Agent discovers classic 70s A-frame he was asked to sell was home he grew up in

When the owners of 81 Meadowbank Rd, in Auckland, contacted Ray White estate agent Richard Thode looking for an agent to sell their beloved family home, he didn’t immediately recognise the address.

When he pulled up the location on the map, however, he realised he knew it very well - it had been his teenage home.

Thode was 15 when his parents bought the double A-frame home. The family had moved around a bit, but this was the first home they’d lived in that had a swimming pool, so it quickly became a family favourite.

"The pool was big excitement, as you can appreciate. I recall learning to dive in the pool, and over the years, had lots of fun times with mates and with family around there."

Built in 1970, the vintage home has since been through some significant changes since the Thodes owned it.

"There wasn't a big fence blocking off the bush around the pool," says Thode. "Back in the day, we had just an open sort of flow out to the bush. My father spent quite a bit of time planting native trees into the bush. And there were tracks which were fun to explore as a kid."

The Mt Carmel school paddock was just behind the house, so Thode and his siblings could walk home across the field, through the trees to the back yard.

Originally two separate structures connected by a deck, a previous owner who was an architect converted the space into an enclosed, connecting corridor. A second, flat-roofed garage was also added.

The current owners, Dr Rukshan Fernando and his wife Nera, carried out the renovation inside, reconfiguring the kitchen, adding new bathrooms, timber flooring and repainting throughout. They also did a little work outside, widening the driveway, and adding a heat pump to the pool.

Their update maintained everything that's fun and interesting about A-frames, the massive exposed beams and open spaces, yet it feels very fresh, modern and liveable.

The family arrived in New Zealand in 2018 so Fernando could take up a fellowship at Auckland City Hospital. A colleague put the family in touch with an estate agent, who quickly suggested they take a look at No.81.

The family was drawn to the home instantly.

"We drove there the first day with all the kids on board,“ says Fernando. ”And for us, it was quite magical, because we were expecting house next to house next to house, and windows everywhere. But we drove down this driveway, and we came to an oasis covered in trees everywhere."

The unusual look of the four-bed, three-bath, two-reception home also appealed to the family.

Relatively inexpensive and simple to build - combining roof and wall is a real cost cutter - A-frames have been around since the mid-30s.

It wasn’t until the 50s, however, that the style of building really took off. A popular choice for building baches and holiday homes, you’ll still find a few A-frame holiday baches in places like Te Anau and Ruapehu today.

In the 60s and 70s, however, the quirky, striking design appealed to folks building their own family homes who were perhaps seeking more interesting alternatives to the standard weatherboard bungalow.

After seven happy years and a lot of work the Fernandos have decided to move to be closer to Nera’s business, so have put the house on the market.

When it came time to sell, they contacted their local Ray White office, and without knowing his connection to the home, spoke with Thode. He also didn’t immediately realise his connection to the address.

"A few hours later, he gives us a call: ‘Look, guys, the address never triggered in my head. But when I started looking at the location, this is where I lived'. He talked about trying to be quiet walking on the pebbles in front of the house, coming home at one o'clock in the morning. So it was an amazing coincidence."

Fernando says it is hard to part with the home, because of the fond memories they have created there.

“It was our first home in New Zealand. The sense of space, the sense of privacy, it's got so much potential. There's a lot more things you could do with that place.“

With a CV of $2,325,000, Homes.co.nz estimates the property to be worth between $2.22m - $2.5m.

The 323m² home, which sits on a 1346m² section, is for sale by auction, which will be held on November 6 at 1pm. The listing for 81 Meadowbank Rd is with Thode and Andrew Milne for Ray White.