Sue Morris is hoping for one last Christmas in her new home but must first repair it after it was stripped of its fittings before she could move in.

A dying mother's dream of giving her children a home for Christmas is in tatters after the houses she bought were stripped of all fittings before she could move in.

Sue Morris, who has terminal liver cancer, must now virtually rebuild the Kakaramea homes she bought at a mortgagee auction with her sister-in-law Larissa Morris in July. The pair were planning to make a new life for their children.

"The idea was she would live in one and I'd live in the other, with our children - we have six between us.

"There is some land with the houses and we were going to work it together, have a stall at the gate and take vegetables and plants to market in Whanganui. Together we have the necessary resources to do that," she said.

However, things didn't go as planned. Most mortgagee sales are not usually offered with vacant possession and do not include chattels such as electrical components and bathroom fittings, which was something Morris soon discovered.

The previous occupant of the South Taranaki homes did not move out when Morris wanted them to, she said.

The two women sought an order from the Tenancy Tribunal to gain control of the properties but by the time they could move in the wiring had been stripped and the plugs and light sockets removed. The hot water cylinder, bath, shower, laundry tubs, kitchen, skirting boards and scotia were also taken out.

At the same time as this was happening Morris was diagnosed with terminal cancer in her liver.

"I'd put the tiredness and exhaustion down to the stress over the houses," she said.

Initially told she would not survive until Christmas, her prognosis had improved slightly.

"Now she [her oncologist] is saying I can plan Christmas."

Her wish was to get the two families into their new homes for one last Christmas.

"I'm hoping to have everybody up for Christmas. We'll be in the houses and we'll have a big family Christmas with all the aunties, uncles and cousins and have a bit of magic before it all gets taken away."

The central Taranaki community is rallying to help Morris achieve her goal, with the Toko Lions Club organising a working bee on November 7 and 8.

"They are really just a shell and we are going to rebuild the whole lot in a weekend," said club spokesperson Pam Macdonald.

"I was gob-smacked, absolutely gob-smacked.

"It's unbelievable what's been done to these houses. All that's left is wall boards.

"All the door handles are gone in one house and the doors and some of the floorboards from the other," she said.

Macdonald said they needed people with plumbing expertise, builders, handymen and people who could repair windows and do gardens, as well as others to help cook for the workers.