A 27 ha property with a 2000 sq m house just out of diving mecca Tutuakaka is on the market. The owners say Cher should enquire.
Retired British couple Brian and Christine Angliss, who are selling up to move to a 50ha property in Russell, say their Ngunguru property would suit a buyer who’s after privacy and security.
“Someone who’s running away from America and is fed up with Trump. We heard that Cher was looking for a place,” Brian says.
Esmae Ferrington, of Harcourts Kerikeri, who is marketing the property, says it is “extraordinary high worth sale” and the buyers are expecting about $15m for it.
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The couple’s home, built in 2005, is claimed to be one of the most expensive residential constructions in the country.
A stonemason worked on the walls for five years. Photo / Supplied
Engineer Brian, who for a decade in the 1980s and 1990s owned the British AC auto company, home of the classic Cobra car, sourced finest local and imported materials including Chinese granite, 40 cubic metres of kauri and 20 cubic metres of rimu for the interior. A stonemason worked on the walls for nearly five years and seven to nine contractors were on the site non-stop for two years.
“The house was built to last, with half-a-metre wide solid concrete walls," Brian says. “We had to get the biggest crane on one side of the house and the second biggest crane on other side of the house to wrench the seven tonne ceiling beams up."
The house has stunning views of the water. Photo / Supplied
The main 2000 sq m dwelling, one of four on the property, has five bedrooms, each with en-suite, environmental control and private entertainment facilities.
For the nervous celebrity there is a high security room, indoor parking for eight cars, a theatre and 180 sq m conference room. Computers control lighting and indoor climate.
A circular stairway and internal elevator provide access to three extensive ‘walkout’ areas from where guests can soak in panoramic views, and there are spacious lounges and an atrium.
The heated salt-water pool and spa elevated above the waterways encourage all year-round relaxation and entertainment,with extensive landscaping with native and exotic planting.
The owners say they built the house to be their dream home. Photo / Supplied
Brian and Christine's dream house was at the top of the hill to give it a 360 degree view.
The building was designed had to have a large central area to connect all rooms together without hallways. Brian says that a lot of the design decisions were made on the go and the floor area kept growing as Brian and his architect were refining the layout.
“We didn’t set out to do it, but it had to be set up in proportion. The house had to be compact and make sense within itself, but it just ended up big," he says. "Every time he called me, the architect would say 'Brian, it's getting bigger!'.”
Cher in action. The owners think she would love to buy their home. Photo / Getty Images
Brian describes the resulting interior, large as it became, as homely farmhouse.
“We are not like some of Auckland architects who seem to outdo each other in outstanding weird things. We don’t have bars in the middle of the room or have a big goldfish bowl. We did this to suit ourselves and not to impress others.”
Could Cher turn this spacious room into a rehearsal room? Photo / Supplied
Putting a valuation on the house and property was was proving to be difficult, Brian says, with over 30 valuers visiting his property at once and no one able to suggest a figure.
“Valuation is based on the similar properties and there’s nothing similar. I had terrible trouble," he says, adding that replacement cost to build the house today would be around $10,000 per square metre.
The couple are leaving lamas, alpacas, donkey, sheep and geese on the peninsula as they are relocating to their next property.
If Cher says no to the opportunity, agent Esmae Ferrington says the property can be used as private retreat, permanent home or lodge with conference facilities.
“Standing at the gateway to our greatest playground, it offers all manner of tourism opportunities – easy access to some of the world’s most desirable places, such as Tutukaka, the Poor Knights and spectacular walks and beaches – not to mention the game fishing,” she says.
Ngunguru is one of Northland's hottest locations to buy property, with the median value of homes in the suburb rising 23.8 percent in the last 12 months, according to figures in the OneRoof Property Report.
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