Caravans, timber houses, temporary homes

[missvee]

Has anyone shipped a static caravan? I have looked for hours for static caravans in New Zealand but they don't have them, unless someone knows different.
The plan is to buy a section, then live in the caravan until my house is built. Then I may keep the caravan for relatives visiting and rent it out. I also looked into the idea of a temporary timber structure, anybody done this?
Missvee

[Glenda]

There are certainly some pretty make-shift dwellings here in NZ. Have seen buses, caravans and converted garages being lived in. A lot of the older houses (over 10 years old) have a 'sleepout' - either a converted garage or shed for visitors or rented out.

I can only say from my limited experience that if you intend having a house built within a town then you may come across convenants not allowing such temporary housing, and in some cases a house has to be of a certain build e.g. not kit-set. It may be you will have to look around for that plot without such restrictions.

:)

[missvee]

:) Thanks Glenda, that's useful I thought there may be restrictions like that.
Think I am going to have to stop being impatient and wait till I get theere.
Missvee

[MotherBear]

How about a relocatable house ? ?You can select what you like and they'll transport it to your section. ?If you would prefer to go ahead and still build your own you could live in a small relocatable until your house was finished and then sell it on to recoup your money. ?Alternatively, if you find a good, sturdy relocatable that you'd be happy to live in permanently, you could move into it pretty quickly without having to wait for a house to be built. ?You'd just need a concrete slab to drop it onto. ?I believe you can also add on to them if you wanted to extend it.

Relocatable houses are quite 'big' in NZ although I doubt whether you'd get permission to install one on a section in an upper class or modern suburb or in an area where it wouldn't necessarily 'fit in' as they are older, wooden houses. ?I think you'd have to get council permission before thinking of buying one, just to make sure, in the same way that you'd have to apply for planning permission before having your house built.

Housemovers might be nearer for you.
Bay of Plenty House Removals .

Don?t know if http://www.yellowpages.co.nz/Pages/Search/Results/0,2878,a6001_c401_d0_l3963_m0,00.html?businessName =&category=Building+Removals&keyword=&pageNum=1&st reet=] Independent Removal Contractors [/url] sell relocatables but might be worth investigating as they have a place in Whakatane. No website, unfortunately.

[missvee]

:) Thanks Motherbear, that sight is really interesting, I think anyone moving to NZ and thinking of building thier own house should look at this. Well I think they should look at the sight for the amazing pictures of whole houses, on the back of lorries, how do they do it?
I have emailed them posing a few questions, so thanks again.
Missvee

[MotherBear]

I quite like the look of this one from the first link. ?

Seeing pics of these houses, often in bits, on the back of a lorry always conjures up the thought '...and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again'. ?I'd love to watch one being put back together to see how they manage to do it without the house leaking like a sieve in the first fall of rain.

[missvee]

:o I hope they empty the house first, can you imagine not checking where granny is before you move.
It does worry me about the houses being the same before they were moved. I think it is in the same link, it shows a house propped up on oil drums in thier lot, that'a scary.
Missvee

[Glenda]

There are some houses near Whangarei which are being moved at the moment - not sure why, maybe the ground is unstable from slip or mines.

When I take the kids to school we pass a building company's site where they build feather-board houses in full view of the road ... never fails to catch our attention. It isn't long after they are completed that we see the houses being shifted to a lorry to be delivered to their new address.

:)

[missvee]

;D I THINK IT'S A HILARIOUS, I THINK IT WOULD BE SEREAL TO SEE A HUGE HOUSE MOVING. SUPPOSE THE KIWIS ARE USED TO IT. FANCY COMING HOME AND YOUR HOUSE HAS BEEN MOVED, AND YOUR WIFE/HUSBAND HASN'T TOLD YOU. ;D