124 Otitori Bay Rd. Photo / Supplied
David Kelly had visions of spending lazy summer days with future grandchildren when he bought this coastal property in French Bay as a first home for his son Thomas.
They had been looking in east Auckland just over 18 months ago, in suburbs including Howick and Meadowbank.
"But we
weren't having any luck. Everything we looked at was selling at auction for about twice its CV. I felt that West at that point might be a little more undiscovered," says David.
French Bay in Titirangi was new to the Kellys.
"We didn't know the area. I did the typical Google map thing when we were looking for new properties and found this."
What they discovered was a secluded property on a large section less than 60m from a swimming and sailing beach.
From most rooms the house has sea views over the inner Manukau Harbour towards Onehunga, Auckland Airport and the Glenbrook Steel Mill.
"I fell in love with the property as soon as I saw it. On the morning we came to view it there was a wedding on the beach just metres from our deck," says David.
"The idea was to buy it as a long-term generational home. I could see myself taking the grandkids down to the beach to dig holes and to teach them how to fish and sail."
David says the 1950s house, which was built as a holiday bach, needed some work.
Their original idea was to slowly do up the property after Tom had moved in. During the year he spent living in the house he loved its seaside location and being close to Titirangi Village, which is a few minutes' drive from French Bay.
"The house wasn't pristine but it didn't need to be. It was something we were going to do up over time."
Those plans changed when Tom made a career decision to leave his job in Auckland to live and work in Kerikeri.
A subsequent four-month renovation of the house has included reroofing, repainting, rewiring, carpeting, tiling, upgrading some joinery and installing a new hot water cylinder.
The kitchen and bathroom are also completely new. Outside, a new concrete driveway includes off street parking for two cars and David says new owners may be able to develop the area behind the house (subject to resource consent).
"There is plenty of room there to build a triple carport that could double as an outdoor entertaining space."
He says creating more outside parking would mean the large ground floor of the house could be converted into a self-contained flat with a kitchenette and second bathroom.
This space now includes a single internal access garage and a large room - the fourth bedroom - which has sliding doors and great sea views.
"The structure is already there so it would not be a big job."
The top level of the house includes a 36sq m living room that opens to an L-shaped deck looking across the bay.
A large kitchen, with an open plan dining room off it, three bedrooms and bathroom are also on this level.
The French Bay Yacht Club is metres away, and there is always activity on the water, as the bay is a popular spot for learning to sail. The property is about 30 minutes' drive from central Auckland in good traffic.