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 I'm in Whangarei to help Eddo and Sarah find their dream country home.

The couple have moved over from the United Kingdom seeking greener pastures...

That's green, right? - Yeah. - That is.

- That was one of the must-haves. - Yeah. - Yeah.

- And you are surrounded by lush, green grass... - Hi, horsies!

- ...everywhere you look. Hi, horsie! - Yeah. - Lovely.

...and somewhere for the little one to play.

Might need a little bit of work, but treehouse for Freya.

- Yeah, I think Freya would love that.

- I think Freya would move in straight away. That would be the problem, really.

- So join us as we explore Whangarei

and hopefully find our couple somewhere to put down roots and call home.

- So, we've been together how many years? - 2016.

- 2016. Since 2016.

In London, it just felt really impossible to have a family there.

- And also just be in a place where you're close to nature and community

and you can go out and do lots of fun things with the little ones. - Yeah.

- We knew we wanted to make a move here, and we were offered a job,

and then we finally made it over in 2021.

I don't recommend doing it like we did in COVID. - No, we had―

- It was quite an adventure with a three-month-old. - We came... Yep.

We came with Freya, babe in arms, and we're in quarantine.

We were really attracted by Whangarei ― the beaches, the climate up here.

It's gorgeous weather, isn't it?

With the new house, we'd love somewhere where Freya can run around.

And ideally, three bedrooms, minimum, I think? - Three beds minimum, yes.

- Our budget is around 850 to 1.2.

- Whangarei is the northernmost city in New Zealand,

located about two hours' drive from Tamaki Makaurau Auckland.

The heart of this coastal town is its marina,

and there's plenty of recreation on offer, both on and off the water.

The jewel of Whangarei is undoubtedly the Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Maori Art Gallery,

which I'll tell you more about later.

With so much on offer, I'm certain that Eddo and Sarah will fall in love with Whangarei.

Now, let's head over to house number one.

This gorgeous home was built in the '90s and boasts high ceilings and loads of space.

So, let's see what Eddo and Sarah think.

Here they are. Kia ora, Sarah!

- Hi. Kia ora. Lovely to meet you, Matt.

- You too. And it's Eduardo, isn't it?

- Yeah, call me Eddo!

- Eddo, nice to meet you two finally, and so nice to be here in Whangarei looking for a home for you.

Now, the story of you two meeting, it's a modern-day romance, is that right?

- Yeah. - Yeah. Tell me how you guys met.

- Well, you actually said hello. - It was quite a surprise.

- It was online dating. I was like, 'Hello.'

- Made the first move?

- I did. And I asked him to marry me as well. - I felt really spoilt, yeah.

- Oh, nicely done. Lock it in. Yeah, excellent.

And now, you've been renting, and now it's time to make that move into your first home.

- That would be great.

- Now, let's talk about the home that you are looking for here in Whangarei.

Now, look at the scenery that you are surrounded by here. - It's gorgeous, yeah.

- Is that important for you? Views and being in nature?

- You always said green. - Yep.

- Being surrounded by the green is the top priority.

- Yeah, that would be really nice. - Beautiful.

And the budget we're working with ― around eight up to about 1.2?

- 1.2, yeah, at the moment. - 1.2. Yep, yep, yep.

- See what happens.

- So, this is a home that was built in the '90s. Upstairs, there's three bedrooms ―

downstairs, a completely separate little dwelling.

So, how does this feel to you?

- The only thing for me would be the noise from the road. - Right.

- So will be interesting to hear what it sounds like inside. - For sure.

Shall we get inside and take a look around the first house?

- Lead the way. - Yes, please. - Here we go.

Oh, yeah. Welcome in. - Oh, wow. - Ooh.

- 'Space' is the word for this area.

It's big, high ceilings. Living, dining, kitchen, all in the one space.

Everything in here obviously just leads you to that view, doesn't it?

Just draws you to that view. - Yeah.

The views of this place are just stunning. - It's just what we were hoping for.

Just the really long rolling hills, absolutely stunning. - Yep.

And windows that really show that off, I think, to the max.

- Now that we're inside, that road noise really isn't apparent, is it?

- No. It's disappeared. - Much quieter.

- OK. Have you taken a look through the kitchen? What do you think of that?

- Cooking there with that view is quite special.

- Definitely some potential I think, yeah.

- So this room could work for you two, though? It's feeling nice. - I think so.

Good size, and the light, as you say, is lovely. - Well, why don't we head downstairs?

I think there's a nice little space down there that could work for your lifestyle as well.

So, let's have a look, eh? - Yeah. - This way.

Yeah, so I thought this might be an interesting area for you.

It's a totally separate living space ― bathroom, bedroom, living area.

What do you think of this? Could work for the family coming to stay?

- Yeah, I think that would be the key thing, wouldn't it be? For when your Dad comes or myparents.

A separate space where we don't bang into each other too much would be great.

- Well, the downstairs area was a little small,

but definitely something you can do so much with, really.

- I'm also thinking maybe clinic-wise for me in the future. - Ah, OK.

- So that might work as well. - Yeah, you can have clients come and see you in here.

- Yeah. - OK.

Well, I will leave you to it for a while. Look around the rest of the house.

I'll be out the back. You can come find me there.

- Great. Thank you. Thanks. - We'll have a gander. - Yeah. Let's go do it.

- Aha. - This is a good space.

- Definitely waking up to a good view. - Yeah, yeah.

- Start the day nice and bright. - Have you seen the deck? - Yeah. Could be breakfast place.

- Yeah. - We do like having breakfast outside on a good day.

- Yeah. And the en suite as well. - Yeah.

No, it's lovely. The house is really cosy at the moment.

- Yeah. - We can make it work. - Yeah.

Do you think it would be within our budget?

- I have no idea. It's just such a stunning location, I don't know if we can afford it.

- Yeah, let's have a chat with Matt. - All right. Come on. - OK, great.

- Gidday. - Hi, Matt. - Hello. We're back.

- Just been really enjoying this backyard of yours. Could be yours.

Beautifully landscaped gardens. Yeah, great little deck area, of course.

You've noticed my favourite ― the hot tub.

- The hot tub, yes! - Yeah.

And you've even got some sheep as your neighbours, just through there I've just spied.

So, how are we feeling about this house, first up?

- The road noise isn't too bad here at all, actually.

- No, that's right. - No, no.

- More you're gonna hear native birds rather than road noise, I think.

- It's got all the right things in it ― a great family space, a great outdoors.

- And that downstairs space for guests as well is great.

- So, price. Obviously very important. You got a sense of where it might sit?

- It feels like, I don't know, I'd say 1.5, really.

- Well, I'd say probably about― a little bit lower. About a million, I think.

- A million? OK. - A million. Yeah.

Probably about a million. - We'll go somewhere in the middle. - Somewhere.

- So we're looking at around 1.1 to 1.2. So, within budget.

Could be an interesting price that could work for you.

- Yeah, and it's such a good location in terms of near the hospital...

- Oh, right. It's only a 10-minute drive to the hospital. - Yeah.

- So, a lot to think about with house number one. - Yeah.

- But I've got more options for you. So, let's head to house number two.

- Let's go take a look. - Come on.

- Well, the price is in our budget. - Yeah. Yeah. Um...

- We just have to see what else is on, I suppose. - Yeah, yeah.

Reasonable price, I think, for the amount of space you get, the land you get, and the location ―

you know, being in this area of Whangarei that close to the hospital,

you know, that's a real bonus.

- Well, what a strong start. It had all of the space that they were after

plus that studio apartment for their relatives to stay in.

Now, don't go anywhere, because our next house is the very definition of farm living.

- How 'bout some cows? - What?

- No. But some space for chickens. - Absolutely. Yeah.

- Today I'm in Whangarei, helping Eddo and Sarah find a place to call home.

We just explored a spacious, bright home that boasted an epic view.

Next on the list, though, is a property that offers the ultimate country lifestyle.

OK. So house number two.

And this really is country living at its best. - It's beautiful.

- Big section this one, about 4.2ha. - Right.

- So, lots of land for you. - Yeah. - And lots of established buildings.

We've got sheds aplenty ― woodsheds, work sheds, milking sheds.

- How about some cows? - What?

- No, but some space for chickens. - Absolutely. Yeah.

And the house itself, three bedrooms. It's had some renovations done recently,

so, some really nice modern touches inside to a classic farmhouse.

Should be good. You want to look inside?

- Oh, yes. - Oh, yeah. Let's go. - Come on then.

- Oh, wow. - Welcome in. This is the main sort of family room.

We walked through a separate living area, and you would've noticed the kitchen as well.

Brand-new kitchen. Bathroom is brand-new as well.

- Yeah, and a deck all the way around. - Yeah, yeah. Elevated decking.

- We were talking about something like that.

Quite like it, something that connects all the rooms in the house.

- Yeah. How does this one feel for you guys?

- I really like it. Again, nice big family space. - Yeah.

- And lots of nice places, I think, for Freya to play and for us to spend time together.

- So it's not as open plan as the first home that we looked at. But the spaces are connected.

It does flow through from the kitchen through to this area.

- So somebody cooking, ie you? It means that we've got some time to be together

and some space together. - Exactly. Yeah.

Well, if you do need some furniture, I mean,

I know that the current owner is about to live in a bus for a while.

- What? - He might be looking to sell. Maybe you could offer him...

- You can do us a deal, Matt. - Yeah. We'll work something out.

Hey, I'll send you guys off to the main bedroom to have a look through there...

- Awesome. - ...get a good sense of the house, and once you're done, I'm outside.

- Great. - See you soon. - Thanks.

- Oh, what a lovely bedroom. - Yeah. Really nice,

and I can see some chickens out the window as well.

- Oh, yeah!

- Yeah, so quite a good size. - Just kind of what you wanted, really?

- Yeah.

- It's just so peaceful. I can't hear anything.

- No. Nice high ceilings as well. I like the ceilings.

So how much do you think it's worth? - I was gonna say it's in budget.

Probably. Hopefully 1 million? - Yeah. I'm guessing around the million.

Probably 900,000 to a million? - Yeah. - Yeah, let's go and ask Matt.

- Yeah, let's go ask Matt. All right. After you.

- Kia ora. - Kia ora. - Heya.

- It really is so peaceful out here on this lovely deck,

the elevated deck giving you the views.

See they've got a little lake just over the fence, just down there. - Oh, yeah.

- Native trees all around it. And you've probably already noticed the fruit trees as well.

- Yeah. Nice lemon tree there. - And banana tree as well.

- Yeah. There you go. And... treehouse for Freya.

- Yeah. I think Freya would love that.

- I think Freya would move in straight away. That would be the problem, really.

- So, thinking of your must-haves ― bit of greenery, some space close enough to the hospital.

- We're ticking a lot of boxes already.

- I think we could make it our own. - We can make it work.

- Uh, if you are liking it, we should discuss the price.

- Mm. - OK, so let's go with you first, I reckon.

- My hope and my estimate is 1 million. - What do you think?

- I'm gonna go a little less. I think about 900,000.

- OK, well, the current price that we'd be looking for would be 1.150.

- Oh. OK. - So a little higher than that.

It's in the ballpark, though. - That is a good number.

- There we go. That's house number two. - Great.

- Awesome. - One more to show you, though. - Yes.

- Let's hit the road.

- Well, we've been noticing them ever since we came here the first time.

There's always bathtubs outside.

People must love it, especially in the summer,

to have a bath in the wilderness.

- Yeah, it's really cute. - We might need to try it. - Yeah, yeah.

- The price is probably a little bit higher than we'd be thinking of,

especially given there'd be quite a lot of work here to make this place our own.

- Starting from the treehouse. - Yeah, but I think everything's a negotiation.

- Such a contrast to the first house,

but this rural property definitely offers everything Eddo and Sarah are looking for.

Don't go anywhere, though, because we still need to see the last option.

It's a country home with some very special neighbours.

But before we do, I'm heading to the Hundertwasser museum

to learn about the life and work of this incredible man.

Time for a change of tack, so I'm popping into Whangarei's Hundertwasser museum

to learn about a visionary artist who was ahead of his time. I caught up with Richard for achat.

Driving into Whangarei nowadays, you can't help but notice this incredible building.

It's one of a kind, isn't it?

- People recognise it by the ceramic work, the giant ceramic columns, by the golden cupola onthe top.

Those are typical sort of trademarks.

- Tell me about the man. What was Hundertwasser like?

- I worked for him for many years at his home in the Bay of Islands.

Firstly, he saw himself as a painter, but he was also an architect and an ecologist.

I mean, he was pushing ideas and philosophies back in the '70s

that people then thought were way out there and a bit hippie-like and crazy,

but stuff like our forested roof here, it's now mainstream,

and these sorts of things are demonstrations

of how nature can be blended in harmony with our living, natural, and daily life.

- He was ahead of his time. - Very much ahead of his time.

- Tell me about the centre itself. What can people expect to see when they come and visit?

- It's a real visual explosion, really. The architecture itself is very unique.

It's very Hundertwasser, but you won't see anything like this anywhere else.

There's a Wairau Maori Art Gallery in the downstairs

and that has changing exhibitions every three months or so.

And then upstairs, you come here to this permanent exhibition for Hundertwasser,

and it really deals with his life in New Zealand.

Once you've done that, you go up on the roof and there's a forested roof,

and a viewing tower at the very top.

You need quite a few hours to spend while you're here to get the best value out of it.

- It really does feel like the jewel in the crown of Whangarei. I love it.

- Absolutely. This place is changing the face of Whangarei,

and we're just delighted to be involved with it.

- Now let's get back to the house hunt.

Property number three was built in the 1990s, and it's ready to move straight into.

So, will Eddo and Sarah love it as much as I do?

OK. Eddo, Sarah. Our third option.

Great location, this one. I've been thinking of your story, coming from London.

The reason, or a big part of it, was wanting to be in amongst nature.

- Oh definitely, surrounded by trees, nature.

- Horses as well, which is stunning.

- Yeah, this is a great option, this one. I think you're gonna like it.

Let's head inside. - All right.

- Come in.

So the third house, probably the more modern of the three we've looked at so far.

Built in the '90s, it's had some renovations done to it.

That kitchen was put in maybe 10 or 12 years ago. So it's got a nice up-to-date feel.

- Bright. Bright feel. - Yeah, bright feel, yeah. - Very bright.

- Yellow kitchen.

- I think we'd probably look at changing it.

- A fun project, fun first project. New colour.

- Now, we're facing east that way. So, morning sun out on the deck

that you can open up those big bifold doors and get out there and enjoy your morning coffee.

- Yeah. - You guys early risers? Would you be out there enjoying the sunrise?

- I don't think we have a choice, do we? - We've got a two-year-old.

- So she's up super early in the morning, and getting you guys up too.

A real bonus with this property is there is a completely separate dwelling outside

and it is just all set up and ready to go. So, kitchen's out there, bathroom.

In terms of relatives coming to stay, I think they'd be really happy with this place like that.

- Bonus. - Yeah, that would be great.

- So how does it feel so far? I know you've only just walked in,

but what sense are you getting for this home?

- I like it. I like the kind of... - ...flow.

- Yeah, the flow is really nice. - It's really good.

You have the morning over there. The light will follow you through the day.

- Yeah. All right. I'll let you guys get a real sense of the home.

Have a good walk around and I'll be in the gazebo when you're done.

- Awesome. Thank you. - See you soon. - Thanks.

- Oh, wow. Oh, look over here.

Wow, this is huge. - It's bigger than our whole flat in London, isn't it?

- Yeah, we could fit it between the two, I think, our old flat. Wow. - So what do you think, price-wise?

- I think this time I'm right to say that it probably feels beyond our budget.

- Yeah, I think definitely over our budget. So I'd probably say 1.3?

- Should I go with my former 1.5, see how close I am?

Might end up in the middle. - I think 1.3. Let's go and see what Matt thinks.

- Right. Let's go find out. - OK.

- Gidday. - Hi, Matt. - Hello, we're back.

- I mean, that's green right? - Yeah. - That is.

- That was one of the must-haves. - Yep. - Yep.

- And you are surrounded by lush, green grass...

- Hi, horsies. - ...everywhere you look. Hi, horsie. - Yeah.

- Lovely. Look, this is a pretty interesting property for you two, I think.

- Yeah. - Different from the first two. - Mm.

- How are you feeling about it?

- The house is great. We could almost move in tomorrow, it feels. - Yeah.

- That kind of thing, but― - It's gonna be over budget, I'm pretty sure.

- That's what you're guessing? What are you thinking it's worth?

- I think 1.2, 1.3, something like that.

- I'm still going with my 1.5, former 1.5.

- OK, well, you did say that your budget was 800 to 1.2? - Mm.

- So I'm using all of that. - OK. - About the 1.2 arc.

I mean, 1.2 would possibly get you this house.

- Oh, wow. - Ooh, OK. Wow.

- You get a lot for that. - You do, don't ya?

- That was really unexpected.

- I like that, a nice surprise. - As you said, you had surprises in store.

There it is.

- Well, guys, it's been a fantastic day. Thank you so much for making this a fun one.

- No, thank you.

- Three interesting houses. Lots to think about.

That rain is coming in, so it's time for us to say goodbye and I'll catch up again soon.

- Awesome. - Cheers. - Thanks a lot, Matt. See you soon.

I was surprised by the price.

- Yeah, I was surprised by the price.

I thought it would be a lot more.

- We've definitely given us something to think about when we go home.

- I don't think initially we were looking for something as modern as this,

but actually it's sort of given me some ideas.

I think we can sort of see ourselves,

perhaps the convenience of moving into something that's already done.

- Yeah.

- Eddo and Sarah have had some time to deliberate on the three properties we checked out,

so it's time for me to head back to Whangarei to hear which one they've decided on.

Hi.

Hey, it's so nice to see you guys again, Eddo and Sarah. - Yeah, lovely to see you.

- And nice to finally meet Freya as well. How old are you?

- Two. - You're two? You're two years old.

Well, hopefully, before you turn three, maybe Mummy and Daddy might be moving into a new house?

Who knows? So we did have a great day looking around three really interesting homes.

The first place we looked at, I remember the hot tub out the back

and that beautifully landscaped garden. - Yeah.

- What did you guys think of that first option?

- I kind of feel the road was just kind of in the way, I feel. - Yeah. Mm.

It didn't have that kind of detachment from the road―

- Just enough to put you off a little bit from that first one. - A little bit, yeah.

- But then we went out to the second home, real country-style house. - Yeah.

It was beautiful. I really loved it.

- I thought it was absolutely gorgeous.

And I can see why you would've fallen in love with it immediately, so...

- Yeah. The setting was just gorgeous. - Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

- Then we looked at the third home,

the much more modern of the three houses that we looked at.

That big open plan living area and that gazebo outside was great as well, wasn't it?

- Oh, yeah. You can see yourself having so many events over there.

- And it was kind of finished. It was done. Yeah. - Yeah.

- Trying to figure out which way you two are leaning at the moment, and you're hard to read.

- Mm. So, tell me what's been going on. What has your conversation been like?

- We both have a favourite. - Yes. I really love the second house we saw.

I thought it was just gorgeous. - OK.

- There'd be a real opportunity for us to put our mark on it and to make it home,

and it just had a lovely feeling when you walked into it.

- We'd be up for it. I mean, we are hoping eventually for another little one,

so I was kind of leaning more towards the third one, a little bit finished already.

We get to move in, then make it our own kind of thing.

- So you're leaning towards house number three, you're leaning towards house number two.

Yes.

They were both beautiful houses, and I think we've just got a lot more thinking to do about it.

- If you want to make an offer on one of those houses, I'd be happy.

It was a lot of fun meeting you two. And honestly I think, either way whatever happens for you guys,

you're gonna have a great time living here in Whangarei. - Oh, yeah.

- Oh, Freya, it must be your bedtime soon, is it? Probably not, eh.

Nah, stay up all night! - Definitely not. Definitely not.

- Freya's not tired. Freya's not tired.

- So thanks for making it such a fun experience.

And I look forward to finding out what your decision is.

- And thank you, Matt, for your help. - Thanks so much.

- Well, it turns out we had a couple of good options in the end there,

but I think Eddo and Sarah have an idea of what's on the market now,

and they'll eventually choose a home that suits the whole family.

So, good luck, and let the hunt continue.

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