What's a gal to do when tucked up in bed sick in the middle of summer?
Start watching TV - reality TV, even - again.
Normally I can't stand reality shows, which is one of the reasons I've never watched The Block (despite my thing for houses). But I have been a little curious about Our First Home, as it's something new...
The basic premise is this: Three families (one set of parents, one kid + partner) compete against each other. They have to buy a house in Auckland - bankrolled by the parents, obviously - live in it, renovate it, and sell it. Profits will go to the kids to use toward their own first home. The family that makes the most out of it, percentage wise, gets another $100k - a nice sum to go towards that down payment.
If they do well, they could come out sitting pretty, although in this case their profit might be taxed. (It's all about the intention you have while buying, and this is a pretty clear cut example of intent to flip a property for profit, one being televised nationwide! NZ has no capital gains tax, however.)
To be perfectly honest, a part of me hates the privileged premise of this show. How many families can afford to take 10 weeks out of their lives to do something like this? And do we really need more people fueling the market by flicking on houses solely for profit? (All 3 families have a dad in the construction industry, to boot.)
But hey, at least this is an honest reality show - most first time buyers in Auckland need help from their parents. And they're out there competing with everyone else for the same houses.
I was pleasantly surprised when one family, looking around a house that they really liked and was due to go to auction that afternoon, bowed out. After being filmed on the phone to the bank, they decided it was too much of a financial stretch. Shockingly sensible.
We see another family missing out by miles at an auction (a budget in the $500,000s gets you nowhere around here). We see mould and damp. Kitchens and bathrooms, untouched since the 50s or whatever. Features that don't have council consent.
So far they've all managed to buy a house - a small one in a leafy setting, a big one on a busy road, a do-up in every sense of the word in a reasonably central area - and now the rest of the work begins. Guess what I'm doing tonight?
