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

Good idea re checking out the price houses are going for in your area at the mo. You can go along to any auction - many of them are held on site - see what the house goes for and compare it to the council valuation. Gives you an idea of what properties are going for in relation to CV.

I second not believing a word the estate agents say. They will undervalue for an auction and overvalue for a negotiation. I cannot speak lowly enough of them IME here. Every house I've ever looked at has had 'someone about to place an offer'.

Another site to check out is zoodle.co.nz. It can give you a list of recent sales in your area.

OK - have more info as I was in the bay and called in at the agents we rent it from. Saw English lady who looked on some site and could see what they paid 4 years ago which was about $200K over the current CV and as suspected she said stuff generally goes for over CV. She said they could put 3 houses on the plot. The house itself is apparently worth $75K according to her site which made me smile as we are paying in rent annually half that amount.

So what they paid 4 years ago is about $300K over our top budget so I think that means in September we will have to pack up all the stuff I just unpacked last Tuesday. Strangely through she showed me a similar standard of property on a marginally smaller section which was in a great street (but no view) and they wanted about 2/3rds of what the folk here paid - serisouly under the CV by about $350K so I'm so confused.

So WWYD? We will be leaving in about 5 months if they sell. I have to do 3 months at work 9which I start in a couple of weeks) to get thru my probabtion so until then we can't get a serious mortgage on both our salaries. So we can't really start looking for around 3 months. Or hypothetically if the other house which had potential were great, would the bank lend us the cash for it on the basis that I would get thru my probabtion and DH has a job with no probabtion (we earn about the same) and we could do it up whilst we rent here for the next 4 months (bearing in mind I haven't even seen this other house). Deposit of 20-30% is possible as we have that in the Uk from the house sale there.

IME land is a big deal in NZ. As a rough indication, in the Bays I'd say a property on 800 sqm+ is 900K+. Then you get subdivisions which are 4 or 500 sqm which are 750+. And town houses where the plot is divided into 3 so about 300-350 sqm.

I think a view adds 100-150K.

There are cheaper streets which are still nice - like ours ;-)

Buying is a lottery, alot depends on whether the land is potentially subdividable IMO 'Joe Bloggs' is lucky to buy as developers snap them up, whether there is a sea view, access to , schools, amenities etc... so you can find comparable houses with very differing prices. We gave up looking for a sea view and access to cafes, shops (couldn't find anything for under $1million that we liked) and settled on 3.5 acres flat land, close to good schools and boys sports but a short drive to shops and cafes. Bought something that needs work but a fair bit less than $1million. Can't help with mortgages as we bought money over from the UK but if you believe the press at the moment the banks have a mortgage war on so you might be lucky......

TBH view nice n all but not a deal breaker for me at all. I just don't understand the maths.

This house sold 4 years ago for about $1.45m and is about 1350 meters of a plot. It has a CV of $1,210. The 4 bed house is a bit of a shack worth $75K but seems structurally sound to me (does have massive garage space too)

Other house in same area (sans views) has 1200 meters land and a CV of $1,130. House looks of similar condition (although can't say whether it's sound). Looks like garden needs a total sort out as very overgrown with trees. Seller wants $850K.

So where is the $600K difference? OK $150K is in the view which this house has but you could level the other house and build a new one for $300K and still be within $1.15m which is a $300K difference and you have a shiny new house (still with me??).

Littlest - have houses round here dropped in value in the last 4 years or something?

It's all a bit out of budget so it's all a bit hypothetical really. Ho hum......shan't unpack those boxes in the garage.

Can you send me the link for the second one? Different areas have different minimum areas for subdivision so 1200 can be 4 new builds.

The second one may be a monolithic plaster clad. Personally I would only pay land value for one of those. They may not be able to chop the trees down to build?

Yep, the second one being 350K under CV - must be something wrong with it. I was thinking maybe leaky home...

it's a 30's weatherboard with 70's interior- looks really similar to my rental one. Out back totally covered with trees. Agent said no issues to rip most of these down but maybe that may not be true. House does need alot of help but this one also needs some TLC

Not a leaky home with that building date then. Cross lease? Leasehold rather than freehold? Needs lots and lots of work? All possibilities. Trees - hmm, traditionally it has been very hard to cut down any native trees (legally) to build a house. I think this rule has just changed and it is easier to get permission now but not sure how easy.

doesn't say anything about freehold/leasehold. Agent did say trees are now easier to remove which concurs with that you're saying.

It's this one: www.barfoot.co.nz/473992 (sorry - don't know how to paste a link)

I guess my only comment would be to make sure you can remove the trees (if you want to), that might be why it is cheaper. It looks as though neighbouring properties have been subdivided but not that one. The advert doesn't mention subdividable which it usually does if it is possible and developers flock - that would be my only thought????? Other than that it's whether you wanted to invest in a LIM, I think you can go to the council and look information up yourselves - we havn't done this though.

Good luck!

LIM? Explain all

LIM reports

OK I cut and pasted this rather than try to explain. Essentially your solicitor (or you) can request the LIM from the council (I have been here too long because I can't remember what the UK equivalent is called). Insurers, banks etc will usually want to see the LIM or want information from it. When we tried to get insurance for our current house we had to email the LIM to the insurers as it's on a 100 year flood plain (like the rest of Auckland!!)

Basically if there are any covenants on the property they should be in the LIM.

Of course everything is not necessarily in there so you would probably still want to get an building inspection done. HTH

LIM Information

Land Information Memoranda (LIM) are comprehensive reports containing all relevant information the Council knows about a property or section.

LIM information includes:

* Any special feature of the land Council knows about including the downhill movement, gradual sinking or wearing away of any land, the falling of rock or earth, flooding of any type and possible contamination or hazardous substances.
* Information on private and public stormwater and sewerage drains held by the Council.
* Rates information.
* Any consents, notices, orders or requisitions affecting the land or buildings.
* District Plan classifications that relate to the land or buildings.
* Any other classifications on the land or buildings notified to the Council by network utility operators in relation to the Building Act 2004.
* Any other information the Council deems relevant.

People usually request a Land Information Memoranda (LIM) when considering whether or not to invest in residential or commercial property.

And special trees that can't be chopped - would that be on a LIM?

I would also recommend getting the property file from the council- can be ordered online. We didn't get it as we were in a hurry and now think some unconsented work may have been done on our property. We don't think this is a major issue as it was all done 30+ years ago but in retrospect I should have spent the afternoon at the council.

Have you viewed the property yet? I've dealt with that agent and she does know the market. So the price is unlikely to reflect a bargain. I wonder how long it has been empty.

I know you can't chop down pohutakawa trees over a certain height. We've got a massive one in our back garden. There will be certain other natives that are protected too.

So I viewed it ...oh my lord.... The house needs dynamite under it and I couldn't even get into the garden it was so overgrown. On a really steep plot and west facing. Felt very dark and damp. Agent brought LIM and was sweet - loads if viewers but no takers - not surprised. Amazing what a good photographer can do!

Well from the photos it looked like it needed quite a bit doing to it - presumably at 350K under CV someone will eventually buy it and do it up/rebuild - but it would probably be a huge job by the sounds of it.

I noticed all the photos were of the deck/living area too, none of bathrooms or bedrooms. Were they hideous?

Don't worry- there are some lovely houses in the area. Can you do some open homes this weekend? Sat and Sunday are home viewing days in NZ.