spid

Does anyone think this is the way to go? Or is new better? I like my home comforts and am not adverse to doing a bit of work on a house and i like to think i am eco minded so . . . solar power hot water, insulation, central heating of some ilk, double glazing etc all these things are a bit important but which way to go? Will doing up an older house be worth while? Or should we go down the new route and hope it's better and worth it? ANy experiences out there?

happynz

For all the things you listed you would be better off getting a section of land and doing a new build. Retrofitting your typical Kiwi wooden tent to fit in all those things you want wouldn't necessarily be any more economical. On top of the price of the section figure the cost to be somewhere between NZ$1000 to NZ$2000 per square metre, depending on what you want.

daveandjue123

I haven't looked at this yet but having discussed houses on this forum I think buying a section and building is the best way of ensuring you get what you want & NEED!! The only true way to find out is have a look at the type of house you feel you could renovate, add the cost of renovation (in the UK the add another 25% all the things that crop up). Then look at the cost of a new house with all the features you want (if you can find one), after that price up some land and get a quote from a builder or 3.


I know this is basic But the cost of each one really depends on you and what you can & can't do without. the big trick is to be realistic I have seen many over here do things and they never price things up properly, always thinking things are cheaper than they really are.

Let us all know what you decide on.

cheers

spid

Now you see that i can't really afford - we are looking at around the 650-700+ mark whereas a doer-upper would start at 350 and i could add gradually to it. I'd love to build my own but might have to win the lottery first!

Campbells

If you want quality in NZ, do it yourself OR oversee it yourself.

We live in a new estate and they are building the next stage here, the dev Co is Singaporean and I look at the majority of builders working on the houses and not great standards.

It is all about the bottom line here ( the most profit) and what they can get away with NOT DOING.

Our house is just over three years old and we had a leak in the roof that came through into the lounge. THey ended up removing a lot of the roof tiles and OMG what a slack bunch.

When our nieghbours have a certain light on at night we can see the light between the roof tiles, this obviously means that rain plus wind ( which of course we don't get in NZ) means water in .

Bloody shoddy work at very high prices.

TeamEmbo

You can get a 4ha lifestyle block round our way for around $150k. Golden Homes were recently advertising plan packages from $750 per sq m so you could have a really nice house and heaps of land for $350k! Double glazing, s/steel kitchen appliances, floor coverings, etc all standard package.

lardyl

as others have said on another thread D/G, insulation etc in old homes don't add any real $$$ value unless you want to sell them to Pomms so you won't get any money back.....also there are regulations about what work you can and can't do here and they are stricter than the UK and the consents for work can be expensive.....
If it was me deciding to do that or not I'd say "No"....

spid

do yu think that the NZ market will go the way, of say, the Irish where once these things weren't normal but over the years everyone began to want and then expect them? If i could find land cheap enough in a nice enough area i'd love to build. I can only hope prices drop a bit (sorry to those already with big house prices) and then have a go at building.

According to Panarama tonight - house prices in UK could drop 35% in the next 5 years and have fallen for the last three months - what are they saying over there?

happynz

Prices are steadying from their meteoric rise of the past few years. However, there doesn't seem to be any appreciable drop in prices. Houses may take longer to sell though. Of course there are a lot of variables and blah blah blah, then my eyes glaze over.

daveandjue123

Hi Spid

didnt see the Panarama program, wish I had was it that gloomy????

NZ seems to be a bit of an odd one on the housing front, been looking at it like mad last few days. The emigration situation has changed things a bit but if as it looks like more europeans (particularly brits) come over it doesn't seem that prices will go down in a major way. This is only what I've read!! But other reports seem to say it will now stabilize and should not move upwards in the same way it has.

It's the same as here mate, for every doom merchant there is another saying the opposite. I read one report on uk saying that with more popple coming in from europe land will be at a premium over the next 5 - 10 years, obviously houses too. I just wish I new how cold it gets over there so I could make up my mind.....

I'll try and dig out a couple of things and pm them to you if i can.

Cheers Dave

Campbells

Aunty Helen says that the survey she was presented stating that NZ housing prices are 3rd ( i think) highest in the world- simply must be wrong.

Of course such a statement just makes the problem go away

carriem41

We bought an old villa and did the doing up project....took 9 months, we found building regs very strict and consent takes a while, tradesmen and building materials worked out very expensive compared to uk.....however on the plus side, if you get a good architect, project manager and cost the project before you begin there shouldnt be too many surprises. We ended up with a great house which we could never have afforded with Welly prices. Its certainly something we would not have conceived doing prior to moving here but new country, new life, new challenges!

uk+kiwi

Which is weird, because I have spoken to 4 UK estate agents in the last week that are expecting an increase this year of between 7-10% in house prices (detached family homes sector). Now I know they have an ulterior motive, but some research into sold prices also shows that prices are most certainly on the up and not the down.

This talk has been going on for years and years. Personally I would do all I could to stay on the UK property market to any degree if I was a soon-to-be-migrant. Especially if I had children or family/friends who remained in the UK. It would not be easy and wouldn't be an option for everyone, but I would need it as an insurance policy for the future. Which is funny, because I don't do insurance policies!

I do hope the doom and gloomers amongst British society don't talk us into a housing recession.

spid

we don't own in the UK at all. And having been out of the market for the last 15 years can't afford to get back in. Halifax said this morning that house prices have remained static for the last three months (on average) and they are at the most positive end of the market - i take everything estate agents say with a pinch of salt - its their job to sell high as they then get a bigger commision.

Personally i hope the doom mongers do talk the prices down and then all the first time buyers will be able to get on the market. If we stay in the UK and house prices don't correct themselves we shall end up in a very small 2 bed house with 3 teenagers for company and no chance of them ever affording to buy for themselves. NOw that's scarey.

jads

Hi

Is the '4ha lifestyle block' a section of land?
I didnt think it was possible to get a new house for $350, that sounds a bargain!
Or maybe I'm just being thick and not understanding the figures (as normal)

Cheers Jads