[steviebhoy]

We've been looking into moving to Hawke's Bay and are going on a recce visit in June. Have been looking at property in the area and we've seen some lovely houses but think we might be better off buying land and getting a house built.
Has anyone done this in NZ and how stressful was the process? Did it work out more cost effective than buying.

We also thought this was a way to avoid the problems we've been reading about regarding insulation, heating, condensation etc.

Any and all thoughts, advice or recommendations welcome

Stevie

[Alan]

I know Kim on here has been building a house so he's yer man.

[mgbridges]

Several Forumites have built houses and there are loads of threads on here about them if you do some searching I'm sure you'll find them. Afraid I don't have time right now as I'm about to do the school run.

Anneliese

[steviebhoy]

Several Forumites have built houses and there are loads of threads on here about them if you do some searching I'm sure you'll find them. Afraid I don't have time right now as I'm about to do the school run.

Anneliese

thanks i'll get searching :cheers

seem to be quite a few sections for sale on trade me and the real estate sites just wondered how popular self build (or rather getting a builder to do it as i can't nail two bits of wood together) is in NZ

my friend is from the west coast of ireland and nearly everyone there buys land and gets a house built.

[steviebhoy]

Thanks again Anneliese just spent a very productive time browsing the search feature. Looks more and more like the way we will go if we make the move. Some of the kit houses look fantastic.

Thanks
Stevie

[migratory birds]

After looking at houses on our trip in Nov, and seeing that most of them in the less than $400K range were in need of a fair amount of work to make them comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, I've come to the conclusion that building according to our needs is likely the route for us to go when we arrive...unless a great home in excellent condition lands in our laps before then.

Thread I started on green-built options:
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14938&highlight=green+building

Excellent thread started by Caroline and Dave:
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9378&highlight=building

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Given the current state of the housing market buying is likely to be more cost effective at present, but as pointed out you are likely to then need to spend on top to insulate/heat etc.

Building the house in itself is relatively inexpensive, it is the price of a decent section to build on that makes it an expensive exercise. Also the kinds of prices quoted per sq m to build tend to be for a 'basic' house, so you still need to add on the costs of extra's such as better insulation, heating (unlikely to be any included) carpets, landscaping, driveways, tiling, curtains/blinds, nicer doors/windows, additional electricals etc etc etc, so beware of 'off the shelf' prices.

We actually signed up to buy a plot and build on it, but ultimately, to get what we wanted would have meant an enormous mortgage.

We've now bought a house of similar size to that which we would have had built at approx $70,000 less. OK, it needs insulating and some internal cosmetic work, but that can be done over time.

We're very happy, have a house with character and established gardens and not a box sat next to a load of other remarkably similar boxes.

Just my two penneth.

[Marie P]

We bought a section and found a builder to build on it .

Been living in it for over a 18 months now .

You will need patience and more money than you think you need.

But we have a house we love ,with lots of our input added.

Good Luck !

Marie x

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5785

[Sam B]

I'm just setting out on the house building process (bought the section) and I'm already finding it stressful. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

[Steve Pollard]

I'm just setting out on the house building process (bought the section) and I'm already finding it stressful. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Hi Sam. If you find yourself a good and reputable builder im sure you will find it a stress free and worthwhile experience. good luck with the house build

In regards to insulation and heating, All builders not only have to meet industry standards for insulation but are now legislated to provide double glazing also as a passive heating requirement so generally you will only need to concern yourself with the choice of traditional wood, electric, gas or solar. A site I use is:
http://www.smarterhomes.org.nz/
It has a wealth of information and well worth a read.

Generally the more ethical and prudent builder (read: those who are not advertising homes at $1000 sq/m) will assess your needs and ensure that your heating requirements are acceptable and cost efficient.

Those who tempt you into house builds with no thought of you as end users will hopefully be legislated out of the home building industry.

[Sam B]

Thanks Steve - we are using Villa Homes, the builder seems very good, hopefully all will be well.

[kiwigirl]

Hi Steve

Double glazing is only compulsary in the South Island and lower North Island, everywhere else it is optional.

[Caroline and Dave]

It is very stressful building a house, even with top building companies. It will be 2 years since signing our contract with Signature homes before we will be able to move into our house. I must stress that this is not the fault of signature homes but a long line of problems along the way. We now have nearly had our foundations completed and hopefully the framing will be soon. See my thread in the lounge on we've bought a section2.If we had known of all the problems we would probably not have gone ahead but that is not to say that all sections have the same problems.For more details please pm me.At the end of all this we will have a house that is built to our spec and what we can be proud of

[hball]

... until 30 September 2008 when the rest of the North island has to comply with the new energy efficiency rules. These new rules demand a rating compliance and nowhere does it state that double glazing is a 'must do', you simply have to meet the new standard of an energy efficient home.

Double glazing is a solution to complying - however you can construct a dwelling in such a way that the standard is reach without in this zone!

[steviebhoy]

Thanks everyone for your advice. We are planning on renting for at least a year to keep an eye on the market so hopefully once we are there we can get a better idea of what would be the best option

[Nick88]

Wise move, Stevie. I am quite bearish regarding the NZ property market, prices are going to come down. There should be alot more houses on the market in the next year or two, so the chances of one being just what you would like are pretty good. I built my house, and it was a simple transportable home from Sunshine. This made our construction time short and sweet, but then there are all of the ancillaries like driveways, sewerage, services etc to have done. It wasn't an enjoyable experience, next time, if I could buy a ready-made set up I would.

Oh, and don't forget about having to deal with the council, mustn't forget the council......

[Spooky]

Roughly how much would it cost to build a house (including the section you buy)? Assuming the land space is 600ms and the house is 2-bedrooms/2-bathrooms? I am looking for a ballpark figure. Where I come from, it would cost at least 1 million (and that does not include the cost of the land)! My budget for a house in NZ is 300-400K.

[red]

Roughly how much would it cost to build a house (including the section you buy)? Assuming the land space is 600ms and the house is 2-bedrooms/2-bathrooms? I am looking for a ballpark figure. Where I come from, it would cost at least 1 million (and that does not include the cost of the land)! My budget for a house in NZ is 300-400K.

The advice I got ranged from $1200-$2000 a square metre. Friends of ours built a Jennian home for $1800 a sqm, that was with granite worktops and built to a good standard. The $2000 quote was from energy efficient homes.

[Derv]

You might want to bear in mind that if you build the house yourself, rather than having a company like Jennian Homes or Signature build it for you, you can save a lot of money - as long as you have the expertise to supervise the tradespeople doing the work.

[hball]

'Building yourself' is not always the easy option though - for example if a mortgage of any amount is required you may find it difficult to borrow money without a building contract from a reputable building company such as Jennian or Signature.

One of the reasons for this are the guarantees offered by such companies - covering not only the actual home itself but in most cases your financial outlay (or a portion of) during the build if they are members of the Master Builders Federation, Certified Builders Association or similar.

However if you are self funding none of that is an issue - you only have to convince the local authority that you are able to project manage as said by Derv.