zummerzet_lou

Hiya,

We are in the midst of our residency application and getting worried now that it REALLY is going to happen.

Before we made the decision, we looked a lot into house prices, cost of living etc.

Now re-looking ... and from the internet sites, it "looks" as though there are plenty beautiful houses for less than $400k (Hamilton, and Canterbury). Now .... are they really nice? Or will we have to spend more to get something that isn't falling apart/damp etc?

TIA,

Lou

Maz

Ask the year - or even the decade - when they were built. If it's in the 1980s, ask if it has dux plumbing. If it has, run a mile. Ask if it has double-glazing or not, and any kind of heat. Lots of kiwis will tell you this "doesn't matter" but when it gets cold and if you live on a hill, theh wind will whip into that house like it doesn't have windows...

Also ask for room sizes. We've found that bigger rooms are pretty hard to come by, but not impossible.

Good luck!

happynz

NZ$400k in Christchurch is probably the starting point for something that's not a wooden tent. However, I may well be wrong. Which part of Christchurch have you seen advertised?

Wiz'n'Ton

You'll get a great house in Canterbury for under 400k. Rangiora has a bunch of them, as does Rolleston. Many less than 10 yrs old. 4 bed and a double garage in there too.

The further from ChCh you go, the more you'll get for your money.

Look at Darfield or Leeston and you can add 2 or 3 acres to the property too for that money.

Disclaimer: By 'great' house, my definition is - less than 10yrs old, wooden frame, brick skin, heat pump, fitted kitchen, 1 bathroom, garage of some sort, single glazing, pink bats (glass wool) insulation in the walls and ceiling. I am not talking 'wooden shack'. Yes, they exist, but that doesn't mean you have to buy one!

happynz

^Yes, you're right about that. I was thinking of properties here in town.

Wiz'n'Ton

You mentioned Canterbury in your original post, hence the response.

You can get a decent place within the 4 aves for less than 400k, but expect to shop around, accept some compromises, and it to be along the 'wooden shack' or 'one of 8 units' lines. From living there I'd reccomend the side roads South of Bealey Ave, or just North of the same. Some nice places for silly, but not ridiculous prices.

happynz

^erm...not me, mate. I believe it was zummerzet_lou looking for a property.

Wiz'n'Ton

Oops - my mistake.

BEVS

We're in the Nelson and Tasman region. Top end of South Island. It's considered an expensive area to buy a house in.

We bought our house for under $400K. It was built 30 years ago by a local boat builder and it's solid as a rock. Warm in winter and no damp anywhere. Cool in summer. Angled correctly for the sun. The builder certainly knew his stuff IMO.

It sits on a third of an acre , with good views . It's close to the village centre but on a back section away from all traffic.

It has 4 bedrooms, one of which we use as an office. An upstairs bathroom and a downstairs shower room. Timber framed, as they all are, with a cedar wood cladding. It's been wool insulated in the walls & further insulated under-floor. Part of the house is on a slab and the rest on piles , so the underfloor insulation is important.

There is a garage, a car port , the workshop and a sleep-out. It also has an area under the house for storage.

It is single glazed. We would like double glazing at some point which will be expensive.

The heating is a log burner with a wetback. A wetback is like a back boiler and heats the hot water in winter. The log burner does chuck out a fair ole bit of heat and we can be very toasty in our lounge of a winters evening. Trouble with the wood burners is that they don't heat the entire house - just the room. Ours heats upstairs to the point where it is too warm. We will probably get a ducting system to move the warm air around the house, similar to what the French use. We may go for an inverted heat pump. Heats in Winter/Cools in Summer, although I'm not a fan of heat pumps really.
SarahB, on this forum, had central heating installed in her place. I'd like this and maybe some air-con upstairs for the summer months.

I think our house is lovely.The locals all state it to have been a good buy and say its a well built , warm house. It does need some upgrading, i.e the kitchen , shower and the decor but we felt this gave us an opportunity to make our own stamp on the place.

We could have built a house I suppose but it could not have been in our village of Mapua. The sections are just too expensive. We would have got a lot less for our money in this village with a new built house.


Our house is not damp and its not falling apart or rotting. It really was a good buy and it was under $400K in , what is, an expensive region. There will be similar out there for you zummerset_lou

ned

Well this is where my smug, sitting here in Blighty, ignorance is gonna come charging at you and slap you in the face. I quite like the look of those wooden villa type thingys. What is actually wrong with them?
Seeing as I slapped you first I am expecting a punch in the gob in return

Avid

It's been said a million times before but they are basically sheds.

So, if you have a shed....try living in it for a few months and see how it grows on you. It's fun at first....and if you stick it out for a few years you'll be fine!

BEVS

I believe that Southerner restored and upgraded a villa down in Dunedin. Mind you, he is a tough , hardened Southern Man Perhaps he'll spot the thread and make a post.

ned

I'm a Geordie man. If its just the cold I could put on a second t shirt

BEVS

Dustybin

a second t shirt.. are you a poof like??