All language subtitles for Country.House.Hunters.New.Zealand.S02E17.720p.TVNZ.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN

- 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