NZ Herald - Homes Section

NEW ZEALAND HERALD - HOMES

May 6th 2007

Daytime DJ for The Rock - Tracey Donaldson and her husband Ashley Page had more than one stroke of luck when it came to owning their first home. Back in 2001 when they'd been living in the sunny 2 bedroomed apartment for a year, Tracey's Dad came to them with an offer. "My Dad was our landlord and he offered us the opportunity to take over the mortgage from him. To make it even better he gifted us a hefty part of the deposit. We never could've done it without his help and I'll be eternally grateful to him for the opportunity" says Tracey.

Apart from being a wonderfully generous family gift, it had the advantage of having being personally remodelled by Traceys Dad from top to toe before they moved in. Tracey gives credit where it's due. "It was extra special to us because it was Dad who had remodelled it. It'd been built in the 50's but he'd gutted the entire place and done it up in the 90s with all the fittings. He's always had incredible style - he'd make a great interior designer actually. It even had a chandelier - so Dynasty - I loved it!"

To add to its charms it was in Tracey's favourite part of town. "It was just off Broadway in Newmarket, a 30 second walk to the fashion mecca of NZ - now that was dangerous!" But although Tracey and Ashley loved the location, the apartment and the socialising with neighbours who'd become good friends, in time they needed more space. "I could've lived in that area forever but we needed a bigger house and had to move further out to get that. But without Dads help we'd still be paying rent".