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Country House Hunters: New Zealand - Season 4 Episode 7 - Morrinsville
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00:00I'm on a hunt to help find everyday Kiwis their perfect country house.
00:05Things are a little different out here in the country. You still have the hustle and bustle.
00:12Your neighbours can sometimes be a bit noisy. Time moves a little slower.
00:19But you don't get this in the city.
00:39I'm in Morrinsville today, the dairy capital of Aotearoa, New Zealand, also known as the
00:45cream of the country. And today I'm house hunting with Neil and Taryn. Now they've just welcomed
00:50a new addition to their family and they're looking to upsize as they continue to grow.
00:54So let's see what I can find them in this beautiful slice of rural Waikato.
01:03Good morning, how are you? G'day Taryn, Neil. Nice to finally meet you. How are you feeling?
01:08Yeah, good. Excited. Crispy this morning. It's crispy but Morrinsville's turned it on.
01:12How's the day? It's beautiful. You're Morrinsville locals, aren't you? Born and bred here in Morrinsville?
01:17Yes, yep. Grew up here together. Nice.
01:21We've been together 13 years but we technically met when we were about 9, 10 years old.
01:27Yeah, growing up Taryn was friends with our neighbour on the farm so yeah we kind of jumped the boundary
01:32and had fun being kids and stuff so. My dad used to tease me about Neil when I was a kid
01:38and then I ended up marrying him so. And now we have you.
01:44Morrinsville's a good place in terms of the location like it's only half an hour from Hamilton
01:48an hour from the Mount. Like it's very central, very easy and we like to get out and about in the
01:53weekends so. It's the kind of community where for better or for worse everyone kind of knows your
01:57name so no matter where you are in the world you can always find someone from Morrinsville.
02:01We'd really like in a house somewhere that was like a nice quiet street. Currently we're on a
02:09quite a small section so somewhere bigger for now that Harriet's growing up a place for a swing set
02:13and a trampoline and a bit more area for her to run around in. A second lounge would be so lovely,
02:19it's not a must-have but it would be a really nice feature to have. Our budget is between 1 and 1.1 is
02:27really where we're wanting to. Yeah, we're open-minded and every house that we see can be the one.
02:39Today I'm in Morrinsville, a lively gem situated in the heart of New Zealand's dairy country
02:44to help find childhood sweethearts and lifelong locals Taryn and Neil a place to raise their young
02:50family. With its welcoming community, scenic surrounds and a laid-back vibe all on offer,
02:56Morrinsville is a sweet slice of Kiwi country life.
03:02So today's mission, we're basically trying to find a home for the three of you,
03:06upsizing a little bit from the current home that you're in, is that right?
03:09Yes, yeah, yeah. And it's not just you three, is it? There's some more residents we've got to look
03:13after today. Tell me about the cats. They're very, what would you say, precious cats, so not quite the
03:21wisest when it comes to the roads. Yeah, definitely quiet streets we'd be looking for. Yeah.
03:28Quiet streets around Morrinsville shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? Yeah, yeah.
03:32Let me tell you about the first house that I've brought you to here in Morrinsville. So this is
03:35a four-bedroom home. It's on about 650 square metres. Again, bigger property for you, double garage. How
03:40does the look of the home suit you two at the moment? What do you think of the style?
03:43Yeah, no, very nice. I like that chard cladding. It's yeah, definitely different.
03:47I really like it. It's not too dissimilar to the one we're in now, but probably just a bit more
03:53blasher than our one. Yeah, okay. Should we get out of this crisp,
03:56cool Morrinsville air and have a look around? Yeah, absolutely. Come on in.
04:11Welcome in. Yeah, five years old, so it's a nice modern family home, this one. As I said,
04:16four bedrooms, there's a separate living room that we saw as we first walked in. Open plan,
04:21kitchen, living, dining. But why am I talking about the kitchen? You work in kitchen manufacturing,
04:25right Neil? Yeah, I do, I do. I work for a kitchen manufacturing company in Hamilton,
04:31so I feel like I'm fairly experienced in the kitchen area. So you've seen a lot of kitchens,
04:37I imagine, in your time? Yeah, I have, I have. How does this one stack up against them? Yeah,
04:41good. Yeah, good. Yeah, nice, simple, easy, good double fridge there. Yeah, no, it's good.
04:48In terms of a family home, upsizing from where you're in, how does it feel at the moment?
04:52Yeah, it feels really nice, doesn't it? Yeah, definitely having that extra lounge
04:56would be a definite advantage where you can shut the doors and shut the mess in there,
04:59get this area tidier or vice versa. Yeah. Brilliant. All right, there's a lot to like about this home,
05:04so have a good look around, check out the bedrooms and come and find me when you're done. Cool. See you soon.
05:23Wow, this is really nice. Yeah, it sounds really booming in here. Yeah, nice sunny out look.
05:28Yeah, the layout of the house is quite nice, actually. It's definitely open and with the
05:33kitchen being there, you can keep an eye on what Harriet's been doing. It's definitely bigger than
05:38where we are now, but I feel like our house is a bit more generous in the spaces, so it potentially
05:44feels a bit bigger. Down the hallway and stuff, it does seem a little bit tight and definitely that
05:47ensuite is definitely on the smaller side. Yeah. How much do you think it would be worth? Yeah,
05:52I don't know, it'll be kind of probably more on the top end of our budget. I was thinking kind of maybe
05:561.05. Yeah, somewhere around there. Yeah. Yeah.
06:10Hey, you two. Had a good chance to look around, see the rest of the home? Yeah, we did. Yeah. Cool.
06:15How's it feeling? How was that ensuite in the main bedroom? Yeah. I mean, overall, we really like the
06:20house. It does feel a little bit tight in the ensuite. Yeah, in the ensuite and the narrow hallway,
06:26but yeah. And upsizing something that you're looking to do, getting that sense of space,
06:30standing in this backyard, you're getting a sense of that? Yeah. Definitely. It's a lot bigger
06:35improvement on what we're currently on, so yeah. Yeah. I am finding it a bit hard to imagine what
06:39we could do with it, but there is lots of potential in the backyard. I think it's a great option for a
06:44young family, but it's not me that will be buying it, which means it's not my money. So how much do you
06:48think they're wanting for this home? I reckon around that $1.05, $1.04, somewhere around there?
06:55Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. Well, I can tell you that they are hoping for...
07:10exactly that $1.05, $1.05, $1.05. Yeah.
07:22I'm pretty comfortable with the asking price. It's what I thought it would be. I had initially
07:43imagined something a little bit more established. Yeah, but we have the chance to make it our own,
07:49then essentially. Yeah, which is, I guess, a pro and a con. Yeah. That's one option. I've got three
07:56houses to look at today, so I think it's time we head along to house number two. Cool. Sounds good.
08:01Let's go. Although house one might have been a little small, it still had plenty to offer our
08:07young family. Let's head down the road and see what house two has in store.
08:12All right, house number two. So obviously you've seen we're at the end of a really lovely quiet
08:20cul-de-sac, and the home itself really does look stunning from the front. But what do you think?
08:25It's a really attractive house. It looks really nice. And yeah, love that it's a quiet cul-de-sac. Yeah.
08:31So I think as we're walking around this home, kind of have that in mind. Like it's not just the house
08:35that you'd be buying here. It's the location as well, close to the school. It really does get better
08:40and better as we go inside. So come and have a look. Cool.
08:52This is a beautiful home. Yeah. Yeah, built in 2020 again. So it's another modern,
08:58nice, beautifully built home. This one's a bit bigger, a bit more space, I think,
09:02and the way they've designed it. So this main living area here with the separate living area,
09:07how would that work, do you think, for you as a young family?
09:09Yeah, I think at the moment we would probably spend most of our time here. It's a really inviting space,
09:14but I think as Harriet gets a bit bigger, it'd be nice to be able to close the doors and she can kind
09:19of play in there. Again, a great, beautiful, large kitchen space. It's your domain.
09:24Yeah, no, very good. First impressions. Yeah, it's nice, open, spacious. And again, yeah,
09:29overviewing all of the rest of the living area. It's beautiful. It's probably a bit
09:33darker than I would usually go for, but I do really like it. I do like the cedar cladding,
09:38you know, brought in throughout. It definitely links the whole house in together. Yeah. Yeah,
09:42I like that too. It's a really nice touch, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Cool. All right. Well,
09:45the place wraps around obviously to the main bedroom, which is down that side of the home. So
09:49have a look down there and yeah, I'll be out in the barbecue area when you're done. Cool. Thank you. See you soon.
09:59It's definitely a really nice big open house. Probably everything we're kind of wanting size-wise.
10:11Especially with the big stack of doors opening up out into that outdoor area. It really makes it look
10:15more spacious than it really is. Had a good look around? Yes, we did. Yeah. So I thought I'd bring
10:34you here obviously to the barbecuing zone. Yeah. This is a bit of you, is it? It is definitely.
10:39Definitely. It's a nice little area here. Yeah. Could be entertaining. Yeah. All year round as well.
10:44Obviously those big stack of doors opening right up. Yeah. It's just such a great area. So compared
10:49to the first home that we looked at, obviously the outlook from the first house was very different.
10:53This one a bit more built up, but you do have privacy with that tall fence. I think the other
10:56one felt a bit bigger just because of that outlook. Right. Yeah. But it is really big space and this deck
11:02is, yeah. Where do you think this one might sit on the price scale? Yeah. I think it would definitely
11:06be up towards the 1.18 kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. 1.2. Yeah. Yeah. So it is slightly above that budget that
11:13you were hoping for. They're hoping for offers around the 1.2 and above. So. Okay.
11:33This one, it's definitely worth the extra you can see. Yeah. Just like the little touches,
11:38like the laundry and. Yeah. It will be a bit of a push on our budget, but it's definitely something
11:42to consider because you are getting a lot more for that dollar. Yeah, definitely. And I think those
11:46are the things that we kind of appreciate. Yeah. So something to consider. Yeah.
11:50All right. You ready for house number three though? Yeah, I think so. Let's do it. Keep rolling.
12:13Well, we've made it to our final home. And while there was a lot to love about the first two,
12:17this third option offers a really different perspective. Let's see what Neil and Taryn think
12:22of house number three. All right. Lucky last. So third and final home is the biggest section of the
12:33day. 981 square meters on this one. Decent driveway that we've just come down. This side of the home
12:38might not seem like it's much, but wait till you get to the other side because I think the view that you
12:43get from this house is spectacular. How does it feel just walking up to it? It looks more traditional
12:48than the other ones that we've seen earlier, which kind of were a bit more modern, but it looks really
12:52nice. Yeah. Yeah. And wait till you see the entranceway as we walk in. It's pretty cool. Cool. Come on in.
12:57I really liked the entranceway. We always talk about in-built cabinetry with Neil being a cabinet
13:10maker. So the hallway feature was really quite cool. Yeah, with the LED lighting in there really,
13:15you can show off some stuff that you got. Yeah. Yeah. We like that. Yeah.
13:20All right. Welcome inside house number three. Really interesting welcome into the home,
13:24isn't it, with that big view as soon as you open the door. And then down that hallway with the
13:28recessed shelving, separate living area just to your right there. And then this big open plan
13:34main living space. Back to you being the kitchen expert, how does this one stand out to you? No,
13:39very good actually. Yeah, it's very open planed again. It's got the wok burner. I noticed it's got
13:43an integrated dishwasher. That's right. It's definitely very cool features. Do you like the
13:47kitchen splashback? How does that bold splashback feel to you too? Taryn, I'll ask you that one.
13:52It's probably brighter, but more colourful than I would kind of pick. You don't want to feel like
13:57you're in the jungle every time you're cooking? Yeah, the cats will probably be getting the
14:01butterflies and birds. Easy fix to switch that out if that's not completely your cup of tea though.
14:06Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, easy fix. But can you imagine yourselves making a cup of coffee in the
14:10morning, standing at that kitchen island, looking out to that view? I mean, that's where it really comes to
14:15life, isn't it? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, very nice. Okay, time for you to have a good look around. I know that
14:21you'll like the separate laundry, which is great. There's four bedrooms and there's a big en suite and
14:25walk-in wardrobe in the main bedroom as well. So, I'll be outside when you're done. Cool. Cool.
14:29The rest of the layout of the house I definitely noticed is a bit different in the way that it's
14:49set up. I think it's the main feature is that entranceway and then it kind of doesn't link as
14:55well. But in saying that, it's got two entrances into the living area. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's
14:59a bad thing, but it's definitely different. Kia ora. How'd you go? What do you think? Yeah, really
15:11well. Yeah, it's a nice place. There's plenty of rooms here. What is it? Four bedrooms? Yeah, four bedrooms.
15:17Plus all this outdoor area as well. Obviously, they've got some established fruit trees. You've got
15:22mandarins, lemons, limes. Harriet-wise, what do we think? How would Harriet grow up in a house like
15:28this, do you think? Well, we just noticed as she's younger, the clear balustrading there might get a
15:32few fingerprints on it. Yeah, and we'd probably need to do something, the retaining. I really love it,
15:37but I just, I'm not sure how practical it would be for us. Yeah. Well, I mean, this is our third and
15:42final option for the day. Before we let you go away and have a think though, we've got to find out what
15:46this one's worth. I think Taryn had a slightly higher than, I was thinking maybe 1.15, somewhere
15:52around there. Yeah, I was thinking maybe closer to 1.2. Well, given that it's going to auction, it
15:57is hard to put an exact price on it, obviously, but the indication is that it should fetch around
16:03the 1.1, maybe up to 1.2 mark. So yeah, you're bang on with your guesses there. Yeah.
16:08I was pretty surprised with the price. Yeah. I guess there's a lot of things that wouldn't
16:20really suit us about the house, but then there are some quite cool features like the entrance way
16:24and the shelving, so, and the size. And the land size and the house size, yeah. It's definitely
16:29like a larger house, so I was a little bit surprised at the range that they were going for.
16:38Three different homes, three different styles, lots to think about. And I know that you've got
16:42to get back to Harriet now. She's with your mum at the moment, right? Yeah, she is. Is your mum coping?
16:45Yeah. I think so. She wouldn't tell us anyway. Well, I'll let you get back to Harriet and have a
16:49think. And if there is one of these houses that stands out above the rest of them, can't wait to
16:53find out which one it is. So, cheers guys. Thank you. Thank you. Cheers.
16:56Before Neil and Taryn share their final thoughts with us, it's time I got a better feel for the
17:08town and the community here in Morransville. I caught up with local legend Kathy to see why
17:13so many are flocking to this beautiful slice of the Waikato.
17:24You must be Kathy. I am. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. I hear you are the perfect person
17:28to tell me all about Morransville. So, we're known as Morransville cream of the country. Yeah.
17:33And the reason for that is we're the highest producing dairying in the world with three dairy
17:37companies or within a 14 kilometre radius. There we go. Something you can't miss when you drive
17:44through Morransville or spend any time here. The cows. The herd of cows. Tell me about them.
17:48Every street corner has one and the back streets as well. 60 of them in total at the moment,
17:53including Big Mabel. She's fantastic. Brings in tourism, which is great. And then on top of that,
17:59we're adding to the herd this year. Fantastic.
18:01Yes, it's so good. So, throughout the year, you'll see some more popping up on street corners.
18:05I'll have to come back for a visit and check them out. You might have come back. Definitely.
18:12Now, you've brought me to this beautiful part of Morransville. Just across the road,
18:15we can see the Morransville Museum. Yes.
18:17Something that anyone who's visiting Morransville should check out. Am I right?
18:20Definitely. It gives you the full history of Morransville in itself,
18:23and also a huge part of the dairying industry, how it started.
18:29Part of the building has the McDonald Cottage, which was relocated here from its
18:33old site a couple of blocks over. That's fantastic, because as you go through the new part,
18:38you can go further to the back and see the history of a real pioneer cottage.
18:43The area itself, it's a beautiful part of the Waikato. Tell me about living here. What do you love
18:48about Morransville? The people. The people are warm and friendly wherever you go. If you're not
18:53sure about something, you only have to ask, and they'll bend over backwards to tell you the right
18:58answer. Brilliant. Good on you, Kathy. I think I might have to go and find some more of these
19:01cows around town. I think you might need to. It might be time for a glass of milk as well.
19:04Thank you very much. Absolutely. Lovely to meet you. Cheers, Kathy. Thank you.
19:22Now that some time's passed, we can check back in with Neil and Taryn to see if one of those three
19:27houses caught their eye. G'day you two. Neil, Taryn, how are you? Hi, good. Yeah.
19:34Another beautiful day in Morransville. It's a cracker. It is. I'm getting used to this.
19:38Yeah. There's sunshine every day in Morransville.
19:41So I've been wondering about you two and which way you were leaning after the three houses that
19:45we toured. I remember you were looking to upsize. You said the first house that we looked at was
19:49kind of similar to your home currently, but bigger. So what did you like about that first one?
19:53Definitely the extra space out the backyard. It leaves it open and, you know, more spacious
19:57feeling out the back and privacy, yeah. I really just like that feeling you get kind of in that
20:01kitchen dining area. It just felt really nice and kind of homely in there. Totally. And again,
20:06with that young family living in there at the moment, you could kind of get a sense of how it
20:09would be for the three of you. Yeah. Second house we looked at was fairly similar in terms of age and
20:15really close to the first house as well, just down the road. Lots of space. It had that great barbecue
20:19area out the back. That one had some really nice touches, like the cedar inside. I really liked that.
20:25And that cul-de-sac out the front, you know, where Harriet would be able to ride her bike around out
20:30the front and meet with all the neighbours and play some front yard cricket or something. Great option.
20:34And then the third and final house we looked at down the driveway with that beautiful outlook.
20:40I really liked some of the features of that house. It was very cool. I'm not sure whether it was the most
20:44practical house for our situation, but that view was beautiful. Yeah. So I'm hearing that none of them
20:52really were the perfect home though. We couldn't quite get one over the line for you. Yeah. I think
20:56it's made us re-evaluate what it is that we want and how much we're wanting to spend because
21:01that first house definitely ticked all the boxes that we asked for. But then when you see what
21:06else there is, you kind of. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Well, it was lovely to meet you too. So all
21:10the very best. I'm sure that you and Harriet and the cats are going to find the perfect home
21:15really soon. All the best in your search. Thank you.
21:17Well, I checked in with Taryn and Neil and they're still on the hunt for their perfect home in
21:24Morrinsville where they can bring up baby Harriet and not forgetting the cats. I'm wishing them all
21:30all the best of luck for their continued search.
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