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Thread: Introduction to the real estate section

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    38

    Default Introduction to the real estate section

    Hi All,
    I just thought i'd say hi. I have been knocking around the forum for a little while now, but this is my first post in the real estate section. Up until now most of my posts have been about general life in NZ and actually making the move. Now we're here (nearly 4 weeks but feels like we've always been here), i'm interested in the next step - our own home. We're currently renting (in Omokoroa just outside Tauranga) and are planning to do so for about 12 months so we can get a bit of cash behind us, and also be sure what we want out of a house. We've already changed our priorities since we've been in NZ. Initially a view from our home was the main priority, but now we've decided we wan't a bit of land. We're not talking about a farm or anything, but maybe a 1000sqm plot. We're undecided on whether to build or renovate too. At the minute i prefer the build option as you know you are getting a house that is up to current spec, but there are some bargains to be had if we are willing to renovate. My main concern is that i don't know the types of problems old NZ houses suffer from. I've renovated a couple of houses back in the UK, and i'd have a bit of an idea back there, but out here i feel totally clueless. I don't know about materials, prices, tradesmen, what to look for when viewing - anything really.
    Has anybody got any links to helpful older threads or even any general advice?
    Cheers
    Paul

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    12

    Default

    Would recommend to talk to an experienced civil engineer to have good idea of how the housing are constructed. The one who has built a house himself would know relatively well what is behind the paint. My personal preference is to build if you have time (rushing will cost you the beauty of designing and adjusting to meet your own need).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    12

    Default

    You may want to look at some local contractor web sites to see their "kit house" to have some sense of prices and sizes and materials. I saw somewhere people mentioned about A1 etc.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Dairy Flat, Auckland
    Posts
    1,789

    Default

    There is useful info in the house building threads of peoples ventures into the building of a house(mine included) http://www.enz.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=27 Then check out www.buildyourdream.co.nz

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Chch, NZ
    Posts
    2,226

    Default

    At the minute i prefer the build option as you know you are getting a house that is up to current spec, but there are some bargains to be had if we are willing to renovate.
    Old houses built 25+ years ago generally have no major problems at all as if there were any, they would of showed up by now. It's also important to know that old houses with wood floor joist on pile construction do not have the insulation as modern inslab polystyrene insulated concrete floor slabs of today's homes. Prior to the 80s, virtually all houses in NZ were constructed with wood over concrete pile construction and a general upgrade in insulation is by installing polystyrene between the wood floor joists. This still does not address the cold air that is vented under the crawl space. In many issues, and i'm speaking from an energy efficiency point of view, it's not cost effective to turn an old house into a standard of a new house. Many of the old timber framed houses purposely had holes drilled in the bottom and top plates of the wood framing for the purpose of ventilation - so you would have to address this before installing insulation in the wall cavities.

    The risky houses to watch out for were those built recently say post 1990 when there was a lot of changes to the building act. One being the ban of treated timber framing and the introduction of EIFS (external insulated finishing system a la monolithic polystyrene cladding) for the house exterior. The use of untreated timber framing did not contribute to the 'leaky house syndrome" in NZ but rather, it accelerated the rate of how fast a house will go rotten. A must read below for any potential home buyer:

    http://dontbuyaleaker.weebly.com/

    It is even more important to note that a building inspector does not offer guaranteed protection in buying a bad house. Majority of these inspectors go by visual and no home seller would be willing to allow any inspector to poke holes in their walls to get a more accurate reading if the walls contained moisture or not (or inspectors having the required tools for inspection). Furthermore, NZ building inspectors are not required to go through any formal training or certification scheme (which is a shame considering how expensive buying a house can be). In Canada the province of Ontario is in the process of implementing a certification scheme for such building inspectors shown here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxM90...ature=youtu.be

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