LUCKY FIND
A tiny workman’s cottage built in the 1800s and in original condition, isn’t usually the typical purchase for a first home buyer. But for Thom and Elysia Shanks, it was the pull of the heartstrings that led them to buy a 64sqm historic Auckland home, which came complete with an outdoor shed housing the toilet and laundry.
In 2013, Thom stumbled across the rundown cottage on Trade Me on its last day of open homes. “I wasn’t that keen on the busy street but I walked through the back gate and thought ‘wow’. It was huge, it felt like a field with a historic volcanic
