New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Nice..but where are the trees?

there is a river and a forest right behind where I am standing.

 

It’s on the banks of the Clutha river in Wanaka.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Congrats but looks too flat and easy to build on, where is the challenge you always look for???

The challenge is affording it.

[BaGearA]

#containerhome.......

aren't they also much cheaper than traditional cement and brick houses ?

[Wayne Potgieter]

So here are a couple of preliminary images/renditions of the house. The floor plan suits us perfectly.

 

We work from home, so the bedroom closest the garage is going to be a home office, the two bedrooms sharing a bathroom will belong to the kiddos and the big bedroom will be my wife's but she may occasionally allow me to use it.

 

Only changes I am making are:

 

1. The doors to the kids bathrooms are going to be cavity sliders.

2. A garbage disposal to be installed

3. A fireplace for the media room

 

The house will take around 9 months to build and allowing for 1 month for Christmas, it should be ready end July 2021. Just in time to catch the last of the ski season in Cardrona (40 minutes away). Closest international airport is Queenstown. 

 

All of this for $950k.

 

The area has a 4 bedroom median index of $1.4m so I think it will grow, although it is not a primary investment. It is our home.

 

Current population of Wanaka is around 13,000 looking to double in the next 5-10 years and a new international airport is being planned for about 20 minutes away (although that will likely take a few years before it gets completed)

 

I can buy a 3 bedroom single garage home (around 150m2) for about $550k so the area is still pretty affordable (not by RSA standards though  )

 

I honestly believe Wanaka is about to have a little property boom and there are not many places in NZ that have that. So I am betting on it. I am insanely nervous. This is a huge amount of money and if it goes belly up, I am up schitt creek (not the tv series). 

 

We will likely move down over December/January and take a 6-8 month rental as we get settled. My son finishes primary school this year, so it would be a good time to move and have him start at the new school in the new year. Rentals are also much cheaper than Auckland so it gives us a chance to save 7 months of rental difference.

 

Honestly, if it was not for being able to work remotely, I would not be able to pull this off. So there is a covid silver lining in a bad situation.

[davetapson]

That looks so awesome Wayne.

Properly designed house (covered garage to house, separate toilet to bathroom, but with toilet in bathroom, decent open plan kitchen/dr/lounge.)  Carpeted garage?  Pampered cars...

Is the W/R the media room?

We went for an auction a couple weeks ago, got organised to offer top dollar and got outbid by R60k (which incidentally was just on the reserve for the house, which is ludicrous.)  Seems that at the moment people think houses will never get sold again, so better get one now no matter the price.

So, best part of $2k down on valuation/inspection/lawyers fee and we get... nothing.

So, it's become apparent that a new build is probably the sensible way in. We just not so keen on the whole Long Bay houses on top of houses thing.

Edit: seems to me that for the value we got outbid by, you could almost buy a house on the Oos Ront... 

Edited October 4, 2020 by davetapson

[Wayne Potgieter]

That looks so awesome Wayne.

 

Properly designed house (covered garage to house, separate toilet to bathroom, but with toilet in bathroom, decent open plan kitchen/dr/lounge.)  Carpeted garage?  Pampered cars...

 

Is the W/R the media room?

 

We went for an auction a couple weeks ago, got organised to offer top dollar and got outbid by R60k (which incidentally was just on the reserve for the house, which is ludicrous.)  Seems that at the moment people think houses will never get sold again, so better get one now no matter the price.

 

So, best part of $2k down on valuation/inspection/lawyers fee and we get... nothing.

 

So, it's become apparent that a new build is probably the sensible way in. We just not so keen on the whole Long Bay houses on top of houses thing.

 

Edit: seems to me that for the value we got outbid by, you could almost buy a house on the Oos Ront... 

Carpeted garage is pretty standard in Otago. I reckon its for the cold 

 

The Media room is the Lounge. Kids play drums and guitar so its nice to have a seperate area for that and to be able to close it up if guests come over. Also, we can move that gear out into the garage and convert it to a guest room for if anyone needs a place to stay (Open offer to hubbers)

[davetapson]

Carpeted garage is pretty standard in Otago. I reckon its for the cold 

 

The Media room is the Lounge. Kids play drums and guitar so its nice to have a seperate area for that and to be able to close it up if guests come over. Also, we can move that gear out into the garage and convert it to a guest room for if anyone needs a place to stay (Open offer to hubbers)

Ah - W/R is wardrobe in main bedroom - nice.

 

I didn't see the doors to the Media room, yep, nice.

 

Edit: that's one thing the developers have got right, they know how to build a house that ticks all the boxes for a livable house.  There are some strange structures  masquerading as houses that we've looked at.

Edited October 4, 2020 by davetapson

[patches]

So here are a couple of preliminary images/renditions of the house. The floor plan suits us perfectly.

 

We work from home, so the bedroom closest the garage is going to be a home office, the two bedrooms sharing a bathroom will belong to the kiddos and the big bedroom will be my wife's but she may occasionally allow me to use it.

 

Only changes I am making are:

 

1. The doors to the kids bathrooms are going to be cavity sliders.

2. A garbage disposal to be installed

3. A fireplace for the media room

 

The house will take around 9 months to build and allowing for 1 month for Christmas, it should be ready end July 2021. Just in time to catch the last of the ski season in Cardrona (40 minutes away). Closest international airport is Queenstown. 

 

All of this for $950k.

 

The area has a 4 bedroom median index of $1.4m so I think it will grow, although it is not a primary investment. It is our home.

 

Current population of Wanaka is around 13,000 looking to double in the next 5-10 years and a new international airport is being planned for about 20 minutes away (although that will likely take a few years before it gets completed)

 

I can buy a 3 bedroom single garage home (around 150m2) for about $550k so the area is still pretty affordable (not by RSA standards though  )

 

I honestly believe Wanaka is about to have a little property boom and there are not many places in NZ that have that. So I am betting on it. I am insanely nervous. This is a huge amount of money and if it goes belly up, I am up schitt creek (not the tv series). 

 

We will likely move down over December/January and take a 6-8 month rental as we get settled. My son finishes primary school this year, so it would be a good time to move and have him start at the new school in the new year. Rentals are also much cheaper than Auckland so it gives us a chance to save 7 months of rental difference.

 

Honestly, if it was not for being able to work remotely, I would not be able to pull this off. So there is a covid silver lining in a bad situation.

 

Damn! That is amazing!

 

Seriously, living the dream!

 

I was down in Christchurch and Hanmer over the weekend and was working hard on trying to convince my better half that we need to move down south.

 

I'll have to show her these floor plans and your view. That may be the winning argument!

 

5-8 more years living in Auckland and trying to pay back the bank at a 15yr rate, then hopefully I can sell up and buy a decent house on the South Island (Central Otago preferable) and have half the mortgage.

 

But 5-8yrs seems so far away, especially when I see posts like yours

[patches]

As a compromise (for being stuck in Auckland for the next few years), I am seriously thinking about sending one of my Huskies and adventure gear (panniers, tent, etc) down to a self-storage unit in Christchurch, to have a small base-of-operations for future adventures.

Currently I only ride the darn thing to work (once or twice a month) and I really miss riding on the South Island. So if the self-storage costs aren't too high, I reckon I could fly down every 5-6 weeks (mostly on airpoints), grab the bike & camping gear, and head off on one of many possible offroad adventures.

[Wayne Potgieter]

As a compromise (for being stuck in Auckland for the next few years), I am seriously thinking about sending one of my Huskies and adventure gear (panniers, tent, etc) down to a self-storage unit in Christchurch, to have a small base-of-operations for future adventures.

 

Currently I only ride the darn thing to work (once or twice a month) and I really miss riding on the South Island. So if the self-storage costs aren't too high, I reckon I could fly down every 5-6 weeks (mostly on airpoints), grab the bike & camping gear, and head off on one of many possible offroad adventures.

Wanna store your stuff in Wanaka? 

[patches]

Wanna store your stuff in Wanaka? 

 

hahaha! Don't tempt me. Once that Tarras airport is built, I may look at moving my South Island "foothold", a little further south than Christchurch   

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

aren't they also much cheaper than traditional cement and brick houses ?

 

That really depends.

I watched a doccie on a couple building one in Christchurch.

The project got away from them very quickly. They budgeted $650K and it ballooned to over $1mil. Also took 2 years.

 

It is definitely capable of being a lot cheaper and modular to adding later is easy.

My favourite is the all all inclusive container pool. Drop it in a hole or on a slab and it is good to go.

[i24]

In a few weeks I will own this land. And then I can build our first NZ home.

 

#wanaka

 

Wow. That looks nearly as far South as Marion Island. What is it like there in winter?

[Wayne Potgieter]

Wow. That looks nearly as far South as Marion Island. What is it like there in winter?

Amazing skiing and snowboarding.

 

Actually, the houses are built for it. We were there a week ago and it got to -8 real feel. I slept in undies and a tshirt. Double glazing, central heating and well insulated homes. When I was outside, i wore a thermal layer under my jeans and tshirt and then a normal winter jacket.Nothing too crazy. 

[patches]

That looks so awesome Wayne.

 

Properly designed house (covered garage to house, separate toilet to bathroom, but with toilet in bathroom, decent open plan kitchen/dr/lounge.)  Carpeted garage?  Pampered cars...

 

Is the W/R the media room?

 

We went for an auction a couple weeks ago, got organised to offer top dollar and got outbid by R60k (which incidentally was just on the reserve for the house, which is ludicrous.)  Seems that at the moment people think houses will never get sold again, so better get one now no matter the price.

 

So, best part of $2k down on valuation/inspection/lawyers fee and we get... nothing.

 

So, it's become apparent that a new build is probably the sensible way in. We just not so keen on the whole Long Bay houses on top of houses thing.

 

Edit: seems to me that for the value we got outbid by, you could almost buy a house on the Oos Ront... 

 

Sorry Dave. That part of house hunting really sucks!

 

Even looking isn't "free"!

 

I was lucky in a sense and only "wasted" $600, on a building inspection for a house in Castor Bay that looked AMAZING! 1960's California style ranch, heaps of space including a workshop, separate double garage, AND a rumpus room. Freehold land, and and and.

 

It looked WAY outta budget, but turns out the $600 I spent on a builders report potentially saved me over $100k. The house had some consenting and structural issues that were not an easy fix. The buider said "DO NOT BUY!". The auction results reflected this (went for $150k under CV). Had I not spent the $600, I may have gone in guns blazing and been stuck with some serious regret.

 

As for the conveyancer, I used one that was happy to look at a handful of properties and only charge for the one that was purchased.

 

So all up, I think the house hunting exercise cost us about $2700 ($1500 conveyancer, and 2x buidlers reports).

 

Fortunately that was all offset by the $7500 odd from the bank's cashback offer.

[davetapson]

 

I was lucky in a sense and only "wasted" $600, on a building inspection for a house in Castor Bay that looked AMAZING! 1960's California style ranch, heaps of space including a workshop, separate double garage, AND a rumpus room. Freehold land, and and and.

 

It looked WAY outta budget, but turns out the $600 I spent on a builders report potentially saved me over $100k. The house had some consenting and structural issues that were not an easy fix. The buider said "DO NOT BUY!". The auction results reflected this (went for $150k under CV). Had I not spent the $600, I may have gone in guns blazing and been stuck with some serious regret.

Castor Bay - the home of the leaky house... I had a look at a house there, same deal in terms of price, luckily the estate agent gave me the whole run down on leaky houses...