I read an interesting comment somewhere, where a lady invited a group of her friends over to lovingly point out all the problems they saw (through fresh eyes) with her home on preparation for sale. She said she was surprised at marks and damage that she had lived with for so long she no longer noticed them. We "owner built" a home previously, and when we came to sell 7 years later, we painted the garage and did those jobs that we had put off, and it became sad to finally see her at her best, at the end, when we could have been living in a completely finished home all that time. I read about a lady who decluttered her home, had it professionally cleaned (build clean, or bond clean) and had a professional styler do her home and she realised just how nice it could be and decided not to sell. :) ta

Personally I would save the room you want done the most until last - often during renovations, whether you're doing it yourself or paying someone, you still get sick of the mess, having other people in your home every day etc and what happens is you finish one room and want a break which can lead on to eith takgin months or not getting the last rooms done at all. If the last room is the one most important to you, you will continue on until that one is completed and this gives a much better feeling of satisfaction than doing that room first because you have that build up of anticipation.

Two things come to mind; -it is possible that there are two separate files and you have received only one. It may depend on the way the properties have been legally defined. Having two addresses is not necessarily the same as two legal titles. Check the type of title and whether it has been subdivided, cross leased etc. this should be on your title which you will have got a copy of when you purchased. If you do not know where that is, you can get a new copy from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) for just a few dollars. I would also phone the council and ask them to check whether there is more than one file that could relate to your property. I think they would be helpful with that request. - this goes back to before the 1990s, when we got permits rather than Building Consents, and less information was required to be submitted. The older the files, the less complete they are likely to be.I would not expect to get complete information on work done in the 1960s, but you can hope for it.

Hi Lucy, So worth doing this research at the planning stage, well done. Check out our Ideas for practical kitchens including the 5 task zones here : https://www.blum.com/nz/en/ideas/overview/ If you would like a free copy of our Kitchen Inspirations Magazine please private message your address/phone to Blum New Zealand. All the best for your project, Blum NZ Team