Estate Living Magazine Retirement Living - Issue 40 April 2019 | Page 33

P R O P E R T Y
&
I N V E S T M E N T
Unique bar area
Family Brien, Dad-made jungle gym
apartment that Geoff had signed up for before he’d even met Lindy
had morphed into a house with a significantly more impressive price
tag. But they specifically wanted the security of an estate, and Geoff
loving 11-year-olds who have the run of the estate with their good
friend and neighbour Jaden. If they’re not playing with Roxy the dog
on the field, they’re riding their bikes or swimming at the clubhouse
– and Deepa has a great view of the clubhouse and the pool from
both upstairs and downstairs, so she keeps a casual eye on them,
confident that they are safe and secure. And, of course, they both
love the fact that their commute to school is super-short, as the kids’
schools are close to the estate. When they’re older, they’ll probably
walk to school.
First home
Lindy and Geoff Brien have much younger children than their
neighbours, and this is the first home they are buying. Geoff, who
was pipped at the post by Ravi, was the second person to put his
name down for a unit – back in the day.
And it’s that community that Lindy loves so much – that, and the fact
that her life is all of a sudden easier. Before, if she wanted to go to
gym, or go for a swim, or even go out for a quick coffee, it was a
mission – kids, car, traffic, the whole thing. Now she just strolls out
of the door when the mood takes her, and heads off to the on-site
gym, pool or coffee shop. As she works mostly from home, she gets
the full advantage of the lovely surroundings, and she can be a
Bottom line
It’s clear that all the residents we spoke to love living at the Oval,
and believe it was worth the wait, but Diya, Rish and Jaden didn’t
have time to tell us how they feel about living there. We got a quick
polite greeting from them before they dashed off to the pool, and
then another quick goodbye before they dried off and went to play
with Roxy on the Oval. And that – really – says it all.
And then – sadly – they realised that the nice affordable four-bed
rondeboschoval.co.za
hands-on mom while the kids are young enough to need and
appreciate that.
E
And then – okay, this is a bit of a love story – he and Lindy met, got
married, moved into a nice flat, had two kids, David and Katie, and
waited. And waited. And waited.
They were the third family to move in, and pretty rapidly found firm
friends in Debbie, Graham, Ravi and Deepa, and David often hangs
out with Jaden, Rish and Diya, even though they’re significantly
older. But – hey – the community is growing. Debbie and Graham
were the sole residents for over a month. Then there were two, then
three, and now there are five. Another three or four families are set to
move in any day, and more will follow, so soon there will be younger
children.
And, here’s the crazy thing: he was single at the time, but he knew
he wanted a safe, secure place to bring up the family he was – at
that stage – just dreaming about, and he was determined to not be
the kind of dad who gets home from work after the kids are in bed.
So it was the location and the super-quick commute that attracted
him. And, while the interminable red tape carried on, he resisted
the temptation to buy another home, and rather bought investment
properties – specifically student houses.
still had the dream of being the dad who was there at bath time, so
they opted for three bedrooms, did some scrimping and some re-
bonding of investment properties, and committed.