Avid

I've been watching the TV show where Sarah 'Beanbags' Beeney introduces hapless people intent on making a career in property development.

They buy a run-down house, spend a few thousand doing it up and...generally...sell at a modest profit after working themselves to near-death.

I was wondering...could such an idea work in New Zealand?

Many houses look run-down...so it would be hard to know which ones to develop. The interest rates on a mortgage would wipe out any future profit before work even started and the builders would take YEARS to finish...etc etc.

Am I right? Property development (as opposed to building new apartments) is impossible in NZ?

garryhg

hi jacky g here
i would have to agree that i dont think it would work over here,interest rates are too high.i also think houses have peeked over here in certain areas.were in howick and i dont think theres much scope for house price rises here,and i think what is for sale just isn't selling.
were a bit scared to get on the property market in this area incase were stuck with house.would rather rent till we get to know whats happening with market.not like back home we sold in a week.
i think the areas that you can buy and do up no one would want to buy a house there anyway,otara springs to mind.very run down.

teambwr47

Well i hope its possible in NZ and i'm certainly going to look into it over the next few weeks as its what i've done for the past 2 years or so in the UK.

Property ladder normally features those who do it in a fashion that suits the programme ie they need a lot of guidance or else the programme would be rather boring.

In the UK far from working me to death its been rather easy as i generally leave all the skilled jobs to people who are skilled in those fields and pay them to do the work. Using a skilled tradesman gets done faster and properly and with many things now such as wiring, plumbing etc it should be done by a qualified tradesman if you intend to rent a house.

The easiest houses to 'do' are at the bottom of the market targeting first time buyer families etc. In the past year i did three houses and the longest it took to sell any of them was one week while one sold in just two hours

Three houses cleared nearly 90K after costs etc but to do it effectively you need an estate agent well and truly on your side.

The key with property development of the type i and the programme deals with is often 'NOT TO DEVELOP FOR YOUR TASTE'
this includes the house, the finishes and the area. We exclusively made the money on our houses in an estate we would never have lived in but it was where the available houses at the right price were for first time buyers.

teambwr47

Hi jacky, you must have posted while i was typing.........

Hopefully get to meet up with you guys at our house for a glass of wine or three over the weekend?

BEVS

.....ah! I was wondering.

Colin in the middle

Theres a important differance between here and the UK

What our the houses made of over here? Wood and not really designed to last over 100 years unlike the UK counterparts. Our house is a 1930s wood what my parents moved from in the UK was a 1930s Brick. Borer aka Woodworm is the single biggest problem for any housing.

Your better off starting from scratch than doing up a old house its cheaper, what has been done and is being done over here is subdividing but the councils are getting fly to this and stopping someone demolishing a house to put 8 rabbit hutches in its place.

The Land we own that our house now sits on is zoned commercial so there is very little to stop us shifting the house and putting several Motel units on it. In fact a local farmer nearby sold a house on his land and it now is 40km further down the road.

House moving in New Zealand has a whole new meaning to what you are used to in the UK.

teambwr47

They could hardly been described as bean bags........

Not sure what the term would be to describe her impressive assets and best be careful as Nisey herself visits her often but she sure has nice eyes

Avid

And surely the buyers are very different as well? There's not much point sticking double-glazing and central heating into a house and hoping to make a huge profit if the locals are just going to find a cheaper house and spend all their winters 'toughening up', is there?

Avid

I believe the Concise Oxford has the definition "Oomblauts'.

uk+kiwi

Great idea. There was a Location, Location, Location weekend bonanza in the UK only last week with back to back episodes of house buying in NZ. It was great, but filmed in 2001 so the prices were so low.

I think the programme would do well in NZ and was hoping it was an idea you were interested in pursuing as a new business opp.

Of course house developing could work in NZ. Same rules as anywhere else apply - right product at the right price for the right buyer. Obviously much more viable without finance, as many manage to do in the UK.

planty

Think it would be more hassle than its worth, the council here have the records of each and every property, when you buy or sell a house the buyer applies for what is called a Lim report. This is a copy of the councils records and it covers every detail of the property and planning permissions granted for that property, its your job as a buyer to check every detail and if there's a wall missing or the kitchen sink is in a different place you have to get the council to do an inspection at the owners cost, to make sure things are done correctly. When I say correctly they want to see it done to todays compliance details even if the work had been done 20 years ago.
The property we bought had an extra toilet added, I didn't see it as a problem but the council had to come and check, I was here during the inspection, and the council guy didn't seem to have a clue about what he was looking at, I had to show him where the overflow pipe came out and even had to run water through it cos he still wasn't sure it was the right pipe.
The councils compliance list have gone from a small booklet to at least 6 big ring binders covering everything.
It's all down to the leaky homes and the money in compensation it cost the council.
You don't have to get a Lim report but if and when you come to sell, if something was changed that you hadn't checked, you would be liable to have it put right or the sale could fall through or it would be used as leverage to reduce your asking price.

Gill and Rob

I would not try this in NZ. Interest rates are very high compared to the rest of the world, and then you have to pay 4% commission to the estate agent to sell it. If you are new to NZ would you know what you should be paying for labour materials etc? Also in the budget millions of dollars were given to the tax man to chase people who do these quick property flicks.

Rob

Avid

Yes...the combination of taxes, expenses and general costs combined with the potential for work to drag on forever makes me think it would be very hard to make any money in it.

And with a third of the country renting, perhaps the time isn't right..

cypherpunk

"Do-ups" have been very popular here as part of the general property frenzy. They typically involve a lick of paint, a new deck, new carpet, and maybe a new kitchen and wiring if you're lucky.

As with the UK it remains to be seen whether most of the gains are the result of the renovation or just the generally rising property market. Have a look at the New Zealand section of www.propertytalk.com, especially this thread, but things have not been going so well for renovators lately.

lardyl

and lets hope the IRD get hold of those who "make a living" doing this so they can pay their way in society like those of us who do "real work" !