The Midas TOUCH

A small family who missed Mount Maunganui beach life had big plans for a rundown little bach

- Holly Jean Brooker

Katie and Todd Hunter are pretty good at making a quick decision when the right opportunity arises and the purchase of an old blue bach in Mount Maunganui was one of them.

In 2020, Katie, Todd and their daughter Tillie were living on a semi-rural lifestyle block in Tauriko, enjoying a change of pace after many years living in Mount Maunganui. While it was great, after that first Covid-19 lockdown the sociable couple decided they'd had enough of countryside serenity and started looking for a place back at the Mount to be near friends and the social scene they loved. "We had given that lifestyle a go, and while we loved the views, we wanted to be near our mates and enjoy a low-maintenance home," Katie says.

When a rundown blue bach came up for sale on a 571sqm site near the main drag in June 2020, they moved fast. The only bidders at the auction, they didn't meet the reserve and left empty-handed.

"After the auction I went to New World and my phone rang," says Katie. "It was the real estate agent ringing to say, 'Congratulations, the sellers have accepted your bid.

We had the house!" The Hunter's lifestyle property, complete with alpacas and chickens, was put on the market and sold quickly and it wasn't long before the family had moved into a rental in the Mount and were making plans to bowl the bach. "Funnily enough, the owner of that New World is now one of our neighbours," says Katie.

The design

With the blue bach not in a fit state to restore, it gave the couple the perfect opportunity to design their dream home. Working in the interior fit-out space, Todd had loads of ideas and was able to put them into practice for his own house.