- Moire and Neil Mathieson are selling their heritage manor after a decade-long insurance battle.
- The Christchurch earthquakes damaged their pre-school and home, forcing the sale to fund repairs.
- The property is marketed as a "rare opportunity" for investors, with hopes to preserve its history.
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A Christchurch couple are selling a beloved heritage manor "as is, where is" after a frustrating decade-long fight with their insurer.
Moire and Neil Mathieson told OneRoof that they need to offload the landmark property at 307 New Brighton Road, in Burwood, to finish earthquake repairs on their own home in Mount Pleasant.
The riverside property dates back to the late 1800s and used to be the local vicarage.
The Mathiesons bought it in 2006 for $600,000 and turned it into a pre-school, which opened for business in 2008.
Three years later, the couple's business dreams were shattered by the catastrophic earthquakes that hit Christchurch. The quakes not only damaged the pre-school, but also their home in Mount Pleasant.
The pre-school the couple ran out of the building was shut after the Christchurch earthquakes. Photo / Supplied
The Mathiesons were forced to close the pre-school permanently and have been trying to find a new owner for the property since 2021.
The latest attempt has seen their agents pitch the house as a "rare opportunity for investors, developers and visionaries seeking scale, location and exceptional potential".
The damage caused by the earthquakes has been a millstone around the couple's necks. It took three years of arguments and delays with the Christchurch City Council and their business insurer to get their pre-school back up and running – albeit at a different address.
However, the tussle with the insurer of their personal home had forced them to sell the old vicarage, Moire told OneRoof.
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“[Our business insurer] was onto things with the preschool, but our personal situation at home ... we had a 10-year battle over the wording of our policy,” Moire said.
The couple was under the impression that their home was insured for replacement, but it only had indemnity insurance.
"It should have been the same for both [properties],” Moire said. “Somewhere along the line, they changed it on us, and we don't know where.
The couple took their insurer to court. What they got out of them in the end covered their lawyers' fees, Moire said. "The insurer fought hard. They were prepared to spend $800-$900 an hour on their lawyers from Auckland coming all the way down to fight the battle, and were struggling to pay $350-$450 an hour for our lawyer.”
The couple eventually gave up. “If we were younger, we would probably have fought harder,” Moire said.
The couple have done some of the repair work, but still need to address the foundations and rebuild lava rock pillars.
"We are still trying to repair our own personal house, and we've decided that we now have to very sadly let somebody else take over 307 New Brighton Road,” Moire said.
She added: “We need to leave that to someone younger, with vision and enthusiasm, who can see the incredible potential of the vicarage.
“It has beautiful grounds for kids to play in. It has the river across the road. It's perfect for a family or somebody who wants to use it to live in and for business.”
She hopes that a buyer will come along who wants to save the existing buildings, rather than demolish and rebuild. "We do not have enough history in Christchurch now.”
Ray White listing agent Ali Ahmadi told OneRoof that he had received enquiries from as far afield as Auckland, and he could see that the listing was being viewed online in multiple regions.
Interested buyers had asked about the property's history, the New Brighton area, and developments in the neighbourhood.
- 307 New Brighton Road, Burwood, Christchurch, is for sale, deadline closing July 15
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