Loft with sunset view

42F West End Road, Herne Bay. Photo/Supplied

42F, WEST END RD, HERNE BAY

3

2

2

SIZE: House 175sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $960,000.

INSPECT: Sun 2-2.30pm or by appointment.

ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/1670244

SCHOOL ZONES: Western Springs College, Bayfield School, Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, Ponsonby Intermediate.

CONTACT: Blair Haddow, Bayleys, 021 544 555.

AUCTION: June 24.

There's always something to see from Richard and Janice Gourley's Herne Bay home. And that doesn't include any neighbours.

Part of the appeal of their elevated three-level townhouse is its great outlook over two reserves and its sense of privacy.

The couple's home is one of six steel, concrete and weatherboard townhouses built as three duplexes with a shared underground car park that includes lock up storage and visitor parking.

The townhouses, tucked into West End Rd's ridgeline and perched above Coxs Bay and Bayfield Park reserves, have brilliant views that will never be able to be built out.

Richard and Janice's property, at the end of the row of six, is the only one with a return balcony. The townhouse is among mature pohutukawa and has wide views across to the Waitakere Ranges and Mt Eden.

The couple began eyeing up these townhouses when they were being built.

"We were impressed with the way they were being constructed and we went to one of the first open homes," says Janice.

All the townhouses are owner-occupied and rarely come up for sale so when one came on the market two years ago the Gourleys sold their Sandringham house so they could bid at auction.

Janice says they love that their property does not look out at any others and feels like a stand-alone house. It is slightly below the road level and separated from it by a rock wall so traffic noise seems minimal.

Janice is a keen walker and the apartment is close to everywhere she likes to go on foot -- often with Jen, their 15-year-old border collie and the household's third member.

Herne Bay Beach is 10 minutes' walk away and it takes only about 15 minutes to get to the Jervois Rd and Westmere Rd shops as well as to Countdown and Farro Fresh on Richmond Rd.

Just down the hill, Coxs Bay is a hive of activity with a coffee and a flower truck, a food van and fruit sellers during the summer. On most days sport is also being played on the reserves.

Image 1 of 11: Herald Homes 42F West End Road, Herne Bay http://www.bayleys.co.nz/Listings/Auckland/Auckland-City/Herne-Bay/1670244 Agent: Cam Hayde [Cam.Hayde@bayleys.co.nz] Vendor: Richard & J

The home's main living is on its top level, which includes the open-plan kitchen, dining room and living room. This large, loft-like space with cathedral ceilings opens to a paved courtyard on the street side of the townhouse and to the L-shaped deck, which is cantilevered at one end.

Sliding glass doors open to these outdoor spaces and the covered deck is used as a dining room in summer.

The deck is bathed in sun from early afternoon and is a great place to watch sunsets.

Stairs lead from the living room down to the mid-level where there are three double bedrooms, the main bathroom, and a laundry concealed behind louvre doors in the hallway.

The master bedroom includes a walk-in wardrobe and en suite and opens to a balcony.

The lowest level accesses the shared, secure garaging, which you drive into from West End Rd.

Janice and Richard's cosmetic changes to the townhouse have included repainting the kitchen, re-staining the hardwood floors upstairs, re-carpeting the bedrooms and putting a hanging garden at one end of the patio.

The home also has two heat pumps, a gas fireplace and high-quality digital wiring, which allows direct streaming to a smart TV.

The couple are looking for a lock-up-and-leave.