[gary]

hi, been looking at houses on real estate wb sites and notice there are quite a few around the $150,000 mark.
does anyone have any first hand experience on these houses - are there a frezzing cood wreck!!
don't mind putting a bit of work in to get it up to scratch, as long as its in good ares and decent size then whats the problems ???

[justin.g.s]

Are you talking about 150k in auckland, CHCh or where ?

Side note.... I have wondered, if David Bowe was influenced by CHCH when he wrote the song CHANGES.


" CH..CH.CH...CHanges, (turn and face the strain)
Dont want to be a richer man
Ch Ch Ch Changes(turn and face the strain)
Ch Ch changes
Just gonna Have to be a different man
Time may change me
but I cant trace time.

[gary]

looking around new plymouth,cantenbury,nelson regions

[justin.g.s]

There is plenty of cheap stuff out there. I think that is what gets the ball rolling for a large percent of us dreamers here.

Keep looking and do your home work if you are just starting to look at n.z, you need to read up on there leaky home syndrom.

I bought a book on amazon on how to become your own home inspector, my wife considers me quite handy as it is.

I figure if I can learn to spot items that are easily overlooked, it will help minimize any headaches down the road.

I also picked up a few books on mold and mold remediation. High moisture+ bad roofs = mold, mold and more mold.

Not all is bad there, as they say and ounce of prevention....

[Diny]

Justin

Quoting the lyrics of a Bowie song and actually confessing to owning books on mould prevention ...... I'm building up quite a mental picture of you :laugh

Joking apart - good on you for looking into the house buying thing in such detail. It's very easy to let your heart rule your head. Arriving in NZ and being VERY eager to get into your own place could easily blinker your judgement ....... I know I would be in great danger of that happening. I'm a 'see it now - want it now' kind of person. Hell - that makes me sound like a bratt - but you know what I mean.

Diny

[Raeven]

Justin

Quoting the lyrics of a Bowie song and actually confessing to owning books on mould prevention ...... I'm building up quite a mental picture of you :laugh Diny

LOL, this from a woman who admits she knows how to gut Italian sardines... :laugh :laugh :laugh

I love you all!! - Rae

[Pakeha Boy]

Good one Raeven..................
I had her looking for the reserve tank on a Harley Davidson once!
:laugh

but back to the question, my parents live in Marton, in quite a big well built (91sqm) 4 br house, on a 790sqm section, and its worth a lot less than a 150 grand (albeit Marton doesn't offer much in the way of anything, just a small agricultural service town full of retirees)
IMHO if you know what to look out for, and depending on the area you're looking in, then you should get quite a decent family home for $150,000.
Let us know how you get on though.........

[Diny]

Well thankyou for sharing that with everybody PB.

So I'm a Harley riding, sardine gutting girl who can play the spoons and make the best 'chicken' sounds this side of the hen house - that's why PB loves me so much.

I've found the house I want In Ashhurst - I just hope this one sells and we get there in time ..... 5 bedrooms, garage, workshop, large section (garden) and a pool ........ all for 190,000 NZ$ - enough to make you weep eh?

PB - if you're reading this - ask for a pay rise - there's alot of rooms to furnish in that house !!!! xxxx

Diny

[Michelle and Richard]

Diny

I'm like you, saw a house yesterday and wanted in NOW NOW but sense prevailed.

Lucky you finding a house so cheaply, wouldn't get a garage in Auckland for that.

We are not in a position to move out of this area at the moment but having said that we do love it here, loving it loving it loving it.......... is that a song title ????? or is the jet lag still causing me problems?

Michelle

[Moorf]

I don't want to burst anyones bubbles here but... Chch ain't cheap.. at least not if you want to live in a semi-decent area! Obviously that is just my opinion based on my expectations...

BUT, venture out a little and you can realise your dreams - to be honest I don't think I want to live in this city or its 'burbs anyway and we shall be looking outside - we are prepared to do a 45 min commute or so - longer if the right property comes along.

Having said that we may not buy for another year - having spoken to a few people the general feeling is that buying now would be buying in at the peak and that it will level out and the exchange rate may even be better in a years time.... but then we do hate the thought of renting and lining someone elses pocket.. decisions, decisions...

Right now we are having major probs finding a furnished place for 6 mnths rent in a decent area... we are really sold on Sumner, it's our sort of place, but rentals are rare :( and I am really not keen on the other suburbs.. not that I am snooty or anything it's just they have no character or views or anything.... :? Nicky, as usual, is being a star and has found us a few to look at but they are only temporary / short term and we'd really like to get in somewhere NOW to settle down for 6 mths so we have one less thing to worry about....

Moorf

[Raeven]

Hi, Moorf,

So, out of interest, what amount of shekels would you say is required in ChCh at the moment to purchase a place you would consider decently livable? I'm just curious. As you know, we're planning to settle further north, but things seem to be changing so fast over there, your up-to-date impressions would be of great value to many on the site!!

All the best, Rae

[Moorf]

Ok, going to stick my neck on the line here ... but from what we are seeing here we would need to spend at least NZ$400k+ for a nice property with land in a nice area in Chch itself or the nice 'burbs such as Redhills, Mt Pleasant or Sumner which are the areas we would want to live in Chch.... yes, we have expensive taste but why come here and compromise?! eh?

I know, I know, prices are PEANUTS compared to the UK and US and most of us could buy in cash - it's just that it's more than one imagines it would cost in NZ!

A "decently liveable" place could cost approx NZ$300k ...

One thing I have noticed is that the gardens appear considerably smaller than I imagined with houses packed in quite tightly in the city areas.

Of course, bear in mind that these are our initial experiences and once we have explored more may change considerably!

We are in a tizzy at the moment not knowing how to play things as we are in the midst of EOI (decision successful :yes ) yet aren't sure how long it will take to go through so can't really get ball rolling with purchase and aren't toooooo happy about throwing away money on rent :roll:

Can't complain at the prices... perhaps once we are back in employment it won't seem so bad!!

[Michelle and Richard]

Same up here Moorf but add a $100 onto those rentals. As for buying same dilema, do we dive in and not fork out dead money in rental or risk buying at the peak which seems to be the general feeling.

We have no idea how things are going to work out for Richard so it just seems a bit risk at the moment.

We want a decent rental as it will probably shape how we feel, living in a dump will do nothing to enhance our mood. Yes you can go out for endless walks but not when its peeing it down as it has done up here for most of the week.

Good luck with the search and remember to haggle the price. Why not gor for 6 months with a month to month extension at least you can then go for a house if you find somewhere and the exchange rate improves.

WE are like you and if we could move out of te city we would but the commute would be awful, something we want to escape. Having said that I love Auckland so have no probs at all living here for a few years.

Michelle

[Moorf]

The $NZ I quoted in my post were for buying i.e 400,000+ etc etc - rentals are something we have been discussing ALL DAY :? - we hate the idea of lining others pockets BUT we don't want to throw all our money at a purchase when we're so new to it all and don't have jobs, visa's/PR etc etc.

So, we have decided that we shall rent for a year - we went around ALL the areas in Chch today that we felt were appropriate for our needs - here are our conclusions:

Merivale - nice but not our scene, we don't want a big house in a town, we want a big plot with small house and views - no views in Merivale.

Fendalton - see Merivale!

Riccarton - see Merivale!

The Brightons - too much like Neighbours and some of it jaded and some looked a bit dodgy! No views due to sand dunes.

Avondale / St Albans / etc - too "residential" and family orientated, lovely lawns but again, not our scene!

City Centre - errrr.. NO!

Cashmere / Mt Pleasant - nice, with views.. houses prob a bit too large for our needs/wants but would consider if Sumner not available!!

Sumner - well, we are totally in love with this place :yes , feels like home already and we don't want to leave.. looked at a rental today but they want a 12 mth tenant - not sure if we can commit to that at this stage - hope to see some more during next week - we are desperate to live here!!! It is SUCH a lovely little community, the beach, great cafes and restaurants, little cinema, all the shops you could possibly want, etc etc and all nestled by the sea at the foot of the hills over which you can drive and get to lovely places like Governors Bay etc and thru to Akaroa....

SO - decision is made - we will rent UNFURNISHED - why? Because we do intend to stay and eventually we will buy if we do stay - we felt that paying the extra $400 a month for 12 mths for a furnished place was wasting potential furnishing money so we shall buy basics and/or second hand and start from there.... if all else fails we can sell the stuff and at least get some $ back.

Like Michelle & Richard we want somewhere with a bit of space as we have family coming over at Xmas etc... top tip - don't invite family until you are settled otherwise, like us, you may then need to alter your property search to accommodate them too and it may not be possible to do so in a short period and puts extra stress on you to get somewhere "nice" when you could possibly have holed up somewhere smaller and cheaper for a year until settled .... just a thought!!!

So glad we now have a plan - think carefully about what you want to do or you might end up having the kind of, errr, debate we had early this morning when we realised we had 2 weeks until we have to vacate this place!!

So, email me your addresses guys cos we might be homeless in 2 weeks and need some doors to knock on !!!!! Just kiddin... I hope!! :laugh

Moorf

[Michelle and Richard]

ah right, miss read you post moorf, what sort price are you paying for rentals down there ?

Did a few open homes today, WOW saw second house of dreams (well ours maybe not to everybodys taste) in a week. Just not able to commit until we know the situation with Richards job. This house had sea views, pull back the curatins each morning to see Ranagitoto, fab decks living space into which we could have put our entire UK house into. Short walk to St Helliers shops cafes bars............. Just have to be patient and see how things go but paying rent is really going to hack me off.

Michelle

[Moorf]

An example of rent - we saw a 2 bed, v. small unfurnished front section north facing with lovely patio for $240/week. It was verging on too small.... but it's in the right location in Sumner...

Ultimately we are looking at c. $250 - $300/week for an unfurnished 2/bed place in Sumner area which is about what we expected to pay.

In town you would be looking (in a nice area) to pay $350+ unfurnished, from what we have seen so far.

What about down there?

[Michelle and Richard]

We are paying $265 for one bed shoe box ooops sorry unit although the walls are made of cardboard and its about the same size. We will end up paying 450 to 475 painful but thats 3 beds 2 bath, essental given that we have my parents staying with us for 2 months !

It is in a great spot and even if we compromissed on the location I think we would still pay about $400 there is a lot of rubbish, damp terrible decor, dark etc.

Our place has very dodgy electrics and if we survive the next five weeks without at least one shock or electrical applicance going up in smoke I will be highly suprised. Believe it or not this place would still sell for around 225K

Michelle

[Moorf]

Is that 450-475 furnished or unfurnished.... if unfurnished would be about same for 3bed/2bath here... in a good location.

We have only viewed one property so not sure about dampness etc here... will certainly keep that in mind tho... you can smell it a mile off or do Kiwi's have a way of disguising this that we should know of?

[Michelle and Richard]

Look for dehmidifiers although everywhere seems to have them and avoid houses at the bottom of dips.

That price is unfurnished and massess of storage space so at least we wont have to pay storage for all our stuff when it arrives.

Michelle

[Tanya]

Moorf

I am probably off the thread subject but do you know about SUPERSHED??

http://www.rmf.org.nz/index.cfm/Supershed

and also something called RETROSHED - for antiques & Collectables

http://www.ccc.govt.nz/QuickAnswers/RecyclingRefuse/Miscellaneous/F1053.asp

If you are looking at getting a few things while you set yourself up and don't mind 2nd hand items - it maybe worth a look - haven't been there myself but this was posted ages ago on another thread.

Hope it might help you or someone else trying to get by until their goods arrive!!

Tanya :angel

[Moorf]

Fantastic... thanks so much, great help - spookily we were just looking thru the classifieds in local paper!! :nice1

[Tanya]

Moorf

Pleased to be able to help - let me know what Supershed is like if you go - we may need a few things while waiting for our container!

Tanya

[veronica]

Super shed has an extensive selection of rubbish, some of which is useful rubbish, and the same smell as a particularly bad jumble sale. All in all it looks like a particularly enterprising council worker has been taking all the useful stuff from the tip there.

[veronica]

on Dehumidifiers.... when we came through a couple of years ago we kept wondering why all the NZers had these in their houses....now we have spent a winter here we know. No insulation, no double glazing =loads of condensation. also a lot of people use calor gas fires and I think they cause condensation.

[Moorf]

Super shed has an extensive selection of rubbish, some of which is useful rubbish, and the same smell as a particularly bad jumble sale. All in all it looks like a particularly enterprising council worker has been taking all the useful stuff from the tip there.

Oh my, and with my huge hate of smells (it's the big nose!) I'm not sure I'll get thru the front door - but Woz said it's worth visiting just for a laugh!!

[Jo and Andy]

Moorf

You said you were looking at areas outside of the city to commute, is Sumner one of these areas, or were you looking further afield as well.


What towns outside CHCh are commutable?

You dilema is intersting, on how long you rent before buying. Isn't there some thing about if you don't buy a house within your first year, it can affect your citizenship application?

Have a good day.

Bye

Jo

[veronica]

"Isn't there some thing about if you don't buy a house within your first year, it can affect your citizenship application? "

I would be very surprised it that was the case.

[Moorf]

Hi Jo

Yes, we are looking at the Harbourside area with the exception of Lyttleton - i.e. Governors Bay/Cass Bay/Church Bay/Diamond Harbour.

But thats because we prefer rural and the hills to the plains so these are really the only areas we are looking at as the rest of the Christchurch is quite flat or built up... there are hilly areas in Chch such as Cashmere/Redcliffs/Mount Pleasant/Sumner/Scarborough/Taylors Mistake but these are less rural and more "suburb"but with great views.

I've given Lyttleton a few chances to see if there was something I could like about it but it is AWFUL. It' just rough and dark houses, damp and a bloomin' great working port in every view... nah, not nice.. and the drunk Russian sailors don't add to the ambience either :?

The areas above that I have mentioned are all south of the city. You also have places like Rangiora and Kaipoi north of the city but I am not familiar with those places - perhaps those that live there could give you a run down on the area?

With regards to how long to rent - I doubt very much this would affect citizenship but it's worth checking out. We will probably rent until end Q1 of 2005 - we have seen house prices fall in the last 3 months (one house were looking at has gone from offers in the region of $370,000-$400,000 to $370,000 set price and now it's down to offers over $335,000 and it's been on the market for 3 months along with several other properties we viewed back in Sept!)


Hope that helps...

Moorf

[JT]

I've given Lyttleton a few chances to see if there was something I could like about it but it is AWFUL. It' just rough and dark houses, damp and a bloomin' great working port in every view... nah, not nice.. and the drunk Russian sailors don't add to the ambience either

The awful view from our damp dark house.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/devjt0/v600.jpg

I've given Governor’s Bay a few chances to see if there was something I could like about it but it is AWFUL. It’s bland and full of self-styled “executive homes” and reeks of boring dinner parties. And Diamond Harbour has all the allure of a South Coast retirement community – you just know there’s a local bridge league. And the lady bowlers...

;)

[veronica]

Well its a good job we don't all want to live in the same areas isn't it. Think what all the GB £ moving into one area would do to the prices.

[Bubbles]

JT,
It's good to have an alternative view.
Nice piccy

:nice1 :mrgreen:

[Moorf]

Bit late replying to the Lyttleton post... obviously we do not concur on our views of the place? Can I ask where locally you eat out and drink and socialise because we didn't see much there at all. And after being leered at by several scraggy looking seamen I didn't feel too comfortable either!

True, Gov's Bay doesn't appear to have as much "heart" as Diamond Harbour - granted in D.Harbour there is only Godley House but the food is good and its a laid back place to meet the rest of the village with fantastic outdoor space with amazing views - or on the cricket pitch - or in the club rooms - at the art courses, photography club, reading club. And there are many, many young families and couples who live there and having lived in a seaside UK town I can honestly say it's more akin to a lovely village with spectacular views and a great sense of community. And I am quite happy to have the Port not feature in any views... just my preference.

As Veronica says, thank god we have different tastes - perhaps I should slag off Diamond Harbour to stop immigrants moving there and keep house prices down :laugh

So where in Lyttleton are you? Do you get sun all day all year round - I ask because I hear some locations in Lyttleton don't get sun and can be quite dark and damp... I'm not afraid of being told differently - our main sources of info are our eyes, friends opinions and estage agents :roll:

I am quite open to living there if I can't see the port and the house gets lots of sun!!! Perhaps you could have an open day?

How many winters have you been through there as we heard that winter means no sun in Lyttleton for most of the day.. would love to hear your experiences.

Thanks
Moorf

[wilson182]

don't mind putting a bit of work in to get it up to scratch, as long as its in good ares and decent size then whats the problems



It might be worth investigating the cost of DIY in NZ. It is not as cheap as the UK, and well worth taking into account when you are deciding what type of property you want to buy.

[joanne]

check this out...

http://www.anycities.com/realestatenz/index.html

alot of house for the money - too good to be true?

[joanne]

Not sure what St Albans is like, its in between Merivale ('good' area) and Shirley (? not so good)

Found it whilst browsing real estate, thought it may interest some of you guys looking to buy in CHCH subs.

We are hoping to live in Rangiora, hubby due to arrive in NZ end of Feb. Got our passports back yesterday, complete with Visas...yipee

[veronica]

Just a quick note on Littleton, Pete who doesn't do the Forum thing had to drive over there a couple of evenings ago and when he returned he said he wasn't sure about the place. He said it seemed that the only people he saw were hanging about the pubs and it seemed very dark and cold there. All this coming from a person who is not noted for being the most observant in the world. It must have been quite striking for him to have even noticed.

[Moorf]

We are off to Rangiora today to view some properties - it will be our first time viewing in the area.

We are also considering properties near the area of Brighton to be revamped - we took a drive out there yesterday and it's a bit of a gamble - there are so many awful properties there and the mall is currently atrocious.

That house in St Albans does seem cheap - will see if we can do a drive by and give you an idea of the surrounding area - I will have camera so will see what pics I can get in this pouring rain!

Moorf

[Moorf]

Ok I just rang the numbers for the St Albans house.

Neither of them work.

Am beginning to wonder of this is a very old website which reflects prices you may have got in Chch a couple of years ago!!

We will still drive by to check out the area.

[richard]

Ok I just rang the numbers for the St Albans house.

Am beginning to wonder of this is a very old website which reflects prices you may have got in Chch a couple of years ago!!



The Government valuation of the house is here ($224k):-

http://www.ratesinfo.ccc.govt.nz/PropertyDetails.aspx?RateAccountNum=1495284

I think you may be right.

[joanne]

I am No IT expert... but right clicked on pic, selected properties and it says created 31.12.04???

Will await Moorfs return

[richard]

I am No IT expert... but right clicked on pic, selected properties and it says created 31.12.04???

Will await Moorfs return

That may be the date you first looked at the picture. It says 08/01/2005 when I try it.

It is probably just the picture in your browser cache you are displaying the date for.

[Moorf]

Yes, today the picture properties read 9/1/05 so definitely cached date.

This webpage pretty much confirms my thoughts:-


http://www.homesell.co.nz/new_zealand_real_estate/2999.php

Moorf