A woman who bought a crumbling castle in Auckland's Mt Eden for nearly a million dollars did so after her own home in Christchurch was reduced to rubble in last year's earthquake.
Manjula Andrews said she fell in love with the character of the dilapidated home - which featured recently in a Herald on Sunday story on expensive but rundown Auckland homes - and wasn't put off by the work.
"I have just taken possession of it and when I came back again I saw it needs more work than I thought, but it will be worth it," said Andrews.
"I have lost my home in Christchurch, that's to be demolished, so I have had to re-shuffle my outlook a bit."
She said she would do some of the work herself but had architects drawing up plans for new kitchens and bathrooms.