A popular social media influencer and health specialist is selling her Hawke’s Bay home to fund expensive treatment for her extremely rare and aggressive cancer.
Mother-of-four Gina Urlich, who was given the shock diagnosis that she had stage 4 stomach cancer in January, put her “beautiful home” on the market last week.
“We love this home and have lots of beautiful memories here, but the priority is to simplify our lives, move closer to family and fund my treatment,” Urlich posted on Instagram last week.
The impending sale comes after a tough nine months for the 39-year-old who has bravely shared her journey with her now 100,000-plus followers on her social media accounts, which mainly focus on women’s health issues.
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It was on the same social media platforms that she initially broke the devastating news about her cancer diagnosis at the beginning of the year, saying it felt like a “bad dream”.
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“I need to wipe this from my body. I’ve been told to throw everything at this and I will do whatever it takes. I have so much to fight for,” the health specialist and baby food business owner wrote.
Months later Urlich shared how she had undergone a massive life-saving surgery, which was followed by a post in July that they would have to sell their four-year-old home in Havelock North home to fund immunotherapy cancer treatment that was not covered by her insurance.
Oliver Road agent Nic Goodman is one of Urlich’s 100,000-plus Instagram followers and saw the post. “As a mother of three kids, I thought there’s not much I can do to help her, but I know how to sell houses and I’d seen little snippets of her house on social media and thought we will be able to do an epic job of this. And if anyone is going to be able to sell their house for a great price then we will be able to,” she told OneRoof.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom property on Kahuranaki Road, in Havelock North, was completed in 2020. Photo / Supplied
The modern home has good open-plan living. Photo / Supplied
Goodman, who lives in Havelock North but sells all over Hawke’s Bay, didn’t know Urlich personally and reached out via a mutual friend to offer to coordinate the sale at no cost. She also rallied up other providers of the real estate sector such as a photographer, videographer, home-stager, and building inspector.
The situation was “heart-breaking”, she said, and the family was now having to sell what was meant to be a forever home.
The listing for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom open-plan home with a separate one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment went live at the end of the week and the interest so far had been “incredible”.
“She [Urlich] shared it and it almost crashed our website.”
Heart-breaking predicament: Urlich and her family - husband Dylan and children Isla, Boston, Billie and Dylan. Photo / Rachel Burt Photography
The triple bay shed has a one-bedroom apartment attached to it returning $550 a week in rent. Photo / Supplied
Goodman said it was a lovely property which “offered a lot” and would appeal to families, downsizers and anyone looking for a home and income property. “It’s quite new, nice and open-plan, it’s got those incredible views, it’s got a beautiful pool and then it’s got a huge shed with an apartment at the end of it.” The apartment was rented out for $550 a week and the large shed would also appeal to a lot of people, she said.
The impressive home was a 15-minute drive from Havelock North and set on a 1.47ha section overlooking Mt Erin and Te Mata Peak.
The couple paid $2.13 million for the home in August 2022. The property is being sold by tender and Goodman is inviting interest from $2m.
While she didn’t know their exact plans, it was her understanding that they would move closer to town while remaining in Hawke’s Bay. “I just want to get the best outcome for them.”
- 969 Kahuranaki Road, in Havelock North, in Hawke's Bay, is for sale, deadline closing October 4
