Paladin

Anyone have any insight into how difficult, or not, it is to do self-build in NZ?

How do the banks view it as far as loans/mortgages go?

Any advice about the NZ process, pitfalls, hurdles?

Cheers,

Dave

Bodgit

We would also be interested in this. We have been doing a bit of research for house plans etc. There is a US site that does 'licensed' plans - you pay a fee that includes plans, material lists, cable and services routes, etc and a license to build a house.

You watch all these Grand Designs programmes here and we have realised that we like many things but have no cohesive image of the house we would like to build. So a site where there are a number of plans is a handy way to start to get ideas. I also suspect that in a year or so, it may be the only way left to get the house we like in NZ given that we don't have a huge amount of equity here to take with us. Find a nice plot of land somewhere and build. Bricks and mortar don't rise in value as much as pre-built properties.

I will be watching this thread with interest.

planty

We touched on this subject before here's one to look at

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315944

planty

Another interesting thread about, about renewable energy

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318715

Paladin

Cheers for the links!!!

Dave

Biddy

Dave - you really are going to have to come down here for a beer!
We're just starting the building process!

We bought 3 acres with our UK capital when we arrived. Spoke with half a dozen builders until finding the right one. Told him what we wanted and he interpreted that and 4 weks later had firm plans (for a 330m2 house - wow!)
The builders are a one stop shop as in everything from design to consent to building to decorating they sort out -all in the price that is agreed on.
They are a local firm and have built tons of houses round here so have a reputation and come highly recommended.

We've been very pleased so far.

We're at the stage where they've bulldozed one of our hills to make enough space, compacted the sand and marked out the property .

We expect to be in by about Oct this year and we're very excited and pleased with the whole process.
There's a plan of the property on my photobucket site at:
http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...HouseplanA.jpg

I'd recommend the whole thing - it's been great fun and now it's starting it's pretty exciting. We go to the land everyweekend to have bonfires and clear the lupins / blackberries and see the progress and walk the dog on the beach.

What a lovely life.

planty

Looks like it's going to be a great house Mike, look forward to seeing the ongoing pictures.

Spacecake799

Wow! What a great looking house.Knowing how much this whole process would set you back in the uk, is the cost comparable?

Biddy

Haven't got a clue what it would cost in the UK, but here the build bit is costing $400K. My parents are chipping in a bit (for the granny flat end) and we're getting a mortgage through ASB for the rest. They are happy to lend 2/3 of the value of the land for the building side. The land cost us $300K - which seems a bit on the pricey side - but we do have sea views and it's a beautifully quiet rural area 5 mins north of Waikanae.
So in total it'll cost $700K (or £280K at my old exchange rate of 2.5) - for a 330m2 house with sea views on nearly 3 acres - but should be worth a fair bit more once finished. We'll have a mortgage of approx $250Kat the end which should be doable.

I have found the whole process so far ridiculously easy.
Finding the land
Buying it
Finding a builder
Dealing with all the regulations
Getting a mortgage

Everyone seems (so far) to have done their jobs with speed and efficiency - now I don't think I'd be saying that if I were doing this in the UK!

I'd recommend the whole thing if you can afford it.

Best bit so far has been choosing colours, kitchens, taps, toilets, window styles, glass tints etc etc.

beaudixon

Hi,
We're just looking at having house built, we've seen Stonewood homes website they look pretty good. Going to NZ end of month and have a meeting with them to find out more.
Neil

Spacecake799

Thanks for the info biddy, we never gave self build a thought as we figured it would be out of our price range, but we hope to bring over the same amount as you so i may research some more. Also someone said you may be able to give us a clue as to the best thing to stay in when we get over there. We are also a family of 5 and will need to travel from at least Auckland to Wellington and possibly cch as my husband looks for a job. Any help would be greatly recieved.