From London to Island Bay: One family’s patient path to the right home

A very busy open home can be off-putting when you are out house hunting in earnest, and the first open home of the three-bedroom Island Bay house Vic and her family ended up buying, was over-flowing when they first went to see it. 

The local neighbourhood had spilled out onto the home’s generous lawn and could all be seen chatting away and catching up once they had gone through the house on Waikato Street. 

“It was like a party,” laughs Vic. 

But Vic and her husband, who have young two boys together, were not daunted by the strong show of interest. The home ticked a lot of boxes for them, and they were keen.

At the time they bought, Vic and her husband had been house hunting for over a year.

After living overseas in London and Melbourne, they came back to Wellington where their family were, initially living in their investment property in nearby Berhampore which they had bought while living in London.  They then began renting in Island Bay, where Vic’s sister lives, and waited to find the right home. 

They had started their older son at Island Bay school and were building a bit of a community through the school, they were prepared to be patient. 

 “We knew we were going to buy but we just wanted to find the right spot. We didn’t want to rush into anything,” says Vic. 

“We didn’t want to do a major renovation straight away; we wanted to find something that suited us.  It was great for us to rent for a year and to kind of get to know the area better, and which side of Island Bay we wanted to be on, where the sun fell, little kind of things like that,” she explains.

Feeling like they had found the place for them, the couple put in a pre-deadline offer which brought the date forward. 

The vendors had already bought another house so were open to early offers, says Vic, who was being advised by Harriet Culy from Lowe & Co. 

There was no indication of the vendor’s price expectation, so she and her husband conferred with Harriet. 

“We also just had to do our own research, and we came back a few times and just kind of worked out what properties had sold for,” says Vic. 

The couple paid a competitive market price for the house, in the early $1 millions, for the 158 sq m home, and they don’t feel like they overpaid.

“We were really happy with the price. I think we moved slightly but not a huge amount,” says Vic.

As for the vendors, the offer, which was unconditional, was easy and straightforward.

Moving in and living in the home has been a breeze because it suited their needs so well, says Vic.

“Because the house had been done up recently, there was nothing for us to do and we still haven’t done anything to it,” she says. 

“The kitchen is still original, so we’ll do that eventually,” she says.

The size of the house is perfect for their two boys, who are seven and four and a half.

 If they stay there through the boys’ childhoods, which they think they will, they are likely to expand the house which has potential underneath, says Vic.   

Island Bay has proven to be their perfect place to settle.

“We just love the community. It’s got a real mix of people, but everyone seems really down-to-earth and the school community has just been amazing to us,” says Vic. 

“We already knew a few people, but I’ve met so many new friends and it’s amazing having my sister just down the road.”

“We love the beach, we love the big walks up in the bush behind us, and it’s close to town.”

It takes them about 20 minutes to get into the CBD. 

“And we’ve actually both got e-bikes so we both bike to work,” says Vic.