Kāinga Ora home leapfrogs family to home ownership

“I’m very grateful for the help we’ve received and I’m proud of the way we used that help to purchase a home of our own for our family,” Denise says.

Denise and Shannon had been living together in their Kāinga Ora home in Aranui, Christchurch with their two daughters Danika and Sherlila for a few years when they decided it was time to make their goal of home ownership a reality.

Denise says it was her grandparents who sparked the couple’s home ownership aspirations.

“They were hard workers who saved and saved to get their family ahead. They showed us how owning your own home can provide a stable financial footing for your family to grow from.”

The couple are hard workers themselves. Denise is a support worker for a healthcare provider and Shannon works long hours in security operations.

With the goal of saving more of their hard-earned money in place, they set up some simple budgeting measures like an automatic payment directing a portion of their fortnightly pay to a savings account.

Shannon says saving was hard at first, as the family had to go without some things.

“On top of saving more and cutting out nice-to-haves, we also delayed an overdue trip to Aussie to see family that we hadn’t seen in a long time – that was tough.

“But we stayed focused knowing it was all going towards getting into our own home,” says Shannon.

Once they got into a groove with their budgeting, Denise and Shannon were well on their way to saving enough to start having serious conversations with a mortgage advisor.

“Last year we still didn’t think we had enough saved for a deposit - turns out we were ready!

“The advisor told us what we could afford, helped us get our ducks in a row and guided us through the buying process once we found a home we liked, says Denise.

Now settled in their first home, which happens to be around the corner from the Kāinga Ora home they used to live in, they couldn’t be happier.

“We’re stoked to be in a home of our own. It’s great to still be in the same suburb, so close shops and friends and family.

“It’s really cool to look back on our journey from being Kāinga Ora tenants to now owning our own home and being able to invest in our family’s future,” Denise says.