[Tim S]

If all goes to plan my partner and I should be in Nelson by Mid February and although we'll have to rent for the first few months we are looking at either getting an established house or a section and building a house. Though we were wondering how long does it take to build a house over there and are most things like curtains, carpets and fittings included in the cost to build the house or does it vary from builder to builder? Also are there any other costs such as taxes or hidden fees?

I know here in Perth people can wait over a year to build a house and you have to pay stamp duty on both the block and the house unless your a first home buyer.

[benandclare]

The whole process for us was around a year, but that includes a long settlement on our old house.
Consent can ntake a while, depends on your local council.
The actual build took 5 months and curtains , driveway and garden landscape not included in our costs.

make sure your section has power, water and connceted to sewers as if not these cost can mount. :nice1

[Tim S]

Thanks for that benandclare, I was thinking around 6 months for the building part so sounds like thats about right on that one. Didn't think about approvals though, it can take a while for the council to get that big red stamp out of the tray here too. :)

[nickiware]

We are going to bowl our house and rebuild, well I say we GJ Gardner are going to, they reckon 1yr from start of designing to the end of the build

[Super_BQ]

I wouldn't be too concerned how quick the house can be built. There are issues such as the concrete foundation that require at least 6 months for the concrete to fully set. I've hard cases where people have fully carpeted their homes within the 6 month time and end up having mold growth under the carpet underlay.

Then there are other issues as to the seasoning of the timber framing. If the walls and ceilings are lined (Gib board) too early, one may find the cracks or stress marks appearing on the walls. (there's only so much glue can hold).

BQ

[Carey]

We've been told it's 16 weeks from when the floor is laid. We get everything included, even the letter box and washing line, only extra cost is curtains/blinds.

We bought the section in July and it sould be done by Feb.....we'll see!

[Kanga]

We've been told it's 16 weeks from when the floor is laid. We get everything included, even the letter box and washing line, only extra cost is curtains/blinds.

We bought the section in July and it sould be done by Feb.....we'll see!

How exciting Carey- I had no idea you were building so I apologise for disparaging building remarks I may have made!!!

To the OP- I think it depends upon how 'green' you are RE building- if as green as we were it might be sensible to double the estimated time to build, add half as much again to the estimated cost and quadruple the anticipated stress!

[nickiware]

We are really struggling to make a decision, options are complete rebuild, refurbishment or sell up and buy elsewhere, all options include compromises. Obviously rebuild is most expensive, refurb would leave us relatively mortgage free and I hate paying agents when selling up, any advice?

[KatieBen]

We've been warned that in Nelson the consents could take up to a year depending on the type of property you want to build. The building process itself can be done in as little as 3 months, again depending on the type of house and the type of section (flat vs sloping).

Our landlord is a builder and recommended a budget of around $1800-$2000 per square metre if flat section, somewhat more ($2200+) if sloping, as the earthworks required plus geotechnical stuff is more expensive.

Hidden costs - depends what you mean by hidden. There are legal fees obviously, plus once you have bought the section you pay rates on the land, have to maintain it (no power to plug a mower in!) and pay the water charges whether you're building on it or not. Rates are based on land value though - once you've built on it at least they won't change upwards :)

[benandclare]

Our landlord is a builder and recommended a budget of around $1800-$2000 per square metre if flat section, somewhat more ($2200+) if sloping, as the earthworks required plus geotechnical stuff is more expensive.

Hidden costs - depends what you mean by hidden. There are legal fees obviously, plus once you have bought the section you pay rates on the land, have to maintain it (no power to plug a mower in!) and pay the water charges whether you're building on it or not. Rates are based on land value though - once you've built on it at least they won't change upwards :)

Crikes that's a lot we built at around $1300 or does your figure include the section?

Here once you've improved the "land " i.e. built on it, I'm afraid the rates do go up. We expect our's to go up by $600 next year as did our nieghbours once they'd built

[KatieBen]

Sadly that's not including the section, which will generally be another $200k on top. We're probably going to have to save for 2+ years after buying the section we want before we can afford to build anything on it!

We did check with the council though, and in Nelson we are rated on land value alone, not including any improvements (such as retaining walls or houses).

I thought it was high but I've since checked with a few building firms, most of whom are quoting $2200 per square metre.

[Tim S]

We've been warned that in Nelson the consents could take up to a year depending on the type of property you want to build. The building process itself can be done in as little as 3 months, again depending on the type of house and the type of section (flat vs sloping).

Our landlord is a builder and recommended a budget of around $1800-$2000 per square metre if flat section, somewhat more ($2200+) if sloping, as the earthworks required plus geotechnical stuff is more expensive.

Hidden costs - depends what you mean by hidden. There are legal fees obviously, plus once you have bought the section you pay rates on the land, have to maintain it (no power to plug a mower in!) and pay the water charges whether you're building on it or not. Rates are based on land value though - once you've built on it at least they won't change upwards :)

Sounds like someones done a bit more homework than I have, thanks for that! :) Although I did know that the NCC only charges rates based on land values, I particularly liked the way they explained it on their website:
Land value (current system)
The land value only system tends to be used in cities. It disregards the value of the house or buildings and just uses land value (from the three-yearly valuations) to work out rates. A ratepayer living in a high land value area but with a relatively modest house and limited income is most disadvantaged by this approach. By contrast, someone living in a mansion on a lower value section would love this system.
I love their honesty! :)

Building costs do sound particular high in Nelson especially considering most newly built places I've seen are selling for around that figure established. I know over here you can generally save at least 30-40K by building yourself. Plus you get to build it like you want not how someone else wanted it.

I have noticed though the Capital Value ratings for property tends to be slightly lower than what houses are selling for whereas other places such as Dunedin the Capital or Rateable Value seems to be a much better indicator of what you'd expect to buy a house for. I am not sure if this is the rule or the exception though as I haven't checked out any other cities in NZ?

[KatieBen]

Not sure if it's just Nelson or not but many places sell for more than their rateable value -perhaps it's connected with the RV being based on land value alone?

Building costs are highish here but you should still end up with a house worth more than you've spent on it; more savings again if you have a flat section and build a "standard" house. That said, we've already been warned of the danger of over capitalising - the section we like is $225k, the house will probably cost upwards of $550k to build and I'm sure the finished place won't be worth $775! If it is then I will have to consider buyng new furniture, not sure our current ikea theme will be appropriate!