First Home Buyers: Courtney & David

Courtney and David bought their first home in 2013 in Birkenhead - an area they identified as being a good growth area for buying a "do up" they could work on over time.

M: What was your main purpose when buying? 

C: (Buying) has always been my big life goal, I wanted to own a house so I started working early, and saved really hard. I missed out on the flatting experience but living at home saved so much money and I feel lucky that my parents put up with me and eventually Dave when we decided to buy together. He thinks of it more as an investment, he’s a bean counter after all!

What immediately appealed to you about it?

C: I didn’t like it at first, it was fairly rundown...But Dave had a vision. The brick finally sold me, as it mean’t no painting! It had good bones and a decent sized master bedroom and living area.

M: Describe the place when you first moved in:

C: Think bright yellow everywhere, a 1950’s/60’s kitchen, a deck on stilts that looked like it was about to fall down and a bathroom that needed LOTS of work.

M: What have you done to the property since you bought it?

D: When we first moved in we were lucky enough to persuade a couple of our best mates to be our flatties on the proviso that we did an immediate bathroom reno. After that we saved enough to put in a new fence and we have recently gutted the kitchen and replaced it with a modern version.  We have also just built a new deck.

M: What was your best purchase?

C: This seems random but our outdoor festoon lights that are now strung up around our deck are very practical and look great. We got them from the website Mr Ralphs.

D: The $30 dryer I found on Trademe!

M: Do you have a purchase you regretted? If so, what?

C: Probably expensive plants, I had the best of intentions to create a beautiful garden but in reality we have so much to do on the inside of the house, the upkeep of my plants have always fallen down the priority list...

M: What do you love about your home?

C: I love creating a space that is unique to us and also seeing the property being transformed as we tick each project off. The kitchen and deck area is my favourite, we’ve managed to open the rooms up and create a great entertaining space that wasn’t there before. 

M: What don’t you love about your home?

C: Although I love Birkenhead as a community, being on the main road has its pros and cons. Its great to be able to pop over the road to the New World, but losing one of our cats on the road late last year really changed how I feel about living in such a busy location. Its not a deal breaker but something I’ll consider when it comes time to buying again.

M: Describe your interior decorating style:

C: A bit haphazard! I like to keep things quite classic but also chuck in some trendy items. At the moment I’m really into sheep skins and hanging plants everywhere. I also like to keep things fun with bright cushions, cool artwork and I LOVE crockery.

M: Has your plan for the property changed since buying it? If so, how?

D: Our renovation plans are still the same, all we need to do now is renovate the 2nd bathroom and landscape.

C: Originally I imagined us living here forever, but we’ll probably move on at some point although hopefully stay in the Birkenhead/Northcote area.

Take a look at the pics, Courtney and Dave have done such an awesome job on their place and it is only going to get better and better!