WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW:PART 3!!!!(HOLY SHIT!)

[AngryBeaver]

Can you believe we've finished finished off another thread? Jeez we can talk!!
Just an update..we've found a nice double glazed,4 bed house,with nice garden. So that's one stress off the last.
Hilongwhitecloud

If so justabout I would go for it.

I guess it depends which one will make you more comfy. How long would it take to pay off the council loan versus the mortgage?

Is there any chance you could renegotiate your mortgage as rates are falling? We just got 0.25% off our rate which would probably cover the extra cost. We're now on 5.25 but some people are doing a little better.

Whatshesaid- I can't wait for the day DD is old enough for that to be a bit easier. How old are your DD's?

I started back at work this week- only a short part time contract of 7 weeks but the cash and using my brain is great. If we can just get my career back on track NZ will have ticked all our boxes.

Justabout Heatpump on the mortgage sounds good - just be aware that mortgage interest rates in NZ are the lowest they have ever been at the moment - so eventually they are bound to go up again. When we bought (6 years ago) we were paying nearly $200 more a fortnight than we are now as the interest rates were 2% higher then. Just something to be aware of.

AB Sorry but 400K will not go far in Auckland...not a house by the beach and not a house with land. Getting something in a decent area for that could be a challenge.

X-posted lots there, littlestkiwi my dds are aged 4 and 1.

Do you have to have the house revalued in order to extend the mortgage? We put a bit extra on our mortgage a few years ago with them just going on the council valuation...

Think a registered valuation costs about $500, btw.

May be worth looking around for the heatpump deal - we got ours from LV Martin on 2 years interest free (including install) so may be worth checking out the big stores when they do their X amount of months' interest free deals (harvey norman are always doing them one way or another)

littlestkiwi where were the storms you mentioned? Were they around the Midlands? Do you have family there? I have family in Hebden Bridge which had huge floods last week - luckily they are up a hill so their home wasn't affected. Seems to be a shocking summer over there this year.

justabout- I can relate to the never having been this skint before thing! Although we used credit in the UK a lot, when we moved here on work permits it was difficult to get and we have stopped using it as much as possible. We have a credit card which has a low limit and is used for OH's travel expenses as these seem to take forever to come through. We live in a posh area but I often have to wait till pay day to buy food! It's been really good for DH us.

Whatshesaid - maybe it is just my naughty 3 YO then.....

Yep,I know we won't get the house by the beach for that! We thought we'd have a bit more to play with.
We have some land in Uk that we are waiting to sell to developers (it's green belt at mo) so we will just have to bide our time...or buy extra lotto tickets!
lolly the market is just shite at the moment isn't it? Dh is talking about selling ours for a fraction of what it's worth,and what we paid for it 4 years ago!!!aaaaargh!

The weather is bizarre in the UK,a village down the road from us flooded,we were North West.. Cumbria flooded,the East...apparantly hail stones the size of golf balls...so say the Daily Mail,so we know it's the truth!

Whatshesaid- the storms seem to be worst in Newcastle and Leicester. I'm waiting for my folks to wake up so I can call.

justabout- I think being comfortable in your home is very important. I get quite down if I'm cold a lot and I know a lot of people who end up heading back to the UK because of it. Which will cost a lot more than $6 a fortnight!

yep - after a glass of wine I would advise you to spend the $6 per fortnight on it. You would spend more in electricity I think.

So I'm really liking the work thing. 4 days would be ideal but 5 days is managable. It sound awful but I actually think I'm a better mum - I'm feeling just as knackered as I'm up a couple of times feeding and dealing with random toddlers trying to get into my bed in the small hours but when I come home I really have time for them rather than just wishing they would go to bed. DH out on the pop tonight with work so I'm on my own with wine and crap TV. I came home to nanny (who has baked cake!!) having fed boys and tidyish house (washing also totally under control). So I bathed DS4 and put him to bed and then did puzzles with the others for an hour before bed. I would never have done that before. I feel guilt as I'm out earning money for what is essentially easier day. And I got to go to Pilates at lunchtime!

I've been checking out housing in my old area. We sold at xmas 2010 - the same flats in the street I was in are now trying to sell for £10K less and they will probably have to take £20K less in all reality. Shame the same isn't happeneing over this side of the pond. Scares me a nit though. It's crazy here and I feel like I've seen it all before a la 2004-2008 but I've also seen the fall out.

Mo is one 1! It's fab. If only Mo had been in charge.

Can't believe I missed the start of it. Mo visited my uni when I was there and gave a talk to the law students - just after the Good Friday Agreement, if I remember rightly. She was absolutely inspirational.

Sorry lolly i also have been meaning to ask how the job is going. Bad virtual friend!! So glad it's going well for you x