A popular style of living around the world for many years now, apartments and townhouses offer lifestyle plus in some of the city’s most in-demand locations.
And despite many New Zealanders still being wedded to the idea of securing their own patch of land, more and more are choosing to opt for apartment or townhouse life for a myriad of reasons.
Location, location, location
Location is the key when it comes to apartment and townhouse living, with many inner central residents looking to downsize and find joy in a more low maintenance space after years in a villa, but without leaving their much-loved neighbourhood.
That is certainly the case with several of the individuals enquiring about a move to boutique waterfront development, 25 Tirotai. Just 50 metres from the water's edge in Westmere, 25 Tirotai offers potential buyers a range of exclusive options in a fantastic inner central spot, with eight bespoke homes coming together to create a stylish and secure micro-community.
Blair Haddow of Bayley’s Real Estate, Ponsonby, has been in the top five per cent of Bayley’s agents for more than a decade and is exclusively handling the 25 Tirotai offering. He says that he is seeing a lot of people “coming out of houses in Westmere who want to stay in the area but get away from the ongoing maintenance that comes with a bigger home”. He adds that predominantly older houses come with considerable upkeep and are often on large parcels of land whereas contemporary townhouses offer the feel of a home, but without the constant admin.
“Townhouses and apartments also offer such great lock up and leave opportunities,” says the top salesperson, “especially for people who have beach houses that they are wanting to spend more time in. It’s also a great option for those looking to travel extensively again.”
Body corporates as community
Helen O’Sullivan is the CEO of Crockers Property Group and a long time apartment dweller. An expert when it comes to body corporates, she says that Crockers refer to their division that specialises in that area as Body Corporate & Community Living Management. “The point we make to people from the get-go is that you’re joining a community, and that is the lovely thing about it. However, being part of a community brings with it reciprocal rights and obligations. Those include paying bills on time, participating in the community and abiding by the rules for everyone’s comfort. In return, you get all the benefits of community like neighbours bringing your parcels up from downstairs or dropping off food and a bottle of wine at your door when you’ve been forced to self-isolate due to Covid," she says.
She says that before committing to buying an apartment or townhouse it’s essential that your lawyer takes a fine tooth comb to all documents, and that includes your body corporate agreement. She says that if your body corporate levies seem low and there isn’t a fund for things like watering the gardens in summertime or building washes, “then none of those things will happen, so speak up and ask what is included in the budget before you move in”. Higher levies usually come with blocks with more amenities too, such as pools and gyms, “as all of that stuff needs to be maintained and thus paid for. It just makes sense.”
To find out more about body corporates, Helen says a great resource can be found on the Ockham website where there is a webinar starring herself in conversation with Ockham Sales Team Leader, Joss Lewis. She says that the website www.unittitles.govt.nz also has some great information to run through before you take the plunge.
Goodbye maintenance – and that includes the garden
Helen O’Sullivan confesses to being, “not much of a gardener even on a good day”, and loves that apartment living means that her body corporate takes care of the grounds around her home as well as other maintenance. “You don’t have to organise for the building to be washed or for the rubbish bins to be changed, it just magically happens,” she says, “and that goes for the whole complex. It means that you don’t have to deal with a situation where the person in number three can’t be bothered clipping their hedge, for example, and numbers two and four are very house proud.”
Helen says that she is currently living in her second apartment and has since purchased a third, “and I can hand on heart say I’ll never go back to standalone house living”.
Safety and security
Director of Bluzone Group, Grant Sanderson, has a long history in residential property renovations after moving into the apartment market in 2009 as an investor. He soon realised that a lot of apartments weren’t that well-presented, and wanting his own investments to stand out from the rest, proceeded to put in the work. Ever since then, he has been buying and renovating apartments and townhouses for the absent investor, owner occupiers and refurbishing them with the help of a network of skilled tradespeople.
He himself lives in a townhouse complex in Eden Terrace, “which I absolutely love for so many reasons”. Top of mind is the lock and leave nature of apartment and townhouse living, “whereby I can just lock the door behind me and drive away for the weekend knowing my home is safe and secure.
My complex also has a lock up garage, so I can wash my cars outside and then lock them up safely while keeping everything meticulously clean and tidy”.
Grant is also passionate about the community he lives in, and the social environment that comes with living in a townhouse complex which includes the added bonus of safety and security. “I’m on the committees as well as I like to be an active member of the community,” he adds, “which I highly recommend if you want to have real input into your investment.”
When he moved into his current townhouse he set to work renovating the interior completely – which took all of eight days. “That included paint, flooring, kitchen cabinetry and more. It’s very easy to modernise and refresh an apartment or townhouse significantly when you know how.”
Like Helen, Grant says after making the move to a townhouse, he can’t see himself taking on the considerable responsibilities that come with standalone house ownership. “I’m in a position where so much is taken care of, and in such a fantastic community close to my favourite suburbs and local eateries. I love it.” (HELENE RAVLICH)
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