Two homes – one project
Imagine building a new home that also provides a source of income. That’s what Alexa Bartlett and Owen Wallace did when they planned their architecturally-designed home and detached two-bedroom investment property
Alexa and Owen wanted to build a warm, lowmaintenance property to enjoy in their retirement. They quickly settled on Riverhead Point, a new subdivision north west of Auckland. Alexa was a nurse for 40 years with much of her career working in neonatal intensive care at Auckland City Hospital. She now works casually as a celebrant, while her partner of 17 years, Owen, is retired. The couple sought to futureproof their retirement by building a home and investment property that could also provide an alternative living arrangement should their needs change. They are now the proud owners of a beautiful three-bedroom home and twobedroom unit, which they currently rent out.
How did you create privacy between your home and the rental property?
We have two separate driveways and two private garages. The unit is at the front of our property, and we carefully considered the positioning of all windows so we aren’t looking into each other. We also added two ranch sliding doors and a timber deck at the unit’s front entrance to give our tenants their own private outdoor space. The unit is an excellent investment for our retirement because we’ll always have that extra income. We also thought our family may need our house one day, so we could just live in the unit. It’s given us options in the future. The unit is light, spacious, and has the quality fittings we have in the main house
Did you customise any other elements of your house?
We built a large, covered entertaining area with a spa pool in front of our home’s central living areas and added an office in the media room. It’s a great space to interview clients for weddings. We also included a separate laundry and upgraded the bathrooms to include large tiled showers.
What do you love about your new home?
Everything! Our home is very quiet and there’s no condensation. It’s cosy and warm in the winter, yet light and open in the summer. We just fling all the doors open and the sun comes into our bedroom, kitchen and dining room every morning. It’s a well-designed home and we are very happy.
What advice would you o er to people looking to build a home and investment property in one?
Partner with Generation Homes! They really listen to you and the team did an exceptional job. This style of property has given us flexibility and a sense of security in our retirement. If you think it suits your lifestyle and plans, we would highly recommend building a home and investment property.