Sarah Gray was 22 and studying nursing when her sister Tanya came to her with an unusual proposition. They both lived at home in Auckland's rural north, and one day Tanya “called me into her room and asked if I wanted to buy a section with her”. (“earning $17 an hour”) had some student loan saved and was shocked to find some of the houses for sale online were within her price range.
One of the locations with inexpensive houses was Raetihi, near Ohakune, in the Manawatu-Whanganui district. Close to Ruapehu (which worked for Gray as she was a lover of snow sports) the small town had houses priced from