“I wanted to be somewhere very accessible to the supermarket, cafes, restaurants and in easy walking distance to the city,” says Lyn, “And The Greenhouse ticks everything on the list.”

She loves that she can just pop across the road for an avocado, a bottle of milk or anything else she needs from Woolworths, but admits she doesn’t spend hours preparing meals.

“I’m not big on cooking,” she laughs. “So, I tend to just head out to a restaurant, and I’m completely spoilt for choice here – there are so many wonderful places I can walk to very easily. Often, I’ll invite friends over to my apartment for a drink and then we’ll just walk somewhere nice for dinner.”

It’s not just delicious food or the occasional tipple that’s handy to home, Lyn is a regular at Anytime Fitness, a premium 24/7 gym that’s right next door and her car servicing place is directly across the road. Not that she needs to use her car very often.

“I love walking and I hardly used my car in the first year I lived in The Greenhouse because I could walk virtually everywhere I wanted to go. I am using it more at the moment because my mother has just gone into care, and I’m driving to Hillsborough to see her a lot more than when she was still in her own apartment and more independent.” 

As the Auckland Branch Chair of the Body Corporate Chairs Group, Lyn also knew a thing or two about which developer she wanted to buy an apartment from.

“I’ve been involved in the Body Corporate Chairs Group for more than 12 years,” Lyn explains. “So, I’m very familiar with the reputations of developers of apartment complexes nationwide and I know which ones have issues. I felt quite confident about buying from Ockham.”

Lyn says there is a mix of people living at The Greenhouse – people who have downsized from large homes, people like herself who have moved from another apartment complex, and a number of people who have other properties such as beach houses or country places that they head to in the weekend.

Despite their differences, she adds that the residents do get together fairly regularly. “We had our Christmas party in the residents’ lounge and we have social drinks every four to six weeks and we have a pretty good attendance at those. I think the younger ones probably socialise a bit more. Some residents host friends and family in the residents’ lounge as there’s a full kitchen there, which is nice if they don’t have space to have a lot of people in their apartment.”  

When asked about what else she loves about her apartment, Lyn points out that thanks to double-glazing, it’s quiet and incredibly warm. “I think I’ve put the heat pump on maybe two or three times over the winter and only at night. I also enjoy the views from my balcony – I can see out to the Waitākere Ranges, the upper harbour and I can lean across and see the Sky Tower.”

She also likes that there is electric vehicle charging in every carpark. “I haven't got an EV,” she admits. “But people who do, it's all there. It would certainly be a deciding factor for me if I’m purchasing a new vehicle in the future.”

Lyn owns a one bedroom plus flexi apartment, which works well for her as she uses the flexi as an office. She owned a manufacturing jewellery company for many years and now focuses on private commission work. The space also doubles as a bedroom for her grandson when he comes to stay.

“It was important for me to have a separate space for working,” says Lyn. “I’ve got a couch in there that folds out to a Queen-sized bed, so it works when my daughter is over from Australia too. Both bedrooms have very good built-in storage, which really helps with a small space. Of course, the advantage of having not having a large house is that it takes me half an hour to clean the whole place from top to bottom!”