- Steve Chadwick sold her Maketū bach after upkeep became too much.
- Local buyers quickly purchased the property, which sold above its land value of $520,000.
- The bach was a cherished retreat for Chadwick and her late husband since the late 1990s.
Former Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick has told OneRoof she feels “enormously relieved” after selling her much-loved family bach.
Start your property search
Chadwick, who resigned from local government in 2022, put her two-bedroom bach with a large garden in Maketū, Western Bay of Plenty, on the market at the end of February after the upkeep became too much for her.
Chadwick said local buyers had fallen in love with the cottage and snapped it up. EVES listing agent Katie Burke told OneRoof that the buyers were the first people to view the property.
Chadwick stepped down as Rotorua’s mayor in 2022 and is now enjoying retirement. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said there had been some overseas interest in the bach but “when it came to the crunch, they just couldn’t get their affairs in order”.
The new owners moved to the area not too long ago and planned to do up the bach. “They just love the peace and quiet out there, but the fact it’s still close to everything,” Burke told OneRoof.
“You feel like you are in a completely different spot, but you are still so close to Papamoa and all the hustle and bustle. It’s so nice and quiet out there, it’s lovely.”
Discover more:
- Tux Wonder Dogs host Mark Leishman finds loving family for his country escape
- Farming guru selling his off-grid wonder - 'we could have Armageddon and I'd still be OK'
- Bush shack in West Auckland's hippy enclave looking for a brave buyer ... with a good 'aura'
Burke declined to reveal the exact sale price but confirmed it was above the land value of $520,000.
She highlighted the speed of the sale, explaining that homes in Te Puke and Maketū often sat on the market longer because the buyer pool for the area was small. “We had that four-week deadline, and the house sold a couple of days after the deadline, so really good.”
The two-bedroom cottage was in a run-down state when Chadwick bought it in the late 1990s. Photo / Andrew Supplied
Chadwick and her late husband John bought the Church Road property in the late 1990s for $100,000. She told OneRoof in February the cottage was their hideaway - a place where they could get away from it all and spend time in the garden.
The retired politician earlier told OneRoof that she was the Rotorua MP at the time and wanted a bach that was close to home. “I had become an MP and I quickly learned you didn’t get a day at home. You did not get a break.”
The bach, fondly known by the Chadwicks as their whare, became the place where they sat around a fire singing, eating, and spending time with friends and family.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Bay of Plenty
