Woman in desperate bid to be by dying mum's side

A Tauranga woman is stepping beyond the ordinary sales pitch in her quest to sell her Hairini home so she can be by the side of her dying mother.
Sylvia Vowless is already battling a tough housing market, so, as well as severely dropping the price of her house, she has taken her offer a step further.
Mrs Vowless, 69, has put an advertisement in the real estate section of today's Bay of Plenty Times, offering to pay the first two years of council rates for the new owner.
While the offer may only be an extra $2500 in the owner's pocket, Mrs Vowless said it would be one less bill to worry about.
"I think people would love living here and this is giving them two years headstart on rates."
Mrs Vowless' 95-year-old mother is currently living in an Auckland rest home and is believed to have only months left to live. Mrs Vowless wants to spend that time with her and her Auckland-based son.
Having owned the Hairini house for just four years, she is unable to afford mortgage payments on the house and rent in Auckland at the same time.
Exhausted from the travelling, she looked at renting out the house but was told there was an over-supply of rentals in Tauranga and she wouldn't get true value.
She believed her best option was to make an offer that could not be refused. The GV of her house is currently under review, but around three months ago she was asking $459,000. Now, she has dropped it to $398,000.
Her six-year-old house on Tuscany Place sits on a 916sq metre section, while the three-bedroom house with separate bedsit occupies 200sq metres.
As well as two bathrooms in the house, the bedsit has its own ensuite.
She said she has had a few serious lookers, but they were held-up by selling their own property.
"It's a beautiful home in Ohauiti. It has 180 degree views, the views look out over Boscabel.
"I can see the countryside from the window and it's only nine minutes from the CBD," she said.