"Give a busy person a job" is Penny Gaylor's answer to why she's selling her home at the same time as campaigning for NZ First as a candidate for Kāpiti, sitting on the Greater Wellington Regional Council, chairing the Ōtaki College board, and parenting.
The politician decided it was time to sell because her lawnmowing man, AKA her son Giorgio, was about to pack up and head off to university, leaving her home alone.
Giorgio, she said, was also "handy with a Hoover" and was the resident chef for the house.
"I have this 340sqm house. The last of my three sons is about to leave home, and I am losing my lawnmower man. I thought, 'Oh well, next phase in life. It's time to downsize and put it on the market,'" Gaylor told OneRoof.
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Spring was as good a time as any to put the five-bedroom house at 219 Mill Road, in Otaki, on the market, despite the second garage, which usually doubles as a rumpus room and golf driving range, being packed full of NZ First paraphernalia.
"There is a saying, if you want a job done, give it to a busy person," Gaylor said. "And, what, it's springtime and I was like, 'Well, I'd rather be doing it now than say I got elected and I get even busier'. So, tear into it."
Gaylor in 2022. "I have this 340sqm house. The last of my three sons is about to leave home, and I am losing my lawnmower man." Photo / Kapiti News
Gaylor loves the sunniness of the home, the cathedral ceiling and the neighbouring tennis courts the family can use outside of school hours. Photo / Supplied
Gaylor said life was less busy than it was when she had three energetic boys at home. "I've only got one left at home. He's really busy himself as head boy of the college. But we teamed up and got the house ready. I'm loving all my beautiful purple irises coming up around the garden. I've got some lovely blossom colours and the magnolias look really lovely."
Gaylor bought the house in 2018 for $770,000 after seeing it advertised online. "My heart went to it straight away. I was visualising immediately where I'd put different bits of furniture. The interiors had been all repainted; there were new curtains, a new ensuite and new patios.
"What caught my heart also was that it was really private. I love the serenity of this place. It's really good for me. It's really restoring. When you have a busy public life, you have to be ready for work conversations every time you get past the letterbox."
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The family moved in just as Gaylor's boys headed to secondary school. They had the shortest commute to school of all their friends, with Ōtaki College on the other side of the fence.
Across the road is a public swimming pool, a playground, a basketball court and other community facilities, and Ōtaki Railway Station is only a short walk away. Currently there is only one train in the morning for Wellington commuters at 7.15am. But that is about to change when the Tūhono battery-electric hybrid trains arrive in 2028/29. They will double peak services to two each way and shave 15 minutes off the total travel time to Wellington.
"That's the work I've done to expand the public transport offering as chair of the regional transport committee. And the hybrid electric trains are being built right now," she said. The bus service to Waikanae is also being improved.
What Gaylor will miss about the home most is the sun. "It's a really sunny house. There are lots of windows and 10 doors to the outside. So, your indoor-outdoor flow is constant. We have lots of people staying, and we use the [property] for home and fun.
Gaylor added the pool that her boys, their friends, and the extended family have enjoyed thoroughly. Photo / Supplied
Now that the boys have flown the nest, Gaylor has decided it's time to downsize. Photo / Supplied
"I'm really pleased I put the pool just outside the window there because you've got an all-year-round water view."
The boys will miss the proximity to school, their big bedrooms and walk-in wardrobes, Gaylor said.
She added that the house felt homely but also had big cathedral ceilings. "People always say, 'Wow, look at your ceilings."
Gaylor is 19th on NZ First's party list and told OneRoof that if elected to Parliament, she would move to Wellington. "I'm going to wait and see because I have my eyes set on a bigger house, the House of Representatives. I don't need too many plans all at once, and I don't want to overthink it right now. I've got enough on my plate. I'm campaigning hard for New Zealand First and keeping the house tidy. So, there's plenty for me to think about."
Gaylor started her political career on the Ōtaki Community Board, became an Ōtaki Ward councillor on the Kāpiti District Council and was then voted onto the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Her house is for sale with Tall Poppy agent Jayden Matthews, who told OneRoof it was at the upper end of the town's property market. "There aren't many places in Ōtaki that offer almost an acre in the middle of town. It's certainly a pretty special property in that regard."
- 219 Mill Road, Otaki, Kapiti Coast, is for sale, deadline closing November 12
