[Marie P]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/plan.jpg
Today after a few weekends househunting and weeks and weeks of internet house and land hunting ,we have paid a deposit on a section in south Auckland .

Yesterday we spent the morning with a building company ,looking at plans and talking costs.

http://www.gjgardner.com/

We are going to have a two storey ,four bedroomed house with two living areas and a dining area, three bathrooms built .

The section is much bigger than all the others that we have seen new houses built on .It has water views from the back of the house [and no one can build behind us ] The section is 612 M sq

The area is called Wattle cove. It has a brand new primary and intermediate school on the Estate,several lakes ,parks ,beaches,Golf course.

http://www.wattlecove.co.nz/

So we are just 2 minutes walk away from Ivy and Tony [Singel ],who was thrilled to hear our news.

We need to move our money over now ,complete the payment on March 22nd ,then the builders can begin .

This is the view from the middle of our section ,showing our view . There is path that runs at the back taking you on a lovely walk around the area.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/PICT1122.jpg

I will keep you upto date with our progress as it happens .....oooooooo I'm sooooooo excited :raebanana

[Diny]

What wonderful news - so happy for you. Bet you can't wait to get the builders started.

4 beds and 3 bathrooms eh ....... looks like the venue for the next NWNZ meeting has been decided on guys.

Diny

[foolsgold99]

So you did it then?? Looks nice, three baths are a pest for cleaning though (been there!!) teach the kids how to do their own I reckon.

Good luck, and you can still go to work from there too...

Sal

[sizzlingbadger]

Congratulations ... look forward to seeing how everything goes.

My in laws have just bought a piece of land behind us and are planning on building. It will be interesting to hear your experiences of it.

:raebanana :raebanana

[Kim39]

Well congratulations go out to the Parkers, and i have to agree with Diny looks like the venue for the next NWNZ meeting has been decided on guys.
hope all goes to plan over the coming months

Kim

[shagen]

Congrats! A piece of New Zealand eh?

[zardell]

:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

Congratulations.

We are sooo pleased for you.

Ever since you arrived in NZ, your posts have always been so positive.

You are an inspiration to all us would be Kiwi's.

Keep us up to date with LOADS of piccies.......please :nice1

Julie n Steve

xx

[StevieD]

Way to go Parker's!!! Look forward to seeing the pics as it develops....

Steve + Jan

[Singel]

CONGRATULATIONS !!! :clap

Wahoooooo...................... :raebanana

Aha....................I could walk there and supervise the build everyday (count how many teabreaks they take :laugh )

Really happy for you and your family, YIPEEEE....................... :raebanana

[Singel]

Ok, here is my previous thread about Wattle Cove........................ http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3456&highlight=wattle+cove

Marie and family, GOOD LUCK with you build :nice1
:cheers

[katandbob]

hi Guys, fantastic news. :raebanana

there should be some development by the time we get there, can't wait for a tour!

kat &bob...oops coles just upchucked..... :exit

[katandbob]

ok what style house is it or isnt it on the builders website?...~Kat

[Marie P]

We are going to have the two story ,it is classed as 3 bed with study ,but we have had the plans altered to make the study into a bigger bedroom and another shower room downstairs. Connar 220 ,but built the other way round .

We want it built in all brick with a tile roof .

The house has been quoted at approx $290,000 .The section was expensive that was $255 ,we tried to haggle but got nowhere.

But we love the area ,it seems a very friendly, safe place to bring up the children ,not to far to get into the city if we need to .

Marie x

[katandbob]

We are going to have the two story ,it is classed as 3 bed with study ,but we have had the plans altered to make the study into a bigger bedroom and another shower room downstairs. Connar 220 ,but built the other way round .

We want it built in all brick with a tile roof .

The house has been quoted at approx $290,000 .The section was expensive that was $255 ,we tried to haggle but got nowhere.

But we love the area ,it seems a very friendly, safe place to bring up the children ,not to far to get into the city if we need to .

Marie x

VERY nice Marie..........totally Jealous :nice1 he he Kat (4th bed conveniently downstairs for guests!!) :D

[Nienke]

Congratulations Marie!

[marcia]

fantastic news Marie, (sorry wasn't on MSN this morning to chat when you spoke to Ayrton. Having a lie in as not 100% at the mo, really bad throat. Will email you as we have lots to update!)

Can't wait to see lots of pics as your house is being built. How long do they think it will be before its ready?


love n hugs
Marcia and the 4 boys!!! :D

[jo b]

Marie

well done mate,

I am so happy for you. See you next week and looking forward to it.

Jo and crew

[Smiler]

Marie and Family

Well done on the search! Looks a fab place to build and have a house, especially as you get to choose it.:raebanana:raebanana

Will you be taking bookings from the SE crew too? :nice1

[kiwidebs]

Wahey!! Excellent news Marie. Your own piece of NZ.

Debs

[Marie P]

We paid for the section last week ,So it belongs to us :raebanana

We saw the builder again today with our updated plans ,

http://photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/th_south.jpg




So the latest we can move in will be Nov ,as the plans have to go off to be checked by the council [could take 6 weeks or upto 12 weeks ]

The actual building will take approx 16 weeks .

Marie x

[K&CS]

That's all really exciting. I'll follow this with interest because we're thinking of doing the same thing. It's a real bummer that we're on dial-up - looking at the pictures is practically impossible.

Is it really just 16 weeks to build? Having said that, I was told last week that once building starts, it has to be completed within 6 months anyway.

Enjoy and keep us posted.

Kate x

[kiwidollie]

Just catching up on all your news Marie.

Congratulations - hope everything goes smoothyly for you and that you'll all be very, very happy in your new home.

Alison

[bpk]

Congratulation. Wish you all the best.

[zardell]

Excellent news Marie.

I'm really pleased for you and Dave, so God knows how you two must feel !!

Keep us updated..........

Julie

xx

[Stu]

I dunno about that view... it will be a lot nicer once you get the weed-whacker out and chop out all those manky old mangroves.
Then, you could put in a small boardwalk sort of affair, run a jetty out for you to tie the boat (you ARE getting a boat aren't you?) to, and then you should be OK.

Congrats on the new property. It certainly seems like a well catered for little area, not too close to the airport though I hope! Are you having double glazing put in the windows in case?

Cheers, Stu.

[Marie P]

Well we finally signed the final plans and all the contracts on Monday evening.
The plans have to sent to council to be approved ,[6 to 12 weeks ].
Then it will be all systems go with a plan of 85 days to build !
We need to go and chat with our Colour Consultant to discuss colours and fittings , so everything is decided and ready for when it is needed.

Its all got a bit exciting !

Marie .

[willsken]

Sounds fantastic.... good luck with the building stage :cheers

[katandbob]

cool, great news you too...bet your excited to be choosing kitchen cabinets etc...

looking forward to a tour of the plot soon

Kat

[Kim39]

Good luck with it all Marie:nice1

Kim

[StevieD]

looking forward to a tour of the plot soon


Kat that sounds a bit morbid and sinister doesn't it? :laugh

I can almost imaging Marcia's OH Kev saying it!! :exit :laugh

Steve

[marcia]

Stevie you are a wicked person!!!

Marie and Dave - great news, can't wait to see it for ourselves, (looking more possible now!!!)

[StevieD]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

Sorry Kev! No offence intended :exit

[zardell]

Its all got a bit exciting !

Marie .



Exciting times indeed......and well deserved too.

Julie n Steve

xx

[katandbob]

Kat that sounds a bit morbid and sinister doesn't it?

I can almost imaging Marcia's OH Kev saying it!!
Steveooh steeevie....

.............Just call me MORTICIA!... :laugh :laugh :exit

(dyed my hair black last night, and bought a tight goth dress tooo) ;)


Kat

[Marie P]

Today we had a 2 hour appointment with our colour consultant ,We were exhausted by the end of it [but it was fun ].

We had to choose the bricks ,tiles ,guttering and fascia board first .

Then a carpet ,floor tiles ,paint colours [we had 3 colours to choose beige ,beige and beige !!!],wall tiles .

Bathroom fittings ,kitchen fittings [handles too] worktop, Doors ,garage door .

So we have kept everything quite neutral and we are going to add colour to the kids bedrooms when we move in.

Marie x

[marcia]

Great news Marie, bet it feels more real now you are doing things like that, don't forget to take piccies through the stages, not just for us nosy parkers - but for you PARKERS to keep!!!! :laugh

[jubjub]

Today we had a 2 hour appointment with our colour consultant ,We were exhausted by the end of it [but it was fun ].

We had to choose the bricks ,tiles ,guttering and fascia board first .

Then a carpet ,floor tiles ,paint colours [we had 3 colours to choose beige ,beige and beige !!!],wall tiles .

Bathroom fittings ,kitchen fittings [handles too] worktop, Doors ,garage door .

So we have kept everything quite neutral and we are going to add colour to the kids bedrooms when we move in.

Marie x
That was my fave bit with both our last houses, its fn, but a bit daunting as you only get to small samples so need to use your imagination alot!

[StevieD]

Yup - sounds really good Marie. Bit like the houses up here are painted in a neutral shade of magnolia - everywhere! Still really exciting for you all. Enjoy it as much as you can. And get Dave budging with his camera! :laugh

Quick news from us - had the shippers out Thursday - 20' box required, and all details with estate agents clarified and up for sale next week. :nice1

Steve and Jan

[Marie P]

Big news !

Went for a drive by our section after picking kids up from school ,there was a great big orange digger on it ,they were cutting out the site ,So finally could see how big it is going to be and how much garden :nice1

I will take a photo tomorrow and will be boring you all for the next few months with photo's of every stage .

I can't stop grinning ,its finally starting :)

Marie x

[Smiler]

Woohooo!!! Great news Marie :raebanana:raebanana:raebanana

Can't wait to start seeing the house grow.

D x

[Moorf]

Yay Marie - not long now! :raebanana

[katandbob]

Yay Marie - not long now! :raebanana

Great news Marie - :raebanana look forward to seeing the pictures when I get home.

Kat

PS MOORF??????????? whats with the leg on your avitar?????? :confused:

[jubjub]

You will be driving past it every day now... its addictive watching the progress...

Hopefully its on track for the completion before the Xmas rush....

[Singel]

That is really good news :nice1

We have been keeping an eye on it in the past few weeks, so glad that something is happening.

[zardell]

Hey - It's all beginning to happen...... :raebanana

Keep us informed and up to date.

You must be soooo excited !!!

Julie

x

[marcia]

Yippee - you'll be in, in no time. And its fascinating how differently they build houses over there too -all the wood stud walls then put the roof on :confused: , then do the finisihing walls! well that was how we saw it being done - will look for your pics later!!

Love the 64 smiths!!

[Kim39]

Hope it all goes to plan Marie and the house warming invite will be in the post soon :nice1

Kim

[kiwidebs]

Looking forward to seeing the pics of your house growing. How exciting for you all. Won't be long now!

[Marie P]

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/IMG_0318.jpg]

Here it is ,they dug a little deeper today.

[Singel]

Ground-breaking ceremony :cheers :clap

We went there at 5 pm and saw the digger resting in the middle of the brown soil.

On our way, we met a British guy taking photos of his waterfront section. He said that he is a surveyor and he was involved in the sub-division of Wattle Cove. Aha, another new neighbour :raebanana

[marcia]

Marie

You'll be able to check them each day and give us a progress report - it will be up in no time!

Marcia

[gil]

How exciting Marie! Can't wait to see you settled in there....:D

Gil
x

[Nienke]

Great news Marie! :nice1

[katandbob]

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/IMG_0318.jpg]

Here it is ,they dug a little deeper today.
hey seeing that picture reminded me of the footings we saw that day we went, how did it turn out??? big house and no garden? with huge garage real close to the road?????

you will have to photo it too, as I am curious!! :laugh

great to see the grounds been cut! you will soon have footings in

Kat :clap :raebanana

[Marie P]

We finally got building consent today ,what a wait !

They have been working on the section in the week ,they put the drains in today ,slab should be going down next week .

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/IMG_0327.jpg]

[Kim39]

Looking good Marie. Keep us posted with updated pic's over the coming weeks, and we can all watch with you and Dave as it moves from a piece of grass to a fully fledged dwelling:nice1

Kim

[Glo & Gil]

how exciting it will be to see it grow .

keep us posted

glo & gil :cheers

[jubjub]

We finally got building consent today ,what a wait !

They have been working on the section in the week ,they put the drains in today ,slab should be going down next week .
[]

Oooh thats fab... looking a bit more likely for the proposed hotel opening date...

[marcia]

Great news marie - it'll fly up now and soon that lovely green grass will be a building site!!! :D

[pinkpiggy]

It'll be great - i'm such a nosey parker when it comes to houses, keep those pictures coming. ;)

[kiwidebs]

Yayyy. Looks like all is going well. Keep them piccies coming!:clap

[andersonclan]

Marie

I'm so jealous. We started working with a local builder in Kapiti in January and we're told from walking through their door to walking through our door would take about 8 months. 7 months on we're still about $100,000 over the budget and nowhere near building consent! In fact we're just about to sack them and go with someone else. I was suprised at the cost of your build too. We're looking at around $1700+ a square metre. I believe the Kapiti coast is one of the 3 most expensive palces in NZ to build and getting a builder is like gold dust.

We know 2 couples who are building locally at the moment and they're both having problems. One couple started in March for a supposed 20 week build. They have just had the first fit of the electrics and the insulation is going in and are probably about another 10+ weeks away from completion. The other couple have had real problems with shoddy workmanship - light fightings not straight - bathroom fans in the wrong place, Poor joinery, poor electrics, etc, etc. From their experience my adivce would be to make sure you're on site as much as possible so any issues can be dealt with straight away.

Good lcuk with you're project

Regards

Margaret

[Marie P]

The slab went down yesterday ,and hopefully the frame will start to go up next week .
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/IMG_0388.jpg
They have given us a completion date of Dec 9th [my parents arrive at the end of Nov ,we had hoped to have been in well before that ,oh well a couple of extra pairs of hands to help with the move I guess !]

We have a six stage payment plan ,So they will want their next payment soon .

[Glo & Gil]

Great Marie . I imagine how excited you must be

:cheers

Glo

[Kim39]

Looking good lass:nice1

Kim

[marcia]

So did the kids do a couple of hand prints in the concreate????

Keep the updates coming Marie! Wish we could see it in the flesh so to speak!!

[starkhorn]

Hi,

Great pictures and a great thread. Hope all goes well for your build.

I'm trying to get my head around the overall process and procedures for building your own home and as I've never done this before, I'd a bit lost.

We will be first time house owners and we are seriously thinking of building so we can get exactly what we want.

So I was just wondering if you bought the section first and then went to a builder? Or did the builder find the section for you and propose some plans?

Regarding the plans? I assume the builder did those up for you or does one need to find an architect for that first? Also do you have to arrange utility connections or does the builder do that as well? Are those prices included in the package?

Also what happens if when you buy a section and you get the planning consent refused by the council? Are ye stuck with land that you can't build on?

Sorry for all of the questions. I'm just trying to get head around of this as I've said, it will be our first house owned so it's all quite new for us! :)

Cheers
Starkhorn

[Marie P]

Hi Starkhorn .

We bought the section [with utilities already in place] and then found a builder .We chose one of their designs and then had it adapted to our needs [enlarged the study to make 4th bedroom and added another shower room ].

The only problem has been the timescale ,as the plans took 12 weeks to get building consent .But now they have started with a guaranteed 85 working day build to completion.

Can't answer your other questions sorry .

Hopefully the frame should go up this week ,I will post a photo .

Marie x

[Marie P]

The first floor frame is up ,we were very excited to see it [will get a photo tomorrow ,batteries had gone in the camera].

Ivy and Tony were there too ,we were all amazed at how big the rooms looked .[Tony is planning a party :cheers ]

Marie x

[Singel]

Ivy and Tony were there too ,we were all amazed at how big the rooms looked .[Tony is planning a party :cheers ]

Marie x
The layout and room size are impressive :nice1

OH was thinking about a Christmas and house-warming party there :D

[Marie P]

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/DSC_0009-2.jpg]

This is taken from the back ,I'm leaning out of the kitchen window, Louise is in the dining area ,Joe and Ellen are in the Lounge .

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/DSC_0005-1.jpg]

This is from the side ,Kitchen at the back and Family room at the front .

[http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/wilson1964/DSC_0010-1.jpg]

Another view from the back ,with Ellen and I showing where our garden ends.

[katandbob]

Looks massive Marie, looking nice and sunny in that back garden too!

look forward to seeing the rest of the stages, which I bet will be happening fast now

cheers

Kat

[Nienke]

Wow, looks great Marie! :nice1

[Kim39]

Looking good:nice1

Kim

[marcia]

Looking good Marie! :clap