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@jegga said in Housing hornets' nest:
Yep single glazed aluminium windows suck , if you can pay the extra go for thermally broken double glazed.
So true. Pretty easy to add double glazing to a lot of them but you can't retrofit a thermal break.
In our latest round of reno's we insulated the exterior walls of our bedrooms and lounge/kitchen and added foam insulation around the doors and window frames. Made a huge difference in retaining heat and getting rid of any drafts. But you still get condensation on the aluminium frames. Double glazing will help a bit but you still have the frame connecting inside and outside conditions.
We'd like to build at some point but not keen at all on a house that occupies 90% of the land and is made of balsa wood! See enough of that over our back fence at the Aotea development in Porirua. Not our cup of tea! nor in our price range which may be why I'm salty on them ha ha
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I'm still living in the first home I bought (in NZ).
when I bought it I thought - will it do me until I die? Yes. Good where do I sign?
I could so easily have upgraded over the years - got a place with a view, pool, on the coast, parking for cars I don't own and a bathroom for every day of the week.
Not doing so is the best financial decision I have ever made.
I've spent a fair bit on it over the years and done a lot myself - reroofed, painted it twice (overdue a repaint now but struggling to bring myself to do it) and now its comfortable like an old favourite jersey.
I might sell down and take some cash out but more than likely I will die there.
However there is no way on earth I can imagine how I could afford to buy it now and I earn reasonable coin.
$300K deposit. My parents were poor. I can't see how anyone can come up with that sort of cash unless they have a massive head-start in life.
If I were starting out I don't think I'd bother. I've lived in countries where home ownership was not the norm and everyone seemed happy.
We need a paradigm shift away from your house being your only asset - which of course would lead to cheaper housing too in the long run
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@jegga said in Housing hornets' nest:
@Virgil I don't mind painting the inside, chuck on a podcast and get on with it. Outside, yeah nah.
Try painting a roof!
I volunteered to paint the inlaws batch roof over the Xmas break, not big but spent around 12 - 14 hours up there. 20+ degree days looking over the lake at fluffybunnies cruising about in their boats etc.. -
@dogmeat said in Housing hornets' nest:
However there is no way on earth I can imagine how I could afford to buy it now and I earn reasonable coin.
$300K deposit. My parents were poor. I can't see how anyone can come up with that sort of cash unless they have a massive head-start in life.
I think this is a good point. A bunch of this thread is touched on the usual stuff on how todays generation can't make the sacrifices of the past (lattes, holidays etc) - but quite clearly people on low to medium incomes have a much bigger struggle to get into the housing market these days unless you're in the far flung provinces. My parents weren't wealthy but were able to buy a house and spend money on latte/holidays equivalents (stuff for my sister and I, lots of sporting trips, the pub/club/golf etc). I don't think a young low income family starting out today have a hope of getting into a house in most places in NZ.
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@dogmeat Tough to raise a $300K deposit in your late-20s, early 30s, but with two people on good salaries it could be done a bit later. I don't see why anyone would want to, though.
If owning your own home is hugely important to you, then probably the question is - is it important enough that you'll move out of Auckland? You can still get places for $300K in Dunedin, Christchurch and even Nelson. You can get something pretty good for $500-600K.
So even if you weren't ready to move now, you could potentially buy a rental in one of those places to have your foot in the door, with the intention of moving a bit further down the track.
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If there's an upside to the crazy prices in the main centres I hope it leads to some of the provinces regaining some of the population they lost over the years, I was talking to a guy today who's retiring next year and moving to Masterton or Carterton. He can get a nice house with a quarter acre section and a little bit of money left over which sounds like a decent plan to me, more people moving to places like that means more customers for the local shops , more ratepayers for the council etc etc. There must be a point where the huge mortgages in places like Auckland outweigh the benefits of the extra income you earn.
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@Paekakboyz I would recommend looking at a ventilation system (HRV, Smart Vent, DVS etc)
We had DVS at our old place after the aluminium joinery had pretty much every window crying.
Our new place, we thought we wouldn't need it being fully insulated, double glazed etc...wrong.
We got HRV and haven't had any since - having had both DVS & HRV I'd say the latter is better, although there are a number of other options too.
They have pretty good filter systems too, only time my family has been sick since we had either DVS or HRV was when we were renting in a house that didn't have either!!
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@jegga said in Housing hornets' nest:
@Virgil did that on my first house, that sucked too. Next time I'd buy one of those airless sprayers instead of using a roller.
Hope theres not a next time though.
It's a shit job on a tin roof, chewed through about 4 rollers and 4 back discs from all the bending over and trying to get a decent coat.
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@jegga that's interesting in terms of some of the rural(ish) places that are dying out. If we've got more people in retirement or later years moving to rural spots or smaller towns that raises challenges around infrastructure and services. Fully agree they will bring $$ to local business but I wonder about the health services etc...
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@taniwharugby we have a really basic one (single vent/return in the main hallway). Are they overly expensive to run? I've always been skeptical about the 5c day or whatever guff they say in the ads.
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@Paekakboyz nah they are cheap, the 5c or whatever is right, don't even notice any spikes or increases in comsumption.
Our HRV has a vent in every room (Garage, 2 in lounge/dining) one in each bedroom and one in our wardrobe.
We have 2 fan units and you get the filter changed about every other year.
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@dogmeat Interesting post there. I remember a few years ago, chatting to my Mum about house purchasing, and saying that I would be much happier with middle of the road property and then be able to spend whatever is left over on things that would genuinely make me happy - travel, toys, the kids etc etc.
And then when I started looking with my wife, I realised that was bullshit. I've been bullshitting myself about this - yes it's true, I enjoy travelling/toys but reality is that i LOVE being at home. If I want to make myself happy, needed to buy a place that I just loved being at. Hence, the 4 bed, 2 reception, 2.5 bathroom place, is currently being converted to a 5 bed, 3.5 bathroom , 2 reception plus dining. And I can't wait for it.
It's funny what you don't actually realise about yourself, until it's staring you right in the face.
Caveat ... I reserve the right to change my opinion when it comes to maintaining the fucker.
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@Paekakboyz maybe something like this is an answer? http://www.mobilesurgical.co.nz/Procedures/procedures.html
I'm guessing places like Masterton which has a decent amount of infrastructure in place already would be first choice until their property prices start to become unaffordable and then the smaller outlying towns would look more attractive. -
@MajorRage that's me too. New house has a big kitchen, stacked outdoor kitchen, and big patio (with projector). I love being at home, i love entertaining at home, I'm building a place that allows me to do that well
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@mariner4life that's one of the things killing the live sport audience. We've all spent so much on homes and pimped out entertainment, why would we go out!!
Housing hornets' nest