably a 12-minute stumble home from the pub.

- Oh, fantastic. - Perfect. - Yeah.

Shall we get inside and take a look around?

- Yeah, let's go for it. - Let's go. - Here we go.

Welcome in. It's a really interesting home, this one. Architecturally designed.

You got the vaulted ceilings, giving that sense of open space, and open-plan living as well.

Lots of wood everywhere, eh.

That's the first thing that struck me when I walked in, and it smells so nice as well.

- Yeah, no, I like it. - Yeah, I really like it. Bit different, isn't it?

- Mm. Lots of character. - Yeah. Nice and open.

- Yeah. And everywhere you look through those windows,

I mean, it's just such an amazing view with that backdrop as well. - Yeah.

- How does the kitchen feel for you two? Looking over there,

it's wooden benchtops, obviously, nice tiles.

- Yeah, I really like the sink, and the oven's lovely as well.

- Yeah, but it's maybe a little bit small. Might need a little bit more space there, but it's got potential.

- Every window has a different view, but it's all greenery, isn't it?

You're surrounded by bush. - Wow, yeah.

- Plenty more to see upstairs, so I'll leave you to it and I'll be outside when you're done.

- All right. - Cool. See you in a sec.

- Oh, this is nice. Must be the master.

- I like the, uh... - Skylight.

Yeah, the ceilings are nice and high. High-vaulting,

and just the wood, different textures of the wood, and...

- Yeah, it really smells great, doesn't it? That woody smell.

Do you reckon it's gonna be in our budget?

- I dunno, but let's find Matt and find out, shall we? - Yeah.

- Cool. - OK.

- Hey. - Hey.

- I mean, you said you wanted tranquillity ― this is so tranquil. - Yeah.

- Just birds flying around everywhere, making noise. It's lovely out here.

- Oh, stunning. - Nice. - Yeah, it's nice.

- And lots of different areas for you to enjoy as well.

There's a little fire pit that's been set up just there. You could have a barbecue over here,

and lots of places for the dogs to run around and explore as well.

- Yeah, it's nice that there's not too many neighbours around as well. - Yeah. That's good.

- So, price-wise, what are you thinking?

- Yeah, bit over. I reckon... 925?

- OK. - I think it might be bang on 900.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

- OK. Well, good news is, they're looking for offers around 850 and above.

So... - OK. - ...well within your budget.

- I was quite surprised at the price, actually.

I thought it was gonna be over. - Yeah, I thought it'd be higher. - So, could be a good option.

- I quite like the character of the house. - It must be very unique.

I can't imagine there's been many houses like this. Yeah. - Many others, yeah.

I think the dogs are really gonna love this place.

- Yeah, there's so many smells around. I mean, so many trees. - Lots to investigate, isn'tthere?

- I think it's a really good location.

- Well, that's just the first house; two more to go. Shall we head off to house number two?

- Yep. Sounds good. - Yeah. Let's go. - This way.

What an incredible first option ― a character-filled house hidden amongst the forest trees.

I know it's going to be hard to top this,

but just wait until you see the two other options that I've lined up.

They both have plenty of space, and they're packed full of character.

- Today, I'm helping Sam and Candy find their dream country home in Te Aroha.

The first house we saw was truly a hidden gem ― full of character and with trees all around.

This next option is a totally different style, but I think it might just work for our couple.

Let's see what their thoughts are.

OK, here we are ― a second option for you.

As you can see, art deco ― a really charming 1930s three-bedroom home, and even closer to town.

Your walk home from the pub's probably about six minutes from here, so, yeah.

- It's getting closer. - Yeah.

- How do you feel about that style of art deco? - Cool. Yeah, I really like it.

I like the look of it. - Yeah, it's a nice look.

Maybe a bit of fencing required for the dogs, but...

- Still a nice view of the mountains as well from here. - Yeah.

Really nice view of the mountain. - Yeah. Big-size section.

I think you're gonna be pleasantly surprised when you get around to the back of the house

with how much room the dogs will have to run around. - Awesome.

- So you could probably even grab a couple more dogs if you wanted to.

- Don't tempt me. - Maybe not.

- Let's get inside and have a look around, eh? See what it's like. - Yeah.

- Sounds good. - Cool. Come on in.

So I think what stands out about this house is the art deco style,

those little touches of character that are still maintained.

You got the plastered ceilings, original fireplace,

really nice sliding doors separating the dining area from this living room,

and obviously, I love those wooden floorboards.

- Yeah, really nice. Good for dogs as well ― floors like that. - Yeah.

Really like the fireplace as well. - Yeah, it's been a long time since we've had a firepl― Well, England.

- Yeah. - That's the last time we had a fireplace.

It needs a little bit of work, but, no, it's got good bones.

- Yeah, good bones for sure. I mean, it probably does need a little bit of work

to get it to the place where you'd be really comfortable here. - Sure.

- But you can see already there's so many things you'd be able to do

to really make this place feel like home.

Speaking of which, let's head to the kitchen.

- Cool. - Cool. This way.

OK, the kitchen. So, has been renovated at some point.

Interesting, though, for a house that was built in the '30s,

the renovated kitchen almost looks more dated to me than the rest of the house.

- Yeah, I think you're right. - That's what we thought, yeah. - Yeah.

So it might need a little bit of work done to it.

What I do really like, though, is the little opening door

- in that art deco cabinet. - Yeah.

- Pass you drinks through there ― so, figuring out a way to kind of maintain that,

but opening the space up would be the way to go, eh? - Yeah, definitely.

- I'll let you guys check out the rest of the house for a while. I'm gonna be out in the backyard,

imagining where the dogs are going to be running around. - Yeah. Sounds good.

- See you soon.

- Oh, yeah. Nice sunroom. Nice and warm.

Still got a really good view as well. - Yeah. Good view of the mountains.

The fireplaces are really nice, aren't they? - Yeah. It's got good character.

- The rooms are quite tight, so I think maybe opening it up a bit... - Bit more open-plan.

It's got lots of potential, but it's― I guess it's like a nice blank canvas, isn't it?

Shall we go and see Matt and see if we can work out the price? - Yep. Let's go.

- Really is a big backyard, this one.

- Four dogs? You could fit 40 dogs out here. It's huge. - Yeah.

- Almost room to put a rugby field out here, mate. It's huge backyard.

- It's not a bad shout, that. - Yeah. - Get the boys down here.

- But in terms of the house, I think potential's the right word, though.

What would you do, do you think, if you could start imagining the changes that you'd make?

- I think, that kitchen ― get rid of that, turn it into a utility room, maybe.

- Yeah? - Keep that nice cabinet,

and then maybe put a kitchen out here or something. - Open it all out, yeah.

But we just didn't want to lose that cabinet, would we? - No, I don't think so.

- So there's ways that you could keep that original character and really bring this place into the 2000s.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- Options for things to do here. The question is, would you have the money to do that?

And that's where the budget comes in. What do you think the price of this house would be?

- Maybe around 600.

- I'm going to say a bit more. I reckon 700.

- 700. - Yeah.

- I mean, the good news is, with a budget of up to 900, you'd have some money to throw around,

because offers over 650 are what we're looking at for this place. - OK. That's pretty good.

- We could make it into something, couldn't we? Yeah. - You could get it for a good price.

- There's enough to do some work with the price they're asking for.

- It gives quite a bit of wiggle room to do it. - Yeah.

- Hopefully to do a new kitchen and stuff.

I quite like having a project, so this house could―

- Yeah, give us something to do, and we can make it how we want, then, can't we?

- Yeah. Got some potential.

- Well, one more house to go. Shall we hit the road? - Yeah. Let's go.

- Sounds good. - Here we go.

Well, a completely different style to house one, but I'm glad that our couple can see the potential here.

Stay with us, because I still have one more option up my sleeve

that I think might just win over Sam and Candy.

Before we see it, though, I'm going to catch up with Allison from the Te Aroha Business Association

to hear more about this wonderful town.

- So, while in Te Aroha to help Sam and Candy on their house hunt,

I wanted to get a sense of what this area is like for the locals.

So I made a bit of time for a chat with Allison,

who talked me through her thoughts on why Te Aroha is the perfect spot to escape the hustle andbustle.

So, Allison, you're the chairperson of the Te Aroha Business Association? - Indeed I am.

- And I hear you're almost considered a local here. - Very close. 37 years.

- 40's the limit, though, apparently. - So it seems.

- And then you're a real local. - Then I'm a real local. That's correct.

- It's a beautiful place to live, though. - It surely is.

Absolutely beautiful. Lots, obviously, on offer.

- And it's such a fantastically convenient location.

Where Te Aroha is, they call it the 'Golden Triangle' ―

you're right in the middle of some bigger areas, aren't you?

- Small, sleepy town here ― however, if you want a bit more hustle and bustle,

we've got our partners, Morrinsville and Matamata, very, very close by.

- It's a great town to relax in. The hot pools are a definite highlight, aren't they?

- Definitely ― one of the only soda-water geysers in the world, and fill our beautiful pools―

lovely, relaxing, healing waters.

- It's a real place of contrasts. You can relax in the hot pools,

but if you like mountain biking or more adventurous activities― - Yeah. There's a spot foryou too.

You can kayak down the river, cycle on the cycleway.

There's plenty to do.

- Now, I'm noticing a lot of pretty amazing artwork around town.

Adrian Worsley ― he's a pretty talented local. - Very talented.

- And his work can be found all around the region

and around Aotearoa. - All over the world, actually.

- And the world? - And the world. Yeah, no, he's pretty renowned.

- Distinct style, eh. - Very. Very much so.

- And the history, it's fantastic. I'm just looking out at this amazing domain where we are right now...

- Yeah, absolutely. And the croquet team down the...

down on the green down there playing.

Croquet's been part of our Te Aroha Domain for 138 years.

- Really? - Yeah. So that's pretty historic.

- It's finally time to show Sam and Candy the last house that I've lined up.

Now, I know they wanted space for their dogs, and this property certainly has that,

so I wonder what they'll think of this option.

All right, our third, final option for the day. There's a lot going on in this property.

It's not just the house ― the reason I brought you here.

There's a few other reasons as well, but let me talk you through the house.

It's an '80s build, brick home sitting on around about 1ha of land.

Another story here is the gigantic shed. That is ahugeshed.

It's an absolute warehouse. - That's a house. Yeah.

- Obviously, you own a kennel. - Yep.

- I was wondering if that kind of a structure might work. - Yeah. That would really work.

That could work. Yeah. Something to think about. - So it's not just a home.

It could be a home and a business on this property. - Yeah.

- A little bit further out than the first two houses ―

we're about a 30-minute walk from town. - It's doable.

- Yeah, I'm sure we can make it. - It's what I used to do in England, so...

- The good news is, he'd be sober by the time he walked home, wouldn't he? - Well, that's it.

- Shall we have a look around the last house? - Yeah.

- Sounds good. - Come on in.

All right. So, downstairs, you've got two bedrooms down that end of the house

and your main living area here ― dining and kitchen.

Definitely the more modern of the three kitchens we've seen today.

So, looking around and thinking of you two, though,

there is one thing that I might be concerned about ―

the dogs. The carpet. - Yeah.

- Nice, plush new carpet. - Mm-hm. Would that stay?

- It's a shame, but I think it's gonna go. - It's a waste of money, really.

- It definitely is obviously a contemporary home compared to the first two ―

possibly could just walk in and start living in this one ― other than the carpets.

Get the dogs on the wall instead of all the horses

- that are currently living here. - Get down the horses.

- Go and take a look around up there, and catch me outside when you're done.

- Sounds good. - Cool. - Let's go.

- Wow. Really big room. - Oh yeah. This is big.

- I love the balcony on the outside of it. - Oh yeah. Look at that.

- I really liked that upstairs living space as well.

I think that'll be really good when we have visitors, to have their own area.

- Yeah. And all the rooms are so big.

- Views out to the mountain on all of them as well. - Yeah. And the paddocks.

- Welcome back.

Huge section, as I was saying ― you've got a hectare of land here.

So those three paddocks that you can see, they would all be yours.

Again ― that shed. I really think that's a big part of this property and something you'd have to consider

if you were gonna move in, what you'd do with it. - Yeah.

Definitely something to think about, isn't it?

- Well, price ― what are we thinking?

I reckon you've been naughty, Matt.

I reckon this is north of a million.

I'm gonna go with 1.1. - I'm gonna go bang on 1 million. Yeah.

Oh? - You're about right. It is around the million-dollar mark.

- It's got a lot of potential. That shed is amazing. - Yeah.

- So, I mean... - We could definitely set up a second kennels using that shed,

and then all the paddock space as well on top of that. - Yeah.

It's definitely worth thinking about.

- Well, those are the three houses that we have for you today here in Te Aroha,

so hopefully one of these is going to tick the box for you.

Once you've had a good chance to chat together and see what you're thinking,

let's get back together again and see where you are.

- Yeah. - Sounds good.

- I've given Sam and Candy some thinking time

to look back on all of the great options we saw in Te Aroha.

I've just gotten word that a choice has been made,

so we're catching up again to find out what their decision is.

Sam and Candy, nice to see you again. - You too, mate.

- Nice to be back in Te Aroha as well. It's beautiful here. - Yeah.

- At the pub this time. Thought I'd, you know, come and try some of the local drop.

Now, I hear that an offer has been put in on one of the three houses that we looked at here.

- Yeah. - I'm trying to figure out which one it was.

So the first house we looked at was at the foot of the mountains ―

lot of greenery all around you, really quirky little house.

- We loved the tranquillity of it, didn't we? - Yeah.

Good views, and quite close to town as well.

- Yeah, it was, yeah. Walking distance. - Walking distance.

- So was the second house we looked at ― the art deco place. Even closer to town, that one.

- Yeah. - And we loved the big garden with that one, didn't we?

- Had some really cool features, but the kitchen was a bit small.

- Yeah. Did need a little bit of work, that one. - Yeah, it did.

- But I think the price kind of reflected that. - Yeah, it did. Yeah.

- So, still has potential. - Yeah.

Speaking of price, then we kind of pushed it a little bit with the third one.

- Yeah, it was― - A little bit cheeky with that one.

- It was a little bit cheeky. - But you know what I was meaning, though, in terms of opportunities.

- Yep, that's the one. - Yep. Yep. Certainly got us thinking.

- Yeah. - Lot of opportunity. - It made the decision hard.

- I need to know ― which one are you gonna put the offer in on?

- First one. - Number one. - The first one? Yeah, I thought so.

Just― as soon as you walk in, you felt like you're on holiday in that place.

Like, the bush all around you, the bird life ―

I mean, coming from the UK to living in a place like that, that must be...

- Yeah. - Never in our wildest dreams.

- It ticked a lot of boxes, didn't it? Yeah. - Yeah.

- That offer's in. Hopefully it's accepted.

- Hopefully. - Yeah. - Fingers crossed. Good to go.

- I think we should celebrate now anyway. - Yeah.

- Cheers. - You know, that was a successful day's house-hunting.

Well, what a perfect choice for our couple ―

a unique, one-of-a-kind build with loads of space for their four-legged friends.

I've since got the good news that their offer has been accepted, and they're on their way toTe Aroha,

so I wish you all the very best.

Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024