- First-home buyers can trial Olympus apartments for 12 months before deciding whether to purchase.
- They pay $700 weekly, with their $10,000 deposit refundable if they withdraw under scheme terms.
- Half of rent paid during the trial counts towards deposits for buyers who complete settlement.
Ex-Shortland Street actor-turned property developer Ido Drent is offering first-home buyers the chance to try out apartment living before they commit to buying.
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The 39-year-old set up Elaman Property after leaving acting and has recently completed the 87-unit Olympus development in Auckland’s Mount Albert.
The try-before-you-buy offer will let eligible buyers live in the apartment of their choice for up to 12 months before deciding whether they want to buy.
The idea is that they pay $700 a week to live in the apartment, and if they decide Olympus is not the right fit, they can withdraw during the licence period with no obligation to complete the purchase and have their $10,000 deposit returned, subject to terms and conditions.
Those who keep going will have 50% of the rent paid during the licence period credited towards their deposit at settlement.
Apartments at Olympus are priced at: from $539,000 for a one-bedroom, from $699,495 for a two-bedroom, and from $799,000 for a three-bedroom.
Drent told OneRoof the offer was a win-win: not only would it spur activity in Auckland’s sluggish apartment market, but also give some breathing room for buyers who were unsure about apartment living.
Elaman Property founder and ex-Shortland Street star Ido Drent: “Coming from South Africa, you’re exposed from a very young age to some level of poverty on the streets. My parents always instilled in us this idea of generosity and making sure our lives go beyond ourselves.” Photo / Supplied
Ido Drent in an explosive scene in his Shortland Street heyday. Photo / TVNZ
Most people still dreamt of owning a three-bedroom, two-bathroom standalone house, but for many that was not possible in Auckland, he said.
Drent and Squirrel Mortgages founder John Bolton came up with the idea of try-before-you-buy for the Olympus, thinking that the offer would help buyers secure an apartment while the market was fairly flat. “You can do it in a way that’s fairly risk-free. For me it just felt like a real win-win.”
Drent wasn’t sure if the concept would have come up in a more buoyant market but said tough times called for different levels of creativity and imagination.
“What’s the saying? Smooth seas have never made a skilled sailor, right, so I feel that this is essentially a fairly turbulent time across the board for developers, and it’s made us think outside the box for sure.”
If the concept works, Elaman could consider doing the same thing in other developments. “It’s a great kind of initiative and we’re really keen to see how it goes.”
They launched the concept late last month and had an application within two days, along with “heaps” of inquiries.
“I think people are just trying to get their head around it and obviously it’s a bit of a process, but so far it’s been a really positive response.”
Olympus in Auckland’s Mount Albert is Elaman Property’s latest apartment development to come on stream. Photo / Supplied
Drent, centre, with some of his Elaman team members at their Parnell office in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
The response also includes downsizers, because while the offer is targeting first-home buyers others are not excluded from buying an Olympus apartment.
The downsizer market was one Elaman was watching as the growing retiree population would need help with accessible and affordable housing in the years to come, Drent said.
Drent, who played bad boy Daniel Potts in Shortland Street before heading to Australia and then LA to pursue acting, studied property management and valuation before acting.
Despite a passion for performing, the father of three said he was realistic when it was time to give his family more stability, hence his return to property.
Now, he loves the idea of being part of doing “cool things” in Auckland that impact the community in a positive way.
Some say that property is high risk, but to him, acting is high risk. “My response is you should try being an actor, because there you’ve got no visibility of what’s coming next. Unless you’re creating your own work, you’re always at the mercy of someone saying yes to you.”
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When he was on Shortland Street, he began investing in property in Hamilton, including providing homes for women prisoners.
He said he had no regrets letting go of acting. “I liken it to swimming with a couple of dumbbells in your hand. Like, it’s totally possible to stay afloat, but as soon as you let go, swimming becomes much easier, and for me it was very much that.”
Community-minded Drent was born in South Africa and credits his time there, and his parents, for his focus on doing good.
“Coming from South Africa, you’re exposed from a very young age to some level of poverty on the streets. My parents always instilled in us this idea of generosity and making sure our lives go beyond ourselves.”
Elaman Property has been involved in Kāinga Ora developments, and Drent said he was motivated by a desire to give people a place to call home.
“I feel if we can strengthen home, strengthen communities, that’s a really great path for us to hopefully make a positive bit of change with some of the things we’re struggling with as a society as a whole.
“For me, I feel like property is a great vehicle to do our little bit.”
Elaman’s scheme is aimed at Auckland first-home buyers, but Drent says downsizers are also a growing market. Photo / Ted Baghurst
He said there are cohorts of people who either can’t afford housing or can afford it but still need a stable place where they can heal and build a life.
In America, he saw examples of people who did not have that: “You look at a place like LA where you have got thousands of people living in tents under a bridge or on Skid Row.
“For me, I do think there’s a balance to play there for the betterment of society; we do need to take care of the most vulnerable, but then there’s a big chunk in the middle where I think we need to empower them to at least have some sort of ownership.”
The goal with Olympus was to provide people with a great opportunity in a good area with great amenities. “It’s right across the road from the park, from the motorways, all that sort of stuff, at a lower price point than what they could if they were looking at a standalone property there.”
Elaman has other Kāinga Ora projects underway, as well as terrace homes nearing completion in Onehunga and apartments launching in Northcote next year.
Their largest project to date is going through the consenting stage – a multi-level 121-apartment concept for Morningside.
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