He took on a run-down cottage expecting a quick flip. Then he discovered what he'd really bought

Monday, 29 June 2026

Jason Hotop spent seven years renovating Katherine Mansfield's childhood summer cottage in Eastbourne, originally planning a six-month flip before discovering its literary significance.

The Glen is believed to have inspired the 1922 short story, At the Bay.

The cottage had been converted into flats in 1951 and rented out for decades, with two flats in serious disrepair before renovation.

When Jason Hotop first laid eyes on the tired cottage in Wellington's seaside suburb of Eastbourne, he figured it would be a quick six-month renovation before he flipped it.

That was seven years ago.

'What happened is I discovered the history of the house. I fell in love with it, and did a complete U-turn,' says Hotop.

Because this was no ordinary house. It was the cottage where renowned novelist Katherine Mansfield spent her childhood summers.

Known as The Glen, it is believed to have inspired her 1922 short story At the Bay. The exact date of its construction isn't clear, but Hotop believes it dates to about 1905.

The property in 2019 which Jason Hotop and his family bought 'as is, where is'.

Literary masterpieces, however, were the last thing on his mind when he first got the keys.

'Once I opened the door, I fell through the floor about three times.'

It had been bought 'as is, where is' for $410,000 – $25,000 above the CV.

One complication was the home's Category II Heritage New Zealand listing.

The house had been converted into flats in 1951 and had been rented out ever since. Two of the flats had fallen into serious disrepair and, in an interview with Stuff in 2019, Hotop admitted: 'You wouldn't put your dog in there.'

At the time he also joked: 'I don't know if we're crazy or mad.'

The kitchen is part of the open-plan living.

Seven years on, does he still feel the same?

'I was a bit of both.'

The renovation became, as he describes it, a 'work of passion and love'.

Although not a licensed builder himself, Hotop tackled the jobs he could while bringing in professionals for the rest.

Currently in three flats and in serious need of repair, this Eastbourne cottage is believed to have inspired Mansfield's short story, 'At the Bay'.

'I've re-piled the entire house. New ceilings, floors, external walls, everything's insulated. This house will be here for another 100 years now.'

He modernised the interior by opening up the kitchen and living spaces, adding two bathrooms, renovating the bedrooms and building a large studio at the rear of the property, now used as additional accommodation.

There are three bedrooms in the cottage with more accommodation in the studio.

One complication was the home's Category II Heritage New Zealand listing.

'We were a little bit locked with the internal layout because of the heritage listing, and I couldn't move windows. It was all the fittings, the features, and the quality of how I wanted to do it that became important.'

There were frustrations with the heritage process, particularly after he discovered a photograph of the original house in the Alexander Turnbull Library.

'I wanted to put a rectangular window in a landscape orientation in the new scullery, which faces east that no one could see, and every other house is portrait landscape, and they wouldn't allow it.'

The front stairs also became a sticking point.

'It's frustrating because for 70 years, no one cared about this house, and then I find a photo in the National Archives, and all of a sudden the council's telling me I have to have exactly the same amount of posts there, and the verandah has not been there since 1950.

Hotop has enjoyed the renovation process, despite some niggles.

'I told them, ‘look, I'm doing a heritage-listed house. You need to be a bit more lenient’, but they weren't, unfortunately.'

Despite the occasional headaches, Hotop says he loved the restoration and counts the rebuilt verandah among his favourite features.

'In the summer, it almost gets too hot to sit out there. It's incredible, because you can watch the sunrises and sunsets.'

One warning for the next owners, though: Katherine Mansfield fans have a habit of appearing unannounced.

'I've had busloads turn up. I can see them down the end of the drive, and so I'll tell them to come up. I don't usually let them in the house, but they can take photos on the veranda.'

When he first bought the property, some admirers hoped it would become a writers' retreat or museum.

'Obviously, that wasn't what I was going to do, because I was turning it into a family home.'

Now Hotop says it's time to move on. He's already bought another project nearby — one without heritage restrictions.

'I've raised my children here, and it's warm, it's comfortable, and it's beautiful. It's still in such amazing condition, and someone else can enjoy it.

'I can go and do it again, which is what I want to do.

'All my trades are Eastbourne locals. I fish with them, I golf with them. I made some really good friends through building this house, and I'll make some more during the next one as well.'

The CV on 283A Muritai Road was $930,000 on August 1, 2025 but this is unlikely to reflect the sale price. It is to be sold by auction on July 23 and is listed with Annette Sliper and Mark Sliper at Ray Whites.

Readers are advised to do their own due diligence when considering buying a home. A first point of reference could be government website settled.govt.nz, or our email course, the First-time Buyers Club.