Kumeu - Changing lifestyles

A couple have been so seduced by their holiday home that they are selling their lifestyle property.

90 Moontide Road, Kumeu.

When Fran and Dave Hume bought their Queenslander home in desirable Kumeu they never suspected that the holiday home they acquired several months before would take over their lives.

In January they bought 90 Moontide Road, having lived in the area for years, and that was after buying a vacation house in Point Wells, near Matakana, last October.

They had no plans to leave Kumeu, especially with 9-year-old son Ben going to school there, but they began to realise that Point Wells was where they would rather be.

``We just love it up there; there's so much to do and there's all the wineries and cafes close by,'' says Fran.

And Dave gets to do some fishing. Selling up will also mean being able to pump more money into Fran's Yummy Tummies business, which makes heat-and-eat meals for children.

The products are sold to schools or by home delivery and are going into supermarkets and petrol stations.

Fran appeared this week on the TV One show Dragons' Den. Although she couldn't convince any of the Dragons to invest in her company, she's unperturbed because none of them had food industry experience and she was looking for a mentor as much as money.

In the short time the Humes have had the home, which was built in the 90s, they have renovated it throughout.

They bought it after it had done time as a language school and as Fran says, ``It was an absolute mess. It had about 16 students staying here and had big holes punched in the walls. We stripped the interior out of it and replaced it and repainted the exterior.''

They also gave the master bedroom a larger and more glamorous en suite with double showers and a double basin. Double doors were put in so the bedroom opened on to the east-facing veranda that wraps around the house and looks out over Brigham Creek.

The open plan living area also came in for some attention. ``It had an ugly corner kitchen - it went straight out the window it was that bad,'' says Dave.

In its place is a streamlined kitchen with a double oven and hob against the wall, and a granite-topped island bench that also serves as a breakfast bar.

The lounge section of the living area has a stone-effect fireplace and a television projection system suspended from the ceiling.

Across the central hallway is a formal dining room with a bay window. Beside that is an office that could also serve as a bedroom and further down the hall are the bedrooms and the main bathroom, which has a spa bath.

There is also a separate laundry, and at the end of the hallway is the lift that shuttles between this floor and the cavernous basement garage.

At the other end of the house there are two living areas connected by double doors. They both open on to the verandah. Beside them is a bedroom with its own entrance and an en suite.

``If you wanted to, you could shut off this end of the house so it can be separate from everyone else,'' says Dave.

The home sits at one end of an hourglass-shaped section that is at the bottom of a cul de sac. Two paddocks occupy the front of the section and a concrete driveway winds between them down to the house.

There is another paddock behind the house. The Humes have horses and sheep to keep the grass down.

``It's a good-sized property,'' says Fran. ``It's not too big that you can't look after it but it's big enough so you've got a lot of room.''

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 4+

BATHROOMS: 3

GARAGES: 6

SIZE: Land 1ha, house 275sq m.

PRICE: Similar properties in the area have sold for between $1.7 million and $2 million. Tenders close October 26.

INSPECT: Sun 1-2pm.

ON THE WEB: www.realestate.co.nz # vis251

CONTACT: Andrew Widdup, Vista Realty, ph 412 5808 or 027 287 1769.

FEATURES: Large Queenslander-style home with wraparound decks on lifestyle block with water frontage. Wheelchair access and lift from huge basement garage.