Fred & Rae Harris

Manawatu

Whilst on holiday in Australia in 2012, and at the age of 69-70 we decided to downsize our home which was large for just the two of us. We decided to downsize and build a 3 bedroom town house on a small section - that was the first decision we made.

I was driving past Fowler Homes one day when I decided to call in and have a talk about building as we hadn't built for 47 years since our first home, so to see if we could, I stopped and opened the door.

Walking in I was welcomed by owner Shane Walker. We engaged in conversation about what we could build. Shane was polite, and enthusiastic towards me as we talked. It turned out that not only did I know him before he had worked for himself, it turned out that I was at school with his father and his grandfather was a foreman at the company in which I secured an apprenticeship.

This made it a lot easier to convey what we wanted. Shane invited my wife and I to call round and have a look at his home, as it was a 3 bedroom home on a small section.

Well we could say the rest is history now but we won't. We had plans drawn up and by the time Megan came back from her big OE, we were sort of on the way. Megan stepped in and took over the plans and found we had to make some alterations, as they were wrong. Megan's enthusiasm was fantastic, she was a real professional.

As we were going through the contract procedure, we met an old friend Maureen Maunder, who we had known for some years. Megan gave way to Maureen and the team was completed. Maureen and Rae chose colours, and we both had a hand in the tiles and carpet.

Building started and it went smoothly. The finished home is fantastic, the builders workmanship spot on, the painting is excellent and we have no major problems with products in our home. Conclusion of our home was a roof shout, and a tea for the whole team at our home to show off our completed house. Shane is a perfectionist in what it should finish up like.

The house has everything we want for our retirement and more. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Shane, Megan and Maureen for something special in our lives, a home with everything we need, and we don't have to have tradies coming backwards and forwards to do maintenance all the time.