The only solution was to underground the wires, until they had to pay!
A family who lost their home, with no insurance, had one way to recover: developing the land. Their engineering assessment found the site did not comply. The overhead line’s clearance came in under 5 metres from the ground, below the safety code requirement.
Vector’s first quote to fix it was $249,000, to underground the wires. The developer had been asking for months whether a cheaper option existed. Once we pointed out that the line itself did not comply with the safety code, Vector offered a mid-span pole instead, the solution the developer had been asking about all along.
For years I would plan houses, travel widely and observe communities. I also had the privilege of working for New Zealand's largest dairy company in both New Zealand and Malaysia. All the while supported by my husband and young daughter. After a while, our roles swapped and we moved to the Arabian Gulf. Meanwhile my passion for property and communities continued to simmer.
Along came COVID and had no choice but to pivot... in the words of Robert Frost, I looked for and "found the road less travelled by" and decided that maybe I could "make [a] the difference".
I look for to find insights and built a few of the houses that we need. This means a saleable house and a profitable and sustainable business.
