When Courtney Kahura and husband Anthony bought their first home in Te Awamutu, they sought help from Alex McIvor to help them make their dream a reality.
Midwife Courtney and husband Anthony dreamed of owning their own home for years, but always felt like it was out of their reach.
“It was a dream of ours for ages to own our own home, but it kept slipping further and further away with the property market the way it is,” says Anthony.
“Once I qualified as a midwife and started working fulltime, it started to seem more possible,” adds Courtney.
Renting with two young kids meant the family had to chip away at their goal, putting money into Kiwisaver.
“We were actually already living in the house we’ve ended up purchasing, as it was owned by Anthony’s parents,” says Courtney.
“They’ve had it for 26 years and we’ve lived here for the past 8, so in terms of house hunting, that part was pretty easy for us,” she says.
Using their Kiwisaver for a deposit, the couple had never used a lawyer before and didn’t really know much about purchasing a property.
“We approached Alex (McIvor), and he was just amazing to work with from start to finish,” says Courtney.
Although finding the house to buy was easy, the couple says the process of buying it was quite complicated.
“It was quite a tricky process in terms of stuff we needed to organize with the council – we couldn’t find any permits or consents,” says Courtney.
“We didn’t know what we needed, to be able to finalise everything, and it was quite a long, drawn-out process.”
“Alex had multiple meetings with us, helping us understand process and what we needed to sort,” she says.
“The bank and others involved were quite unhelpful, and Alex pretty much did their job for them. He made it very easy for us. He went above and beyond.”
Anthony agrees that Alex was great to work with.
“All I can say is, not all heroes wear capes!”
“He was really professional but down to earth. We understood what he was saying and he didn’t make it all formal, plus he threw in a bit of banter, which was fun.”
The couple say owning a home is much better than renting.
“It’s actually cheaper for us than renting, so we really feel for those people struggling to get into their first home,” says Anthony.
“It can take you ages to get into the market, but once you’re in its way better.”
“Now that we’re on the property ladder, we have so many more options for the future,” adds Courtney.
“It’s a dream come true.”
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