Dream home on a realistic budget

FIRST-TIME RENOVATORS: Tom Hayward and Sarah Henderson have been doing some major renovations to their 1960s home. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

First-home buyers Sarah Henderson and Tom Hayward had been looking for a house for six months when they stumbled across their dream home in June 2013.

It wasn't even for sale but they put a letter in the mailbox, asking if the owner if they would consider selling, and found the 1960s Pillans Point home was already destined for the market.

The 32-year-olds instantly fell in love with the two-bedroom north-facing home on an 800sq m section. It was in the Pillan's Point School zone, bathed in sunlight and brimming with potential.

The house, which had never been lived in by children, was original 1960s, untouched and in immaculate condition.

"The structural integrity of the house was just amazing," Miss Henderson told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.

Since buying the house they have knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, polished the wooden floors and replaced the kitchen - complete with large walk-in pantry.

They transformed a dining room window into French doors and are just adding the finishing touches to a deck.

Mr Hayward did 90 per cent of the renovation work himself - a decision the couple say paid off both financially and in ensuring a final product they were very happy with.

"We couldn't have done it the way we did without it. We're happy, wouldn't change a thing. It's quite fun because you get to do what you want to do," Miss Henderson said

Although they had no regrets about taking on a renovation project, it had required a lot more work and been "way more time-consuming" than they initially estimated.

"The budget that we had, we weren't going to buy a new house in the areas we liked," she said.

Next year they will give the lounge "a refresh" without losing the "old edge" reflected in the coving, plaster ceilings and wooden floors.

Michele Hunter