"Armstrong Prestige thought this was a good way to advertise an elegant classy car, with a classless slogan in Merivale Mall," writes a reader. Photo / Supplied
"Armstrong Prestige thought this was a good way to advertise an elegant classy car, with a classless slogan in Merivale Mall," writes a reader. Photo / Supplied
Tweet taps a vein of home-purchase honesty
An electrician (@Kiwi_Chatter) from up north sent out what he thought was a rather mundane tweet asking his followers to share what they did to buy a home. What he reckons he got was a more realistic and more humble picture.
1. Moved to Taiwan for two years in 2002, paid off $40K student loan, saved $60K deposit. Sacrificed health, currently on medication for life.
2. Parents had s*** break up after 30 years. Felt guilty. Gifted money they inherited to me 12 years ago, I was 28. Now I feel part of prob.
3. Luck. 2014 100 per cent loan from mum, found old relocatable for $30k, land $190k, all else for $100k. Similar land now $300k and no good relocatables.
4. Bought at auction on the Rugby World Cup final day in 2011 for $30K less because no one else turned up.
5. Worked in HK for 5yrs with a generous super policy which matched every dollar saved with $8. I was allowed to take 80 per cent when I left.
6. House prices weren't crazy - "only" 5x my income and I could have a 5 per cent deposit.
7. Parents paid for uni fees, I have a high-paying job and no dependents, I had $80k deposit including KiwiSaver and parents invested $120k. So MASSIVE family help. Like it's really their house.
8. Brought home a chunky deposit from working in London for a few years. Bought a modest apartment. No parental help, no gift, no KiwiSaver. I didn't have a student loan though.
9. Bought in Paihia with my brother. Parents retired up there and we live in their house in Auckland rent free.
10. Got deployed with the army. Was single. No expenses for six months, put $50k of salary into deposit for Palmerston North house.
Greg writes: "In contrast to the person in yesterday's Sideswipe, whose phone was found and returned by a good honest person, my wallet fell into the hands of a different type of person. I inadvertently left it in a Waiheke Island taxi at 9.30 on Friday evening and someone used my Visa (presumably with paywave) to pay their $77 Co-op taxi fare later that night. The wallet is full of easy ways to identify me as the owner and return it to me ... The police hope footage from the Co-op taxi will enable identification of the thief. I would just like the person responsible to do the decent thing and return it all intact."
The other reason we receive phone books
"This Westmere reader has the greatest sympathy for the Orakei reader who is part of 'an older generation who are not glued to - and reliant on - a smart phone'. He or she should certainly have a phone book. But why not deliver them to, say, post offices, libraries and the like for people who want them to pick them up? Here's why: the books are an advertising medium. There's a name for unsolicited advertising delivered to every house. There are about 600,000 households in Auckland and there must be a similar number of business premises. The new book weighs 700g. That's about 800 tonnes of junk mail per year."
Inspired by Newshub's footage of three cows stranded during the Kaikoura earthquake.
Local:
It was the good news story of the devastating Kaikoura earthquake last year and now the story is a children's book written by the owner of the cows, Jane Milton. Moo and Moo and the Little Calf Too, shares the story of the three quake cows who surfed to safety on an island of grass.
Picture this: Instead of your standard swimming pool, guy builds own natural swim pond with a waterfall, small beach, some fish and plants. He reckons he's spent about $30,000 on materials and countless hours of labour. See it all come together here.
