House hunting in Rotorua - right property eludes family

Caraline Abbott is about to welcome a new baby and hoped a housewarming would also be on the cards - but one has proved more difficult than the other.

The baby was due any day but buying a home to accommodate the growing family would have to go on hold until after Christmas.

Abbott said her original plan focused on renting out the property she had spent several years renovating with her husband because it was only three bedrooms.

The couple had been going to open homes most weekends since April but ''nothing has ticked all the boxes''.

''It's frustrating at the moment as the number of listings seems to have slowed down.''

The Abbotts were on the lookout for a four to five bedroom home with two living areas so one could be a rumpus room for the children.

''Ideally we want something we can move into ... every property we go to needs a new kitchen or a new floor or renovating. That would be quite a considerable cost on top of the purchase price.

''It would have been perfect to know we had a house to move into with the baby but it wasn't meant to be. We will have to resume looking again after Christmas ... the baby will be born and until then we will be in a three-bedroom house with three children.''

The house the Abbotts hoped to put on the rental market had new carpet, double glazing, a good yard and was close to Kawaha Point School.

''It has quite a lot of positives so should be easy to rent out. I guess the only concern I have is the price.

''We would have to rent it out to cover the renovations and charge $400 for insurances and ongoing maintenance. It sounds like quite a bit but the reality is that is what we would have to rent it out for to recuperate our costs.''