Family thrilled to move on from dripping disaster
01 Jun 10The Whites of Whangaparaoa have left their leaky home and say it was one of their best moves.
Paul and Wilna White, British migrants who won $346,002 compensation after buying 6 Castaway Place, are renting and hope to sell their house.
They featured in a British newspaper highlighting the plight of migrants who were aiming for a better life here.
The family left Barton-le-Clay outside Luton, arriving in December 2001. Drawn to Auckland's beaches, they bought near the sea but soon found themselves cast adrift in the rotting-homes crisis.
The rot was so bad that a child fell part-way through an exterior deck.
For nine years they fought for compensation, claiming $475,000 in the Weathertight Homes Tribunal, winning just $173,000 initially until their appeal doubled that.
They now plan to sell Castaway Place, advertising it as defective.
"I made a decision to yank my family out of that wreck and rent a smaller place nearby," said Mrs White.
"It is one of the best decisions I ever made. It has changed our perspectives so much.
"We are now clearing the wreck up and are then going to sell the house as-is, well advertised as being a leaky home."
Source: NZ Herald
