jennifer45

Sorry Genisis
but you're way out!
It was the 1990s built houses that failed the weather tightness.
Mainly due to design/building methods/materials! No eaves/ stucco down to the ground or penetrated for railings, flat roofs with inadequate slope/drainage.
Check this site out -

http://www.consumerbuild.org.nz/publ...background.php

there are many more!
As for building inspectors- we used the ex- chief council building inspector. He had a wealth of experience- seen it all and the ruses used to cover things up. He was not bothered about upsetting anyone - he gave a straight, full, honest report! Thank goodness!!

He reported on our final house- a stucco build/ 2004. Built by top builder for himself and his family.
An absolute gem, Private sale by the vendor. Not a devious, lying, conniving estate agent to be seen!
There are lots of good houses out there- just as there are lots of cr@p houses in the UK.
You just have to know what to look out for and be careful.
Hence my advice- get a building inspectors report.
A good one!
Jennie

Black Sheep

Could you elaborate on this comment please! What possible difference can it make, what possible problems can it cause, to a buyer to get the LIM report for a property they're considering buying directly from the vendor as opposed to from the council?? Either way, directly or indirectly, the LIM report will have originated from the "relevant council"??

I as a vendor have, a few weeks prior to putting my house on the market, paid the several hundred dollars to obtain a LIM report on my property from the council - not just because having the LIM report ready to hand to offer for perusal to serious buyers ensures for me that the sale will not be delayed by any extended-period 'conditional on LIM report' clause in any offers made, but also because if there IS any kind of problem that shows up on the LIM, I want to know about it so that I can 'fix' it before I offer my property on the market - no potentially nasty surprises that could lead to a sale falling through, or give excuse for am unanticipated demand for reduction in price.

I can assure you that every buyer who was interested in my property was without exception very very happy indeed to a) be given the opportunity to see the report before even making an offer, b) not have to wait up to several weeks for the report to come through from council, and c) not have to pay the several hundred dollars cost for the report out of their own pocket.

The council e-mails me the LIM report within a few weeks of my having paid for it. I can then, in turn, 'forward' it on instantly to any buyer interested in seeing it. The date of issue is clearly marked on the report. Personally, I think buyers and vendors should both always also go down physically to the relevant council office, no matter who ordered the LIM report, just to 'sight' the actual property file in person - in case, for instance, any thing new has come up since the report was issued. There is also occasionally information in the actual physical file that doesn't show up on the LIM.

For the vendor to order, and offer to buyers, the LIM report is win-win all around as far as my experience has gone. So I'm very curious to hear an explanation for your comment.

gags

Now that's better. That's what I needed to hear. I am not nieve and have owned a home for well over 20 years and I do know you have to take care of your home for it to look after you. Not saying that other people don,t look after their homes but then are still blighted with problems, but I did need to read that. It sounded like there was simply no hope. We do appreciate that homes over there are not built the same, don't have heating or double glazing but as you say those things can be changed. Not really sure what we will be able to afford when we get there, have a vague idea Positivity keeps everything moving. Thankyou

Genesis

Not sure that I am way out as your link refers to the untreated wood element that was actually 1998 onwards for a few years. I live in one of the houses that is prone to leaking. I have spoken to the council about it. They don't ALL leak! The building chap I spoke to talked of one like mine built 40 years ago that according to myth should be falling down..its not. Houses do leak. My neighbours house which is a totally 'non leaky type' house has a huge water ingress problem and it has lots of eaves where as I have an art deco style 'leaky home' which is dry....so far anyways. I do think like the british tabloids some people have been getting the problems somewhat engrossed with comments like NEVER buy a kiwi home. There are rubbish properties out there, get all your checks done et al and I am sure you will have no problems. But as I said only time will tell if you do get any problems.

jennifer45

Hi Genesis,
sorry maybe I should have highlighted the relevant parts.
You originally said
""Apparently the really bad ones were built circa 2000 for a 3-4 year period when rules on preserving wood were relaxed and thus when water got into the untreated wood it caused much damage."
Yes, you were referring to the use of untreated wood.

My link refers to the problem of many 'badly' built houses in the 1990s up to early 2000s. Poor design features/ unsuitable materials/ poor application of the monolithic cladding.

"During the 1990s a considerable number of houses were built using methods that haven't withstood the weather conditions in New Zealand. Because of the problems involving design, and installation of materials, these houses leak when it rains. In some cases the materials themselves were used inappropriately.
Once water or moisture gets behind certain cladding types, if there is no cavity between the cladding and the framework, the water becomes trapped and cannot easily escape or evaporate."

None of this means that all monolithic clad houses are likely to fail and become 'leaky'.
It does however warn prospective buyers of what to look out for and ensure owners keep up the maintainance on such houses.
A house will last as long as you want it to, providing it is well maintained.
I love Stucco clad houses- not sure I'd go for a flat roofed one, considering the rain in NZ but must admit the Art Deco style is very appealing. I guess if you ensure the runoff is kept free and use the latest flat roof weatherproofed coating/covering applied by a good professional you'll be leak free for ever.
We're having ours repainted [don't like the drab, dull colours that were in vogue a few years ago, which did the stucco no favours, drawing the heat into the cladding and expanding it.]
Light colours reflect the heat but there's a type of exterior paint which expands and contracts with the changes in temperature and prevents the cracks starting.
Hey I could be talking about similar built houses in the UK. No-one took the local governments to court for 'passing' the many 'leaky/damp homes' in the UK. Maybe the NZ government takes it's responsibilities for its citizens welfare more seriously than other countries. Not sure of all the details but it made the DBH tighten up on many things- all for our good!

Batty

So long as a LIM report is within 3 months it doesn't matter if your buyer gets it from your neighbour! The three month thing is to cover work that might have been done without approval - anyway even if a LIM is older than that all it takes is a call to Council to make sure nothing has been added since the LIM was issued. There is absolutely no reason to doubt that you have done exactly the right thing.

ewanainsworth

Hi Black sheep. Yes you have done a very helpfull move by getting your own LIM report as a vendor. Yes it does give the buyers a chance to see it before getting their own.
The reason that buyers are advised to get the report themselves is that there are plenty of stories about unscrupulous vendors and real estate agents removing undesirable pages and other devious tacticts to try and dupe buyers into entering into a sales agreement. If buyers get the LIM themselves, then it completely eliminates any risk of the document being fraudulently tampered with.
It is purely for the buyers own protection that this advice is given, no matter how old the LIM report is, if your going to buy real estate in NZ then get your own LIM report.
For the sake of 10 days and a couple of hundred dollars, its completely worth it for peace of mind.
I am in no way saying you are one of these people black sheep. Just telling it how it is.
Hope this helps and good luck with your sale.