Rare move lets buyers beat lockdown
Moving into a new home before paying for it is unusual, but these are unusual times, say two firsttime buyers.
Ben Seelen and Elliott MossPearson found their ideal home in March: a 100-year-old villa on Nelson’s Atawhai Drive.
‘‘We put an offer in, and it was accepted five days before lockdown,’’ Seelen said.
They’d been staying with his parents, but with lockdown looming they took a chance, and called their vendor, Jacqui Irwin.
‘‘We said ‘hey, I know this is weird, we’re yet to go unconditional, but since the house is empty, can we move in early, and we’ll bring settlement date forward as fast as possible,’’ Seelen said.
Irwin agreed right away. ‘‘There was no hesitation at all,’’ she said. ‘‘They needed somewhere to go, I knew I trusted them and knew it would work.’’
With one eye on the rapidlychanging situation, Irwin had already shifted most of her belongings out of the villa where she’d spent the last nine years.
The men moved in the day before lockdown, which was Moss-Pearson’s birthday.
‘‘At my work, staff get their birthdays off, so I used that time to shift everything. It was a whacky 22nd birthday’’.
Settling into a new home during lockdown meant no shopping for crockery or furniture, but the new homeowners found work arounds.
Irwin had left them some furniture, and Moss-Pearson’s parents had bought him a washing machine for his birthday. Food is stored in a bar fridge, and they were able to buy some cookware from the supermarket when they discovered their pots and pans wouldn’t work on the induction hob.
Three weeks after their move, after numerous calls to lawyers, insurers and banks, the parties settled.
Despite the unusual situation, the experience had been positive, Moss-Pearson said.
‘‘The whole thing’s been awesome. Jacqui letting us move in before the settlement date was so generous.’’
However, the move worked in her favour too.
‘‘I’m feeling incredibly grateful and fortunate, any more delay would have been really expensive and potentially disastrous,’’ she said.
The new owners have plenty of post-lockdown plans, but a housewarming date is yet to be set.