Bought a section

Been a bit busy recently. :icon_rolleyes: Separated hubby came to visit to sort legal issues and assess where we will be living. Houses are expensive here in the Bay of Islands and you cannot get much under $450,000 unless you are prepared to live very rural, or be happy to live in a shed. We need somewhere within walking distance of town with four bedrooms, and we struggled to find it.

We did find one almost new four-bedroom house and expectantly went to view it. Nice accommodation, however the house was built to a metre of the fence on both sides and the neighbouring property was similarly close. Furthermore, the front garden could just about park a car and the back had just enough room for a rotary clothes line ... not really suitable for four children.

So, we thought about buying a section and having a house built. We popped along to one of the group housebuilding companies? showhouses and chatted with a very nice man there. These companies offer a variety of standard house designs at fixed contract prices and are very popular here. The particular one we went to had a ?special offer? - we could get a four-bedroom house built for $222,000. This figure covers everything to do with the house, including bathroom, floors, carpets, kitchen, appliances, etc. but does not cover clearance of the site, groundworks that have to be carried out on a site which is not level or needs additional foundations, septic tank if needed, water tanks if needed, paths, driveway, landscaping, fireplace or heating systems. To keep costs down, we were advised to look for a site which was flat, not low or close to water.

Looking for that right section was quite exhausting. There were many out of town but the ones in town were either tiny, sloping, too expensive, or sold. We decided we may have to play a bit 'dirty' and we rang an agent up and tentatively asked if we could put in a higher offer for one already sold subject to contract ... to our surprise we were told we could as it had just that morning come back on the market! So we made our offer.

To put in an offer, the real estate agent took our details and filled in the standard ?Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate? form. This sets out all details, the amount of deposit, and any conditions you want to add to those already stated as standard. Such additional conditions could include financing, planning consultations or geotech report. In our case, the previous purchasers had already obtained a geotech report and the site is sound, plus an appointment with the local planning officer alleviated any concern. Furthermore, the building company's representative was very helpful in discussing the pros and cons of the site, and building on it.

The agents may like you to sign the Agreement straight away, but it is a better idea to take it to your lawyer to check over first because once signed you are committed unless, of course, the vendor does not agree to the sale and refuses to sign himself. In our case, the vendor took a day before he signed, after asking for another $10,000 which I refused to pay.

After we received the good news that the sale was agreed, I had to write out a cheque for the deposit. Now, they do like 10% deposits ? it is not legally necessary and one could push for a smaller deposit, however they do so like their 10% to show your commitment. Guess it is a psychological thing.

So now, subject to the LIM report (Land Information Memorandum - provides info such as legal description, stormwater and drainage details, special land features, susceptibility to flooding or erosion, presence of hazardous contaminants, conservation matters, rates, consents, notices, requisitions or orders that may affect the land or buildings) which the solicitor obtains on the site, I am the owner of a 3000sq.metre section of land in a small subdivision 20mins walk from town. \:D/ After completion early September, I will pay a deposit on the house design I want built and it is expected to take two months to get the planning sorted, a month for the groundworks, then six months to put the house up. Hopefully, we will be in before next winter.

I will let you know what happens.

:icon_biggrin:

EXCELLENT!!!!!

Great to have another one of your oh so useful essays. Great Info, the kind of post that inspires others back in the UK.

But oooo you harsh person you, gazumping some poor innocent purchaser haha. That's UK stylee ay? We rock!!! Probably a property investor anyway, or a land hogger. Congrats....you deserve it. Incedentally whats the lead time til building commences?

With the shortage of builders, we've been told if we signed tomorrow one company wouldn't start building til APRIL next year .

Incedentally whats the lead time til building commences?
With the shortage of builders, we've been told if we signed tomorrow one company wouldn't start building til APRIL next year ? .

Thanks, Stevey.

The chap said we would be in before next winter. ?He had better not be talking porkies! ?

;D

Splendid news, Glenda. I bet your head is full of colour schemes and plans for your newbuild. Exciting times and I envy your excitement. At least you're in NZ and can monitor progress as the house goes up. It'll be a very interesting experience for our members to follow as, no doubt, there will be others that will be inspired to buy land and have a house built from scratch.

Please keep us posted.

Congrats Glenda!!!

Things are going so well for you!! Well done. How exciting to be able to build your own house.........its something we didn't even consider!

I'm up to my eyes in new carpet, new blinds, new furniture and new plants at the moment............but it's so exciting!!

Good luck and I hope you are in your new home as soon as possible!

Fisheress

Good news, Glenda. Here's hoping for a smooth process from start to finish.

Wow that's exciting for you all! You'll have just what you want that way. Congratulations!
Debra

Go for it Glenda!!! Exciting times, hope it all goes smoothly for you, keep us posted!

I am dreaming of building my own house too so keep us posted on your progress so we can 'live' the dream so to speak

Pulsarblu

[Glenda]

Well, completed on the section of land and hope the plans for the house will be submitted in the next few days. :)

I?ve spent the last two weeks making decisions about the house. The design sticks ? the reason it is one of the cheaper houses is that it cannot be changed or altered. The biggest decision was what brick to use and what colour roof/joinery/garage door to have. Looking at samples in the showroom was not very helpful, so off I went looking at houses already built aided by a list supplied by the building company of addresses and the bricks they had used. Then, for two hours the colour consultant and I perused over all the different combinations for the kitchen, tiles, carpets and paints. Not 100% able to remember what I eventually chose ? but I know it did look OK!

Other decisions had to be made and choosing what heating to have is difficult. Central heating hardly exists here in the ?winterless north?, and is not so common further south! For full house heating, ducted air is usual, or underfloor heating, but these can be expensive. More popular are heat pumps which are usually fitted in the main living areas, leaving the smaller bedrooms to convector heaters or the common plug-in radiators. Apparently (haven?t got the full quote yet), a heat pump could cost me $4,000 fitted ? that is just one pump to heat (and cool during summer) the open plan dining/kitchen/lounge area. Even more popular are the woodburners which are usually free-standing in the living area, sometimes having a hot water cylinder attached. Woodburners start at around $1,400 and my friendly housebuilding company tells me they can install the flue for an extra $750. I think this is a must have.

I?ve had a chat with the guy who will install the heating and he seems certain that only one heat pump will suffice our small 4 bedroom house, and suggests using a heat transfer system to give a little warmth to the bedrooms. Waiting for a proper quote on that, but I expect it to be $900 for two bedrooms, $1,200 for three. Hmmm. Can understand why some Kiwis don?t bother with much heating ? although the heat pump is cheaper to use than normal heaters and radiators, it will take 10-15 years to benefit from the savings I will make. Our summer electric bill has been around $105 a month, the winter around $165 a month using small fan heaters, an oil-fired radiator, and an open fire. Why bother installing expensive heating in a newer, better insulated house?

Another strange thing I noticed here is that Council rates are expected to be paid on sections, even without house on. Ours is around $1,300 a year.

I?ll post again soon with details of all those ?lovely? extras ? expected to be around $30-35,000!