KEY POINTS:
Scenic Drive, Swanson.
Lesley and Dave Carter are keen golfers and it was through golf the couple met. It was also thanks to the sport that the Carters came to buy their home in Scenic Drive two years ago.
Lesley and Dave have been members of Swanson's Redwood Park Golf Club for 20 years and 32 years respectively. Then, 2 1/2 years ago, Lesley started working at the club. At that stage, the Carters were living in Henderson but were looking to move to a house with a "semi-country" feel and a better flow to the outdoors.
Lesley got chatting to another golf club member whose house was for sale. "We came and had a look and initially thought it was a bit old, but the second time we came back it just grew on me and I fell in love with it," Lesley says.
The Carters' house was built in 1977. Depending on your point of view, the beauty or the bane of it is that the house still features its original decor, which is all in good condition. The Carters had planned on renovations eventually, probably in the next couple of years.
"I believe in moving into a house and getting the feel of it first before making any changes," Lesley says.
A long driveway leads down to the house from the road. The exterior of the two-level home has a painted concrete block base, with the top level clad with good old 1970s clinker brick veneer. The home has two front doors. The top-level door is reached via a garden path and timber deck "bridge", while the other door is at ground level, next to the double garage with internal access.
The house pays homage to the days when Elvis was about to leave the building. The carpet is original, as are the rimu-panelled walls and pendant light fittings.
The window sills feature 1970s mosaic tiles. The top level features a spacious open-plan living and dining area that opens, through aluminium ranch sliders, on to a timber deck.
Built about four years ago, the deck replaces the original one. It's among the few changes made to the house, with plaster covering the bricks at the back of the house. The living room has panelled walls with built-in mahogany shelving. Like joinery and other components in the home, the rafters here are rimu.
The piece de resistance in the living area is an arch, fashioned with narrow clinker bricks, which connects the living room with the kitchen. The kitchen, with dark veneer panelled doors, has an avocado-coloured benchtop and a mustard-hued Shacklock oven. "It's the best oven I've ever had," Lesley vouches. Sliding windows above the kitchen bench create a servery when the barbecue is used on the deck outside.
Also on the top level is the master bedroom, which opens on to the deck, and a second bedroom and a separate toilet. The main bathroom has a shower, bath and vanity with lots of storage. More unusually, there's a ranch slider to the deck outside.
Downstairs is another toilet, a large laundry and a games or hobby room. There are two more bedrooms, one of which has a ranch slider to the garden outside. This room also has a vanity and basin.
Lesley and Dave are still taken with this home, but a change of Dave's work circumstances means they intend to move from Auckland.
SIZE: Land is 1849 sq m, house is 260 sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above CV (Sept 2007) of $560,000. Set sale date February 12.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun noon-1pm.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz/30674619
SCHOOL ZONES: Swanson Primary, Massey High School.
CONTACT: Joe Mead, Bayleys, ph 417 0050, 027 563 6323.
FEATURES: Well-built 1970s house in tidy original condition.
Great views, decks, a study, conservatory and workshop.
