Slice of Paradise: Kevin's dream Kaiwaka section

Kevin, a schoolteacher on Auckland's North Shore, signed on to Three's Slice of Paradise, an eight-episode series which follows Kiwi individuals, couples and families as they work to enter or move up the property ladder hosted by Shelley Ferguson and Peter Wolfkamp. Kevin wanted to find a piece of land he could build his dream shed on. He wanted to find somewhere north of the city that he could commute to but instead, wound up with a section in Kaiwaka, 1.5 hours north of Auckland.

Kevin was surprised by how long the house hunting process took, as well as finding the properties, there were the open homes to go to, before even looking at getting a mortgage and purchasing.

"It's just such a long waiting game. Towards the end there it was like, 'when is this going to happen?' It felt like it was never going to happen."

After his time on the property reality show, new landowner Kevin says his best moment on the show was when he finally signed off to buy his new section.

"When the title comes through it's like, finally, I've actually got it!" he says.

Following the purchase of his new section, Kevin quit his job in Auckland and returned to his roots as a builder. He's now spending his time cleaning up the section and planning what to build on it.

Although Kevin's building plans are undecided, one thing he's sure about is that he'll be planting lots of native trees around his property.

While on Three's Slice of Paradise Kevin checked out half a dozen properties and admits there were some he saw which he wonders whether it was the right call to pass on.

"There's a tendency for people to try and find their 'dream property' on the first go," Kevin says. "Instead of straight away looking for your number one dream property where you're going to raise your kids and be there forever, you've got to start small and work up to it – it's a stepping stone."

As a keen hunter and fisher, Kevin thinks the Kaiwaka section is perfect for him and admits that "I feel as if I've actually found that [dream property]!"

Watch Slice Of Paradise on Three every Wednesday at 7:30pm.