A four hectare North Canterbury property, sold at auction in November, turned a dream into reality for both the purchasers and the vendors.
When Wendy and Simon Stokes bought the Swannanoa property 31 kilometres north of Christchurch in 2009, it was one of six lifestyle blocks subdivided off existing farmland.
“Back then it was a bare paddock with 30 old man pine trees and a couple of fences.
“First off, we constructed a four bay kitset barn, including a granny flat on the back, and moved into that with our two pre-teen children. With concrete floors and bare lightbulbs, to begin with it was basic,” says Wendy.
After the Canterbury earthquakes struck, and construction in the region became much more complicated, their longer-term building plans were delayed by a couple of years. By Christmas 2012 however, their four-bedroom character-style home was completed, since then planting trees, finishing landscaping, and grazing Dexter cattle and Wiltshire sheep has given them the good life, and an ideal environment to finish raising their children.
Although they still love the rural aspect, looking at what was now an empty nest, last year Wendy and Simon decided it was time to downsize, calling in Jo and John Priebee of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Rangiora to offer their property to the market.
Jo realised immediately that what the Stokes had created had almost unlimited X factor.
“This is a well located, exquisitely presented property. Meticulously developed by Wendy and Simon, it ticks so many boxes: contemporary, spacious, finished to the highest specifications, and with the separate standalone dwelling providing numerous additional options.
“We were confident it would attract plenty of interest,” says Jo.
She was right: the market responded emphatically. After one open home they received an offer substantially above the appraisal value. On a hot market like that, Jo and John suggested Wendy and Simon bring the auction forward.
Meanwhile, another Simon, Christchurch-based builder Simon Forsey and his partner Abby Oliver were looking to shift to North Canterbury, though it was Abby’s mother Sandra Rutherford who first spotted the listing.
“Although we loved the look of it, it was well beyond anything else we were considering: way out of our price range. However, just for the sake of it we went to the open home. At that point we realised: ‘this is the one.’ Although she had only seen it online, Abby’s mum was excited too, and flew down from Auckland, where she lives, to come to the second open home,” says Simon Forsey.
From that point events moved swiftly. Sandra offered to help Simon and Abby financially, and to move into the property’s second two bedroom dwelling in the next few years. Encouraged by the financial assistance, and a promise to help out in the garden when she comes to stay, the couple decided to go for it. Sandra and Abby sent Simon to the auction.
“My brother and I went in our work clothes, so hi viz vests and steel toe cap boots. Everyone else was in suits. We looked right out of place. That worked. When the bidding started, we were the underdogs and nobody took us seriously.
“To study up I’d Googled ‘auction tips’ the night before. What I found out was if the other party shows weakness, you’ve won. If they start bidding in smaller amounts, so raising the price by $1000 rather than $5000, you know they are starting to flag. I kept consistent, that’s what happened, and the property was ours.
“It was a great day. As soon as I realised the vendor had the same name as me, that gave me the boost of confidence I needed. I knew then that we were going to win the auction,” he says.
Jo says once bidding started, the initial offer that persuaded them to bring the auction forward was soon left behind by Simon and another bidder, meaning that three cash ready buyers participated in the auction. Several conditional buyers were also present and motivated to purchase should it not have sold under the hammer.
With the auction price exceeding the property’s rateable value by almost 30 per cent, it was also a great day for Wendy and Simon Stokes, on top of which, they were able to pass on what they had built from scratch to a like-minded couple.
“It’s been a fantastic family home. We are thrilled to be able to hand it on to a young couple like Simon and Abby, who are planning to make a family home of it themselves, and look set to cherish the property as much as we have,” says Wendy.
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