Mum buys home while on a sole parent benefit
Hayley Donaldson is what anyone would call a Kiwi battler. A sole parent and mum of two under five, the 25-year-old is now a first time home owner, too.
When she left school at 18, Donaldson moved south to try her hand at farming and discovered she loved it. Moving up to the Waikato a year later, after the birth of her first son, she worked her way up to become a herd manager and continued working after the birth of her second son, Dexter.
When her job in Waikato ended in 2022, Donaldson moved back to her home town, Levin, to be closer to family.
Rent was cripplingly expensive as a sole parent on a benefit, but she toughed it out, dreaming of the day she’d own her own home, to give her boys a place to put down some roots.
That day arrived last month when Donaldson settled on her first home in Dannevirke.
"It does feel like a huge accomplishment. I felt young still, but younger people now are jumping up onto the property ladder, and that's so good.
"I guess I wish I had jumped on it sooner, but it's so nice that I've got there now.“
Knowing that her children will be able to “settle and grow in one spot, and not have to move” is heart-warming, she says.
“I can mark my kids’ heights on the door frames, [and do the] normal things every parent wants to do for their kids as they grow up.”
Being on a benefit, she wasn’t sure that she would even be able to buy.
She has an income of about $46,000 a year. With a background in motor mechanics, Donaldson supplemented her income buying and selling cars, a hobby she got approval for from Work and Income.
She says that being on a benefit was not a barrier to getting a mortgage with her bank, ANZ, although there were strict criteria for the quality of home she could buy.
A fixer-upper was fine, but it had to be liveable, with a functional kitchen and bathroom.
"Their concern was: 'Are your benefit payments going to change?’“
She was able to prove to the bank her income was stable, and was approved to borrow $240,000. With the KiwiSaver she had built up during her time working in farming, she had a deposit of about $48,000.
"I thought that I wasn't really going to find anything in my budget. I was pretty hesitant, and even my lawyer was pretty hesitant about whether I'd find anything."
Donaldson started researching the market, searching all over the country for liveable homes in the $200,000 - $250,000 bracket.
She looked at homes in Pātea and Tokomaru, small towns where housing was still affordable. She finally found the little cottage in Dannevirke and was encouraged to put an offer in by Harcourts agent Katrina Jackson, never thinking she would, “actually be successful”.
The three-bed property had an asking price of $205,000. Donaldson borrowed $156,600, and used her whole KiwiSaver for the deposit.
She dealt with her bank directly and was able to get an interest rate of 6.89% fixed for the next six months: She’s betting interest rates will come down later in the year.
While she acknowledges mortgage brokers can be helpful for many first time buyers, she chose not to use one.
“Mortgage brokers are great, but I just thought, no one will have more motivation for yourself than you have.”
Despite borrowing less than the required amount for her bank’s first-time buyer cash back offer, they gave it to her anyway.
She used part of that $5000 bonus to pay her lawyer. The rest has been used to start fixing things up around her new home. She’s already started painting one of the bedrooms and has other longer-term plans for the rest of the house.
"It was definitely a different feeling, just knowing that my kids have a house and they'll be able to settle and grow in one spot and not have to move ... It’s really just heartwarming.“
Donaldson has plans to return to the workforce, possibly in the dairy farming retail industry as a sales consultant. She also wants to gain a qualification as a mechanic, and one day open her own business.
"It would be unfortunate for me to sit on the benefit and not continue to press through other goals,“she says. ”Now that my [youngest] son is three, I am eligible to look for 20 hours of work.
"I think it's awesome actually how much support the New Zealand government actually does give people. It's been a huge relief knowing they're able to support me on this journey."
A critical decision to cross the Tasman to chase all important qualifying scores for Paralympic Games selection has paid off for Levin Para equestrian rider Louise Duncan.
Duncan and her mount, 15-year-old Showcase BC, may be a new combination, but this week they were selected for the New Zealand Paralympic team going to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in August.
“It’s so surreal,” said the grade IV dressage rider. “I am absolutely over the moon.
“I was so proud of what we achieved in Australia. It was our first offshore competition and Showcase was a superstar despite our few glitches.”
They had hoped to podium and they did, finishing third in each of their three classes against Australia’s top Para equestrian riders.
“It has always been a dream to get to the Paralympic Games.”
Paralympics New Zealand chief executive Greg Warnecke said: “[Duncan] has developed hugely as an athlete over the past year in the Para Sport Collective, a [Paralympics New Zealand] development initiative for pre-high-performance Para athletes and coaches.
“It really shows in her performances. And what a treat for Kiwis who will now get to cheer on Louise and Showcase BC in the stunning grounds of the Palace of Versailles. We are thrilled to have them both with us as members of the NZ Paralympic team.”
Duncan joins five Paralympians already named in the New Zealand Paralympic team for athletics and table tennis.
Duncan had meningitis as a teen, which led to her having a series of strokes, leaving her with temporary paralysis from the neck down.
She gets aura migraines if she sits to the trot for too long.
All four of her limbs are reduced in function and, as her trunk is impaired, her balance and co-ordination are also affected.
“My dexterity is not good and I get shivers in my legs sometimes when I am riding which leads to a loss of power.”
Duncan tried to make it to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games but Covid-19 and other obstacles stopped that.
She’s still relatively new to Para sport, only being classified in 2017.
When Paralympics New Zealand first approached her, Duncan said she wasn’t in the right head space.
“It took a good 10 years for me to accept that things were going to be different to before, so I was late into the sport.
“I was just so pleased to be able to enjoy my pony and have compensating aids to help me make my riding fun and enjoyable again without pain and the frustration of losing my stirrups.”
She was delighted when her mother Frankie Webb bought Showcase BC as a surprise last year after they decided previous mount Wolkenstein BC deserved a quieter life at 21.
Showcase was a horse she had admired as a youngster and is a half brother to nowretired star Wolkenstein BC.
“Showcase is a little pocket rocket who always tries to please you 101%. He is very athletic, has wonderful paces and is one of the most sensitive horses I have ridden.”
They may be new together, but they’ve done well, winning the Dressage Central Districts Championship Show at their first outing, were reserve at Waikato and Northern Hawke’s Bay, and won the well supported Horse of the Year Grade IV.
A win at the national championships gave Duncan the encouragement she needed to hunt down Paris 2024 selection.
Equestrian Sports New Zealand chief executive Julian Bowden said the organisation was both proud and excited to have Duncan named for Paris.