Episode summary

Vanessa knocked $2,500 off the price of her first home because it didn’t have a heat pump, then spent the savings putting one in. She never lived there, and she still owns it.

Rishi made the decision to buy and renovate a home with a mate after a 30-minute chat in the car. And Sarah spent a fortnight painting over a very yellow interior.

In this bonus episode, the three people who usually ask the questions on It all starts here answer them instead. realestate.co.nz Chief Executive Sarah Wood, GM of Sales Rishi Ankus and GM of Customer Vanessa Williams sit down at the same table as their guests.

They talk about what home meant growing up, from a renovated country villa to a house that was always full of family. And of course, what their dream homes would look like if they won Lotto tomorrow.

Highlights

• Vanessa was a rentvestor before she’d heard the word. Her first home was a house in Napier she bought to rent out because she couldn’t afford to buy in Auckland, where she lived, and she negotiated $2,500 off the asking price to cover a heat pump.
• Rishi saved for a rental property while living at home at 23. After the building inspection, he and the builder friend who’d done it sat in the car and decided, in about 30 minutes, to buy the house together. They went on to buy and renovate more properties as a team.
• Sarah and her husband bought their first home at 26, negotiating after it passed in at auction. The interior was very yellow, so she spent a couple of weeks painting the whole thing, and she still thinks of that house fondly.
• Rishi took on the painting in that first renovation, thinking he’d landed the easy job. He hasn’t picked up a brush since.
• If Lotto came good, Sarah wants somewhere warm and quiet looking out to Lake Wānaka or the sea, Vanessa needs a four-storey shoe wardrobe and a bath with a view, and Rishi is heading for a Manhattan penthouse over Central Park.

Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome, and meet Sarah, Rishi and Vanessa

[00:15] What home meant growing up: a country villa, Mum’s cooking and a house full of family

[01:48] Vanessa’s first home: rentvesting in Napier

[02:41] Rishi’s first property, and a 30-minute decision in the car

[04:11] Sarah’s first home and a very yellow interior

[04:41] Why painting is the hardest job in a renovation

[05:31] Lotto dream homes

[07:19] Thanks for listening

Links

realestate.co.nz: https://www.realestate.co.nz

Sarah Wood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjanewood

Vanessa Williams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaritawilliams/

Rishi Ankus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishi-ankus-926b1489/

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Find your perfect property at realestate.co.nz

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Episode summary

Richard Thode didn’t recognise the address at first. Then he looked it up and realised he’d been asked to appraise the Meadowbank A-frame he lived in as a teenager.

Richard is Ray White’s number one salesperson nationwide, but his first sales gig started much closer to home, with budgies bred in an aviary he and his dad built in the bush behind their home. He talks to host Rishi Ankus about a family that kept moving up, the first home he and wife Kate renovated themselves, and why he’d keep working even after a Lotto win.

Highlights

• Walking into the appraisal, his first thought was “that was my bedroom there”. The house still had its two A-frames, set among the bush.
• As a teenager he bred budgies and sold them for about $10 each, then moved on to doing up second-hand bikes, hand-painting them and selling them on.
• His family moved every three or four years, with his mum improving each house before they stepped up to the next. The first home he remembers is where his father started the family business from the garage.
• The first home Richard bought was a stucco house, bought for about $160,000. They painted it, put in a new kitchen, redid the bathroom and garden, then subdivided with the neighbour and sold.

Guest bio

Richard Thode is a licensee salesperson at Ray White Epsom, where he leads Team Thode. Ranked Ray White’s number one salesperson nationwide, he brings more than 30 years of residential, commercial and high-end development property experience.

Host bio

Rishi Ankus is General Manager of Sales at realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s longest-standing property portal, running since 1996, before Google even existed. Today it connects millions of Kiwis with homes, rentals and commercial spaces every month. Rishi leads the team that works directly with real estate agents, offices and property managers right across the country, which keeps him close to the industry’s day-to-day pulse.

Links

realestate.co.nz: https://www.realestate.co.nz

Richard Thode, Ray White Epsom: https://rwepsom.co.nz/agents/richard-thode/111117

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richardrealestatenz/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamthoderealestate/

If Richard’s story has you thinking about the home where it started for you, follow It all starts here wherever you get your podcasts.

Find your perfect property at realestate.co.nz

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Sarah Wood’s first job in property was holding the other end of the tape measure while her dad, a property valuer, measured up houses by hand. Property was what got talked about around the kitchen table, in the countryside villa her parents renovated.

This time the tables are turned. The CEO of realestate.co.nz takes the guest seat opposite Vanessa Williams, who jokes that interviewing her boss could be a career-limiting move. Sarah talks about a Laura Ashley bedroom where everything matched, working in her dad’s valuation business at 17, and the little Remuera house she bought with her husband after ten years of flatting, the first place where she could close the door and keep the outside world out.

She also owns up to a competitive streak she didn’t notice until she was 20, the push to launch AI image search first, and a Spotify age of 21. As realestate.co.nz turns 30, it’s a chance to hear where the person leading it started.

Highlights

• Her dad was a property valuer, and back when it was all done manually Sarah held the other end of the tape measure. At 17 she worked in his valuation business, collecting debtors and tidying up reports before heading to university in Auckland.
• Her bedroom at five was Laura Ashley from wallpaper to curtains to cushions, maroon and white with flowers, all matching. “I like a bit of consistency,” she says.
• After ten years of flatting, including a big Epsom villa full of flatmates and fun in 1996, the year realestate.co.nz launched, she and her husband bought a three-bedroom weatherboard in Remuera. It was sunny and quiet, and it was theirs.
• She didn’t realise she was competitive until she was 20 years old. At work that shows up as wanting to be first, which most recently included leading the team to launch AI image search before their competitors, a tool she’s since used to help a friend with finding a rental property to buy in Taupō with lake views.

Timestamps

[00:44] Turning the tables: Vanessa interviews her boss

[01:08] A matching Laura Ashley bedroom and a childhood on the farm

[03:18] Holding the tape measure for her valuer dad, plus a fairy photo shoot

[05:06] The Remuera house that was finally theirs

[06:15] Becoming CEO, and being told she’s not the CEO at home

[08:35] 1996, a competitive streak and being first with AI image search

[15:56] A Spotify age of 21 and what tells her she’s home

[18:37] Advice to her younger self and the Lotto house

Guest bio

Sarah Wood is the CEO of realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s longest-standing property portal, running since 1996, before Google even existed. Today it connects millions of Kiwis with homes, rentals and commercial spaces every month, and she’s leading its move into AI-powered property search. She is a regular commentator on the property market and the economic conditions shaping it, including the Official Cash Rate (OCR) and what each decision means for buyers and sellers.

Host bio

Vanessa Williams is General Manager – Customer at realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s longest-standing property portal. She’s one of two voices behind The New Zealand Property Report, realestate.co.nz’s monthly read on the market, alternating as spokesperson with CEO Sarah Wood, and she’s the resident property expert on Frances Cook’s Making Cents podcast. With more than a decade at the company, she’s known for translating realestate.co.nz’s own listings, stock and price data into practical guidance for buyers, sellers and renters.

If Sarah’s tape measure took you back to the house you grew up in, follow It all starts here wherever you get your podcasts.

Find your perfect property at realestate.co.nz

Follow realestate.co.nz on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/realestate.co.nz), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/realestate.co.nz) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realestate-co-nz/)

Follow “It all starts here” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart or YouTube so you don't miss the next one

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.