SCHOOL ZONES:
Wellsford and Warkworth primary schools, Rodney and Mahurangi colleges.
CONTACT:
Dianna Coman, 021 790 307, or Anthony Shaw, Bayleys, 021 234 9797.
AUCTION:
July 7.
Nick and Cheryl Dobbe have always believed the Wellsford property market would come of age.
For that reason, 10 years ago they bought a 10ha block of land near the town, with a view to subdividing it.
They moved this house from Orewa about eight years ago, starting renovations before taking a break for a couple of years and then finishing the work this year.
Patience has paid off as they now have this extensively renovated 200sq m home for sale on 1.4ha subdivided from that larger block of land.
"The land was bare when we bought it. It has beautiful views," says Nick.
"The view to the north is paddocks and back to Highway 16.
"Wellsford is going like a fire now," he says, as the Auckland housing boom has stretched to outlying towns and areas that people consider still to be within commuting distance of the city.
The Dobbes' shadowclad house with iron roofing sits on pole foundations and has four bedrooms, a central entrance foyer which Nick calls the breezeway, and living, kitchen and dining.
There is 65sq m of deck -- the area at the back is sunken to protect from winds; at the front the exposed deck wraps around two sides of the home.
The easy contoured property is fenced into three paddocks, and there are three 25,000-litre water tanks.
The house runs north-west to south-east.
"The whole house attracts the sun at some time of the day," says Nick.
"It is slightly elevated so it looks down over the road, and the valley and native bush. On the northern side, the deck is just beautiful in the sun."
A detached double garage with workshop is constructed of the same materials as the house. "The garage was attached to the house originally, on the end of the house but we relocated it to the rear of the house and it is all joined by 200sq m of black oxide concrete," Nick explains.
As you come into the house you have the central breezeway/entrance foyer.
Having doors on both sides, this foyer acts as a temperature controlling room for the whole house.
Image 1 of 6: Modern home with country views is close to amenities and has an easy flow.
"If you want it to cool down you open both sides, if you want it to warm up, you leave it closed and the sun comes through the front windows and heats it up"
This tiled entrance foyer separates bedrooms from living areas.
"It is not really open plan but there is an easy flow, with a door from the dining room onto both decks," says Nick.
All bathrooms, toilets and the kitchen are new. Changes include moulded interior doors, aluminium joinery and double entrance doors.
The large master bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe, double-basin en suite and two of the bedrooms have bay windows, as does the lounge.
In the renovated kitchen, the benchtop is engineered stone, and there's a new stove and dishwasher, two pantry cupboards and provision for a wide fridge.
Adding colour to the kitchen's otherwise neutral tones is the tiled splashback featuring red half panels.
But the outstanding architectural detail in this home is the vaulted roofline.
"Inside you have the Michaelangelo ceilings -- open gable cathedral appearance in the living areas and ceilings in the bedrooms, and they are warm as," says Nick.
"And there is a big loft that hasn't been developed. It could become a studio or an office facility, or the gable is big enough to have another bedroom. There is potential to do more."
The Dobbes' property is less than a five-minute walk away from the town of Wellsford
"We would be the closest land holding in town. Services are less than 200m away. It falls in the future Unitary Plan for countryside living.
"There are numerous schools in Wellsford, and all are within walking distance.
"All the amenities are there -- doctor's surgery, library, everything...
"It is a perfect family home for, I believe, a price far cheaper than Auckland. Wellsford is $400,000 to $500,000 behind Kumeu, that's where we live. You can't buy a 1ha title in Kumeu under $1.3 million to $1.4 million and I would think that this is going to be $800,000 plus for Wellsford.
"That is one of the advantages of being here, this is a place you can buy and still have your lifestyle and be independent. It is strategically positioned and the way in which I have put the sunken rear deck, it is sheltered and hidden from the neighbours. There is nobody looking in your back door."
