Charity houses open for inspection | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

For five months Bay of Plenty Polytechnic students have hammered away, measured up, sanded and sawed - and now two houses are complete and going to auction.

Thirty-two Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Certificate in Carpentry Level 3 students from two classes have spent from May to September building two houses, which will be auctioned at the end of the month.

Some of the proceeds will go to Homes of Hope, a housing shelter, which is a haven for foster children to stay in.

Frank Vosper, of Vosper Realty, has agreed to auction and market the houses pro bono.

The project, which first featured in the Bay of Plenty Times, in June, is now completed and the houses will be open for viewing at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's Windermere campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting next week, from 1pm to 2.30pm.

The auction is at 1pm, October 30, at the polytechnic.

One house is just a lined shell, and the other, carpeted with a fully fitted bathroom and kitchen with fridge and dishwasher.

Financial Independence is providing insurance to cover the house move, plus the first 12 months of house insurance, once relocated.

Placemakers, Carpet Court, Armstrong Plumbing Bay of Plenty, Supreme Lock and Hardware, House Transporters and Resene have also provided goods and services at either no cost, or with heavy discounts.

Group leader of carpentry at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Brian Dillon said the students had done a fantastic job pulling the project together.

"Students have really bought into the whole idea and are excited to think that within a few months someone is going to be living in the houses they have built."

The houses are available to view on Vosper Realty, Trade Me and Open2View websites.

Homes of Hope funding and marketing manager Dorothy Forbes said the organisation was very grateful. It desperately needed the money.

"We currently have 19 children in our care and a further six [Tauranga] children in Auckland. We would care for more, if we could get the funding."