From redundancy to home ownership in less than a year

When 32-year-old Rebecca Stewart was made redundant from her job in marketing a year ago it felt like ‘a stab in the guts’.

“I was so excited to join the company and had only been there a few months. It was around the time the economy started to dive and companies were making people redundant.

“I was one of 14 people in the company to lose their jobs, and as I had only been there a short time it was first in, first out,” said Rebecca. “We had only just started to get back on track financially after taking a year maternity leave when our son, now 3, was born.”

Forced to drastically cut expenses while searching for a new role, Rebecca and Josh tried to keep things in perspective, even though it was really tough ‘going without’.

“I really like that quote ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ - it’s a reminder to be grateful for the things we do have, not what we might be ‘missing out’ on.”

The couple allowed themselves one bought coffee a week as a treat, made all meals at home and didn’t have a date night in months. Eventually, after six months of job searching, Rebecca found a new role as a property manager.

But instead of using her new salary to buy things she’d missed out on, like new work clothes and little luxuries, she and Josh decided to continue their newfound frugal habits.

“We just decided to go hard. We’d already done living bare bones and sacrificing things we didn’t need. We just kept at it, chipping away and saving.”

The couple cleared some ‘silly debt’ and sold a second car they didn’t need, as Rebecca’s new job came with a car.

Rebecca started to think buying a home could be within reach after joining the First Home Buyers Group on Facebook, reading inspiring books like The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape, and talking with a mortgage adviser.

“The mortgage adviser was the tipping point as they told us how much we could actually afford. For example, we were already paying $570 per week rent on our two-bedroom house, which is a good chunk towards a mortgage.

“They are experts, they reviewed all the background, and brought up so many things we hadn’t thought about - like could we do it on a 15% deposit.”

Their deposit came together through their savings and withdrawing their KiwiSaver.

They started researching properties, reaching out to real estate agents, reviewing reports online and doing their homework on price. They knew it was a good time to buy with the average house price down to a three-year low, according to Trade Me’s Property Price Index for July.

They found a three bedroom house that ticked their boxes - and it happened to be just across the street from their current rented home in Mairehau, Christchurch. “We just looked at each other at the open home and we knew - it felt right.

“It’s a 100 year old home that was renovated a couple of decades ago, so there’s the opportunity to refresh it in time and give it some more TLC, once we build up our equity a bit.”

The property was for sale by deadline, and the couple made what they thought was a very fair offer of $640,000. They also included a letter and photo with their offer, which described how much they loved the area, and their dreams of expanding their family and putting down roots.

It worked in their favour, as their offer was accepted and they became homeowners in September 2024. The sale process “was the most stressful time in my life,” says Rebecca, as different issues, red tape and deadlines cropped up and had to be worked through. “Going to see the Sold sign was overwhelming and it took a couple of days for it to sink in.”

But now it’s happened, “I feel lighter and have a big smile on my face,” Rebecca says. She wants other people to know that while home ownership can seem out of reach, it can be done, and it’s worth the sacrifice.

“It's bloody hard, that's the part people don't actually see behind the scenes in reality. But it’s all been worth it. Home ownership opens up doors, there’s more security and more options for the future.

“It’s a new chapter and we’re looking forward to making memories in this home.”