CONTACT:
Lucy Piatov, City Sales, 021 400 022, Chris Bell, 0274 988 640
tandem
Charlie Chilwell reckons Grey Lynn is an awesome area. He first bought in this suburb 15 years ago, "before it was discovered really. Ponsonby was still all the rage and Grey Lynn was a forgotten suburb."
Charlie purchased this Scanlan St freehold townhouse in 2010 and lived there for five years before renting it out for a short period while he travelled overseas.
"We would walk to Ponsonby Rd in five minutes, 10 minutes, depending on where we were going. We were always walking up there for dinner or meeting friends for drinks.
"It is only a three-minute walk to the new supermarket at Soho Square. That is a big plus."
Charlie's girlfriend is a nurse at Starship Hospital so she walked or biked to work.
"It is a 30-minute walk to the Viaduct," says Charlie, "probably 20 minutes to Mt Eden. Grey Lynn is really central, close to the motorways. For me it is probably the best suburb in Auckland, it is diverse, a great spot.
"This townhouse was about the location, the privacy aspect, the security, having a garage with internal access so on any weather day you can drive into your garage, get out and you are home safe and secure and you are not going to get we.
"The first thing I did was repainted inside and recarpeted. The kitchen had an awful 90s burgundy colour and a bad layout. A friend of mine is a builder, so one weekend we pulled the kitchen out and got a white modern kitchen put in from Moda, it is stunning." Appliances are Westinghouse.
A year later they renovated the bathroom. "We put in a nice walk-in shower, new toilet and vanity, all tiled. That is an awesome feature of the place as well."
His three-level townhouse has a tandem garage at ground level. "We can get our SUV and Mini in there, and there is storage at the back." The laundry is in the garage and the back door opens to a grassed area.
On the first level are two bedrooms with a bathroom between. The top floor has the open plan kitchen, dining, living and a northwest facing balcony.
"There is an apartment building next door so there is no view but there is all-day sun. Upstairs especially it is very light and warm during the day."
The townhouse is built of concrete block with Colorsteel roof and one of 15 on the property, eight on one side of the driveway, seven on the other.
Charlie says the townhouses are probably half owner-occupied with owners anywhere from late 30s to mid-50s. "The rest I would say are tenanted, probably younger, maybe 20s, 30s."
Now his tenant has moved out, Charlie is selling to cash up this asset to finance other projects.
