SCHOOL ZONES:
Birkenhead School, Northcote School, Northcote College.
CONTACT:
Jordan Selwyn, Harcourts, 0276 715882.
AUCTION:
Tomorrow at 1pm onsite.
*Off-street parking
Even the keenest house-hunters tire of the open-home circuit, especially when they miss out at auction on houses they have set their hearts on.
So spare a thought for Melissa Copestake and Chester Young, who would fly over to Auckland from Melbourne and back again at the weekend to view prospective homes.
Melissa says they probably made the trip five times as they looked for a home they could afford near the city centre.
"We couldn't imagine buying over the internet," says Chester.
"But we missed out on heaps of houses at auction until we found this one and immediately felt at home here."
After missing out on a few places, they finally snagged their bungalow in Birkenhead -- although Chester, originally from Wellington, admits he had never heard of the suburb before it came up on their radar.
"We were researching areas and Birkenhead was one we could afford and it was pretty close to the city," says Melissa.
And the fact it has a ferry service to downtown was a bonus.
"You couldn't think of a nicer way to get to and from work," says Chester.
Their bungalow dates from 1923 and has character features such as polished timber floors, board and batten ceilings, stained glass windows and window seats.
When they bought three years ago, Melissa says there was "no kitchen to speak of" so the couple have installed a new one with granite-topped benches and new appliances.
They also renovated the bathroom, which has a standalone bath and a glass shower.
Chester says they haven't done anything structural to the home but have tidied it up -- adding decorative fireplaces -- and made it warmer and drier with an HRV system to back up the heat pumps.
When Melissa became pregnant, the couple had a definitive deadline for their renovations.
"The bulk of it was done when I was quite heavily pregnant," says Melissa.
Image 1 of 12: Functional fresh touches sit elegantly alongside this bungalow's character features
"I had this big belly and I would be up on a ladder cutting in paint."
The effort was worth it, though, as the couple have had time to enjoy the arrival of son Grayson, now a highly energetic toddler.
Thankfully, the property is fully fenced with the house set back from the street.
Traditional in layout, the bungalow has two bedrooms at the front of the house with the master having a window seat inset in the curved bay window.
The next-door bedroom has a cosy sun room with an L-shaped window seat and from here there is what Melissa laughingly describes as "a legitimate sea view" looking across rooftops to the Bayswater Marina.
Further along the hallway, Grayson has a small bedroom.
Combining modern and character elements, the open plan kitchen/dining and living area feels fresh and light, and opens to a deck that wraps around the northern and western sides of the house.
An island bench provides some of the copious bench space and storage in the elegant kitchen.
"We didn't do the renovations with the intention of flicking it on when we had finished," says Chester.
"But our plans have changed now."
Melissa and Chester are now aiming to live in New Plymouth to be close to Melissa's family and so they can buy a property where their active young son will have room to explore.
