tinalouie

I will bear those figures in mind, thank you

BEVS

Yes. That is very true.

BEVS

I'd go along with that.

Some of the franchises offer land and property deals.

escapedtonz

Yes the majority of them do offer a land and property package deal but you really have to do the sums.
For example a 4 bed 200 sq meter home on a 500 or 600 sq meter section for $550-$600k on a new development....that's getting on for $3000 per sq metre land included but not much land. You'll get a way better deal doing it yourself.

Charismatic

Cheap, quick or good. Pick any two .

fiddler

Hi,
I am about to start the process of moving to Auckland from Aberdeen. Would you get a mortgage for self build and how much deposit would one need? I almost fainted seeing the house prices in Auckland and I dont think I would be able to afford a decent house in Auckland.
Thanks

Kotare

Look at section (building plot) prices first

escapedtonz

Getting a construction mortgage (for purchase of land and building a home), just like any other mortgage or finance, all depends on your visa status.
If you have a permanent class visa then yes you'll be able to get a mortgage based on affordability. If you are only here on a temp visa you will only get finance till the expiry date of that visa. This goes for all finance so if you wanna buy a car or whatever, you'll only be able to finance something until the date you must leave. If you have a permanent visa without an expiry date then no issue.

The amount to be financed will be based on a maximum 80% of the total cost to buy the land and build the house, so you'll need 20% deposit to leave 20% equity. An example.....section cost $400 000 and build cost $400 000, total buy and build cost $800 000 you'll need to pay at least $160 000 as a deposit and finance the other $640 000, however you may not be able to mortgage $640 000 as you'd have to have a pretty decent family income to be able to borrow so much. Bear in mind to borrow $640 000 over 30 years at a rate of 4.25% will cost you $3150 per month or $1450 per fortnight (pay is usually fortnightly here).
Once the house is actually built you could have the property and land re-valued as it is likely that it will be worth more than assumed off the plans. This may allow you to re-mortgage and borrow more as the value of the project is higher, however in doing this you open yourself up to paying increased rates as what you pay in council fees/rates is based on the valuation of a home (RV - registered valuation or CV - Council Valuation).


Land isn't cheap unless you are in a place not many people live. High demand means high cost. Have a look at the cost to buy a section on Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me
If you can't afford to buy in Auckland it's unlikely you'll be able to afford to buy a section and build.
There are a lot of unknown costs with building your own property that can cost a fortune - i.e. water connection, electricity connection, septic tank if needed, drainage scheme yada yada. Not that expensive in relation if you intend to build in suburbia but if it's semi-rural or rural you may have to factor in $50k-$75k extra just for those essentials.

Building a house in Auckland also costs more than elsewhere in the country - materials, labor, tradesmen, delays - everything is higher in Auckland, so for instance if I wanted to build the house we are building in Auckland instead of Tauranga it'd cost us at least another 15% on top of the $400k we will be paying and at least another 3 months.

Median house price in Auckland is now mid $800k's so yes very unaffordable for a lot of people. It is an investors market for sure and this also pushes through for the purchase of land.

MrsFychan

heres an example of land and house packages.

House and Land Packages Auckland | Lifestyle Block | Key2

not clear if those prices are all in or just the purchase of the land and construction, you may have to figure in connection costs and council fees

escapedtonz

Woh...not cheap!

Those packages will include connection costs for water/wastewater and electricity plus maybe gas if available, council fees and the things stated plus an allowance of xxx square metres of concrete that you can decide where to spend it (drive/pathway/patio).
You will have to pay extra for any landscaping, any earthworks over and above the bare minimum, heating systems, DVS/HRV system, floor tiling/carpets, blinds and/or curtains.
It looks like a fairly comprehensive package but there will always be extra costs on top.
So happy not to be living in Auckland

fiddler

Thank you very much for your detailed response. We are considering to live in Kumeu, Riverhead, Silverdale or Huapai. My work is going to be in North shore hospital as I will be employed by Weitamata health board. Orewa and Matakana look like very good villages as well. However, Commute to work looks like will take atleast an hour each way. My salary is going to be roughly 200,000 dollars a year. Hence something around a million looks just about okay.
I had job offers in Wellington, Christchurch and Invercargill where in we could have afforded something better but the cosmopolitan

escapedtonz

I can vouch for Orewa being a very nice place to live. We've stayed there on the beach in a camper van whilst on a road trip and we've spent lots of time there with friends who live out on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula at Gulf Harbour. We have a favourite coffee shop/cafe there on Hibiscus Coast Highway and there's a pretty decent general store that doubles as a British goods store. It is a really nice place.
Orewa to North Shore Hospital 25 mins in normal traffic, however cannot guarantee that your commute would be normal.
If you did live that way on, you do have the option of keeping off SH1 and commute via the E Coast Road SH25 which I guess wouldn't be anywhere near as busy but could be just as bad at the wrong time. Luckily you won't be going over the Harbour Bridge and in to Auckland which is a massive bonus.
$200k is an awesome salary and should mean life in Auckland is affordable, but you'll still have to watch what you are spending on accommodation or property and be mindful of all the other expenses involved.

On that salary and after paying income tax and ACC contributions, the amount of income is:

$141,366.23 per annum
$11,780.52 per month
$5,437.16 per fortnight
$2,718.58 per week
Giving an effective tax rate of 29.32%
(i.e. 28.46% + 0.86% ACC)

Kiwisaver deductions 4%:

$8,000.00 per annum
$666.67 per month
$307.69 per fortnight
$153.85 per week

Cash in hand:
$133,366.23 per annum
$11,113.85 per month
$5,129.47 per fortnight
$2,564.74 per week

Total deductions as a percentage of income: 33.32%
(Income Tax + ACC + Kiwisaver)

fiddler

Thanks escapedtonz!! That was the info that I was looking to work out. With a 4 year old and 1 year old kid and a wife who will work as well we need to balance her place of work, school and child centre. Being an Indian who has been living in UK for 12 years we would be hoping for a bit of multicultural place. Thanks again for all the info. I will be going through as much as possible info on this forum which is full of kind hearted helpful souls to glean as much info as possible as I have no family, no friends and have never been to New Zealand before.