• Because foregoing brunches and coffees will only get you so far (nowhere).

This is a story about how the stars aligned for us to be able to get where we are – a two-bedroom do-up with a damp basement in west Auckland.

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On the ladder: Two years of saving and two years of renovation on a ‘do-up’
On the ladder: First home at 21, now they have 3 at 25
On the ladder: Meet Kristi Atkins, who bought her first home at 21
On the ladder: DIYer Crestine Carson renovates an ‘ugly duckling’ first home

CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAXNZ
Auckland’s booming property market means buying the same house today would need almost triple the deposit as the family had in 2014.

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