We have now spent four nights in our amazing brand new house. We love everything about it – the layout, the colours, the island bar in the kitchen, the huge bathroom, even the brand new smell! Our neighbours are all so lovely and friendly, we feel very safe and very part of a community. I took the boys for a walk on Monday morning – Mitchell in his buggy, Mason on his bike. We had the best time! There is so much for the kids to see and do and the roads and the park are nice and safe for Mason to ride his bike. Such a neat community feel! Next time, we plan to take bread to feed the ducks at the pond. Mason is loving his new daycare, including the drive to and from the centre as he gets to see goats, horses and pigs – very exciting for city slickers! We couldn’t be happier, what an amazing opportunity, a dream come true.
Kylee and Luke share their journey into their own brand new home in our Addison, Takanini development.
Kylee and Luke Elliot are counting down the days until they move in to their new home in Poaka Avenue in the Addison development in South Auckland. The couple and their two sons Mason, 3, and Mitchell 18 months, are currently living in a rented house in One Tree Hill and they are struggling to pay the very expensive rent.
Kylee is a part-time primary school teacher and Luke works part-time at Tangaroa College as a teacher aid/technician in the technology department. In 2004, at just 24 years old, Luke suffered a stroke leaving him unable to continue his career as a builder. He underwent physical, occupational and speech therapy. Because of Luke’s stroke, the young couple was unable to save for a house as planned. However, with sheer hard work and determination, and now that Luke is able to work part-time, the pair have paid off their student loans and have been saving for a house deposit.
They were accepted by the New Zealand Housing Foundation’s affordable equity programme and were allocated a four-bedroom house in Takanini.
Read Kylee’s blog as they gear up for the big move to their brand new home. It is a dream come true.
Share the excitement as they get closer to move in day!
Monday 25th February 2013
An exciting day for our little family today – we got the news that our house will be ready in four weeks! (25 sleeps to be precise!). Luke and I are over the moon. We made a list of all the things that we need to do. Emailed to tell the lawyer and the bank and gave notice to our son Mason’s preschool. They have been amazing to us over the past 14 months and we will be sorry to say goodbye. Today we gave notice to our landlord – something I was dreading – but she sounded genuinely happy for us. An exciting adventure lies ahead….
Tuesday 26 Feb
Found it hard to sleep last night as were so excited! Sorted through the plastics cupboard, fridge & freezer tonight. A good chance to have a good clear out before we get stuck into packing.
Wednesday 27 Feb
Picked up a few boxes this morning. I have been phoning around moving companies. Have also been trying to keep the rental clean and tidy as a potential tenant came through today, and another tomorrow. It’s almost impossible with two busy boys – so I hope that the house gets snapped up fast!
Thursday 28 Feb
Wow, tomorrow it is March – we move into our new home this month! It still feels too good to be true! First moving job for the day – getting documents together for my son’s new childcare centre. Our current landlord showed another person through the house. Luke started packing – yay! Got a call from my Nana, who lives about five minutes away from our new home to say that she could see the plasterer working in Mason’s bedroom and that the house has been painted grey on the outside. We are stoked as this is the colour we wanted! Can’t wait to drive out on the weekend to see the house for ourselves again.
Friday 1 March
I’ve booked the moving truck for our move on March 23. Spent the evening printing information off the IRD website for our Kiwisaver ‘First Home Buyers Grant’ application. Lots of paperwork, but it will sure be well worth it in the end if we get approved!
Saturday 2 March
Had to vacate our house for our landlords to hold an open home, so drove out to Addison. Wow, our house is looking amazing! Our 3-year-old was very excited to see his bedroom from outside the gate. We talked to him about where we would put his furniture & toys. I love the colour of the house. So pleased we got the grey & cream combo! Went into the Bruce Pulman Recreation centre to show Mason the children doing gymnastics & trampolining. He was very impressed! We may think about enrolling him in a class for preschoolers once we are settled. The rec centre is so close that we can see it from our house. We are all feeling very excited now, except for Mitchell who slept through the whole thing!
Sunday 3 March
WOW! Luke’s parents were doing a drive-by past our house today and had a chat with the painter, who offered for them to come in and take a look inside. We were very envious! Got this text message from them: “We’ve just been through your house. Fabulous! Lovely private back yard. Kitchen bench & cabinet colours are great. You are so lucky!”. We are more excited than ever now…hope the painter invites us in some time too!
Monday 4 March
Visited the lawyer’s office today to drop off all the documents needed for our Kiwisaver application. Also sent away paperwork needed for Mason’s new Preschool. Got more boxes, which is fantastic and exciting. Luke and I are going to sit down together tonight and discuss interest rates and terms before our meeting with Kiwibank tomorrow night so that we are prepared.
Tuesday 5 March
Luke managed to pack two big boxes today while I was at work and he was at home with Mitchell. I won’t be surprised if we find quite a few random matchbox cars among the boxes as Mitchell does like to help too! We met Kiwibank in the evening. The woman was so bubbly, positive, knowledgeable, and helpful. We are so lucky that interest rates are so low at the moment. We are getting closer to settling – yay!
Sunday 10 March
We took our most exciting trip out to Addison so far. The temporary safety gates have been removed and the gate was open so we got to stroll around the outside of the property and peep inside. It looks amazing. We are so pleased with the colours that we chose for our kitchen. Sent off a Pre-Approval Certificate Extension Declaration to Kiwibank as our 3 month pre-approval on our loan has slightly lapsed. Less than two weeks to go now – time to get stuck into some serious packing!
Monday 11 March
Eleven sleeps to go! Went to buy a big roll of packaging paper to wrap all our glasses and fragile items in. Also got a carton tape dispenser to make packing with only one hand easier for Luke. We carefully wrapped and packed all the glasses that we won’t need before the move. Then we got stuck into the pots and pans. Left this fragile job for the night time when the kids were fast asleep. Keep thinking of how amazing the house looked yesterday. Feels great to get more boxes packed up!
Wednesday 13 March
Spoke with The Housing Foundation and with the builder about the placement of our clothesline and have probably earned myself the reputation of being the crazy clothesline lady! We are so grateful for both parties for being very accommodating. Took Mason for a visit at his new daycare. He had a good time, and didn’t want to leave. Went across the road to the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed looking at the ducks and tadpoles – this is going to be such a great asset when we move. Sorted out helpers for moving day. Our lounge is fast filling with boxes which really adds to the excitement!
Thursday 14 March
Got two very exciting letters today from Housing NZ/Kiwisaver. We have both been approved for the first home buyer’s grant! That’s $5,000 each to go towards our mortgage. Yipee – it’s like winning Lotto! We are thrilled with this awesome news.
Friday 15 March
Met with the lawyer today to sign the Kiwibank Home Loan Agreement and for our Kiwisaver first home deposit subsidy. It’s all official now! Also got a very exciting email from The Foundation regarding handing over the house to us on Friday 22 March – one week’s time!! We plan to get there just after 2pm. Talk about life changing!
Saturday 16 March
Packing, packing, packing! One weeks time until the house is ours! Such an amazing feeling! Keep thinking about how this is going to put us in such a good position compared to the one that we are in. Redirected our mail today. Still have to notify our insurance company, telephone, Internet and power providers. Must get onto that on Monday….
Sunday 17 March
The house is really starting to look packed up now, slowly getting down to the bare essentials. We have taken everything down off the walls now, so touched up paint where needed. This time next week we will be frantically cleaning this house and handing it back over to the landlords. Five more sleeps until we meet Nigel at Poaka Ave to receive our own keys. Can’t wait!!
Settlement Day
A very exciting day indeed! Dropped Mason at Preschool for his last day today with his “Goodbye Preschool” cake. We finished off all our last-minute packing and washing, eagerly awaiting the phone call from the lawyer to say that the money had gone through. Sure enough, both the lawyer and the bank called to tell us the good news! We headed out to Addison to take possession of our new house! Took a carload of stuff to begin unpacking and met Luke’s dad there with his carload as well.
The street was buzzing with excitement, as two other families took possession of their new homes too. A very happy time for everyone involved. It was great to see some familiar faces – our new neighbours to be. Luke and I were both feeling so excited as we unlocked the house. It looks absolutely amazing! We couldn’t be happier with it, and we just love the colours that we chose.
The house looks so new, clean, and cozy.
Nigel from the Housing Foundation showed us around and answered all our questions. We unpacked the car and then had to get back to the children – we could have stayed there all night just admiring the place! I just love how big the bathroom is and how modern the kitchen feels. Back home for fish and chips and a good night’s sleep before the truck arrives at 8am tomorrow morning. Can’t wait to show our wee boys our new house and make it our home.
Interviewed by the Papakura Courier.