TOWNHOUSE

 

So now you know.

We looked at three townhouses today - two in Kelburn and one in Thorndon.

One

Two

Three

All were acceptable in different ways but with plusses and minuses.

Number One, in Upland Road near the cable car terminal is a large monolithic cladding house that had problems (a legal settlement in 2008) of water leakage through defective workmanship. It and its attached twin were reclad 16 years ago. I mentioned this in a recent post:

There's a decent sized townhouse for sale in Kelburn, close to the cable car and university. The location is ideal. We could buy it within our budget and there doesn't seem to be a lot of urgency because potential buyers are put off by it being a 'monolithic cladding flat roofed dwelling'. These are the ones that have had water issues over the last couple of decades - the proverbial leaky homes. The property files tell me that the townhouse was re-cladded in 2009, 10 years after it was built suggesting that it was the result of a legal claim and settlement. The building report highlights some minor remedial work being necessary. The real estate agent suggested re-cladding in cedar wood to put it in a higher price bracket for future sale. We are going to see it next weekend if it hasn't been sold and If it looks suitable we will get a detailed engineering report to see if the damned thing will stand up for another 15 years. After that who cares. As long as the issues are cosmetic and aesthetic (flaking and cracking stucco can be a bit unsightly) and not fundamentally structural allowing leaking then we would be happy.

It is a magnificent house that has sadly been neglected but can be brought up to standard pretty quickly. We don't have the money to reclad it in another material like cedar wood but, if it proves to be sound then we can live with it over the next decade. The location is good and the views over the Glen gully are beautiful. The Old Girl likes the location but finds it to be too big at 250m2 (plus a few other grumbles). She is going to ask a cladding expert at her workplace (the advantage of working for a civil engineering company) for advice with a view to having an inspection done. I like this house. 

Number Two in Ngaio Street is a more modern and beautifully decorated house that has everything we need and basically ticks all the boxes except for view and location. While close to the Upland Road house it is quite a walk to the cable car and a bus stop. It is a fussy old woman's house though which is why The Old Girl likes it more than me. Perhaps I'd better rephrase that - she likes the house more than I do as it is smaller than the other two (177m2). I'd be forever worried about making a mess as it is so pristine. While it is very attractive I think the Old Girl rules it out because of the walk involved.

Number Three in Hobson Street opposite Wellington Girls College is also beautifully decorated but is not as fussy as the Ngaio Street one. It is not as big as the Upland Road one at 200m2 but she still thinks it too big. As for me I like the house to be big as, growing up in a small house that was cluttered I like space around me now. The location of this is very good and while not having a great outlook like the Upland Road one, it still has more views than the Ngaio Road one. It is in great condition and would not need the remedial work that the Upland Road one does.

 It's exhausting looking at houses and trying to evaluate what they are worth and whether to take a risk on buying one but the exercise was worthwhile as it is helping us to zero in on what we want. We've (she has) dropped the idea of buying an apartment so a townhouse is the likely way we will go unless a stand-alone small cottage with no gardens  becomes available.

We're having a rest this afternoon. I'm tired after having been up at 4AM to watch the rugby. The England team played magnificently and deservedly beat the All Blacks. Hey ho. I have to be up early tomorrow as well to meet up with the removal people with our furniture at the storage place in Newlands. Once this job is done I can then really relax and begin to enjoy Wellington.