‘Prank call’ is real deal for Wellington winner

Saturday, 17 May 2008, 11:27 am
Press Release: ASB Bank

‘Prank call’ is real deal for Wellington winner of ASB home

When Wellingtonian, Jan Compton received a call from her bank regarding her home loan she didn’t expect it to be from ASB’s Managing Director to tell her she had won her a $675,000 home.

What she initially thought was a prank call turned out to be the best birthday present she could have hoped for.

The Wellington worker was one of the 100,000-plus home loan customers who were in the draw to win a new three-bedroom, future-proofed home built by Jennian Homes for ASB in the developing community of Anselmi Ridge Pukekohe. 

For her birthday on Saturday, ASB is flying Jan to Auckland to view her new property which she can either choose to move into, rent out or sell.

Jan says the prize is of tremendous value to her. “It’s really only just sinking in and I still can’t quite believe it.  At the moment it’s early days so I’m not going to decide what I’ll do until I’ve fully explored my options. What I do know is I can’t wait to see my new house.”

Almost 3000 online voters have already made the decision Jan now faces.  The modern, executive-style home has been unfolding before viewers’ eyes on the website www.iwantahome.co.nz from the ground-up over the past six months and people were asked what they would do if they won the property. 

ASB Head of Marketing Jonathan Symons, said the voting was surprisingly evenly split.

“Of almost 3000 people voicing what they would do if they won it, 33% said it was their dream home and they would move in immediately, 36% said they would sell the property, and 31% said they would rent it out at the expected market rate of $450 per week. It’s a fairly significant sample size. 

“We’ve had thousands of visitors to this site over the six month build who’ve contributed to a number of decisions on building the house.  For example, they voted on what sort of bathroom it should have, what sort of kitchen they would like best, and they also asked multiple questions through our builder’s blog.  Our project became of genuine interest to people who were developing or renovating their own home.”

Jonathan Symons says ASB is the first bank to walk in its customers’ shoes and go through the actual process of building a home. 

“Our research told us that customers found securing the home loan was the easiest part of building or renovating.  The tough financial decisions began after that. We decided that we’d never truly understand the implications of these decisions unless we went through the building process ourselves, so we found ourselves a great building partner in Jennian Homes who worked with us to develop this lovely home.”

ASB is delighted Jan has won this home.  “Jan has had a tremendous relationship with ASB for 15 years and we’ll support whatever decision she makes about the house.  Whether Jan keeps it, or on-sells it, the eventual owner will move into a highly specified, quality Jennian Home.”

The north-facing home has three bedrooms, walk-in wardrobe, two bathrooms, a study, and double garage. It comes with kitchen appliances and soft furnishings and looks out over what will be the stunning 11.5 hectare Anselmi Ridge development, New Zealand’s first fully future-proofed community, complete with large recreation areas, a village centre waterways, walkways and a café.

Ends

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