Hi guys - looking to get a thread going for this.
Have been looking into a property $860,000 (3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 off street car park) 99m2
Has anyone lived in one of these? What was your experience like?
Our mortgage broker said this is a great opportunity to get into one of these but then other's say they are not good and won't increase in price and they're a dud.
Just looking to create some discussion. Cheers
What makes you think it won't be good quality? I think Kāinga Ora doesn't really cut corners in building so if they're leading it, it should be acceptable; I think it should be on par with the current quality of new builds, especially since quite a lot of them are atrocious. Mass produced shouldn't be that bad of a thing for housing, just a refined product.
I believe that the actual Kiwibuild homes are being built by private developers.So I would check out the quality of other homes built by those developers.
Yes, they are but it says it is being led by Kāinga Ora. The new build with atrocious quality are typically new property developers with bad labour
@Bill: Sorry perhaps a bit agressive on the wording. Certainly not calling it bad quality and saying that corners are cut in a negative way or anything.
More trying to point out that it is likely to be (and yes, being privatly contracted builds means checking out other work etc is a good idea) a very basic simple build. Measures will be taken to aggressivly keep costs down and while this will not result in a poor quality house it will be basic, simple etc.
Things I've seen are little such as having a single ceiling light in a bedroom rather than 2/4. Using lower quality carpets and vinyls that in 10 years will show signs of heavy aging (again not falling apart or poor workmanship, just having better alternatives available.) And open plan layouts that rely on corners and pillars to save on expensive architecture and longer stronger beams to support truely open designs.
This is stuff that isn't nesicarily a bad thing either, as those considering it an option might not want to pay the extra money for alternative fittings, layout, design etc.
And yes, other larger developments are subject to the same or worse cost cutting.
I don't think it will be bad to live in but what others mean is most of the value is in the house, not the land so you won't be getting the type of capital gains a normal house would since the property deterioration heavily affects the property value. Not sure if this is the best demographic to ask about housing. I think Kāinga Ora is also doing major social housing developments in Mt Roskill, which will negatively affect value, although I don't think the area's value is high in the first place.
The house you live in shouldn't really be seen as an investment. Don't always expect it will go up in value especially in the short term.
Also that price seems quite high, guessing it is Auckland. The only way to tell if it is good value is to go and look at as many other houses as you can to get an idea from learning as much as you can.
Sounds like you may be looking for an investment property instead
They are 100% worth it. They generally come with a Homestar 6 certification which means they are very high spec and future proof. They also go through a more rigorous inspection regime. Only drawback that I could think is that you have to stay there for atleast 3 years.
While selecting the house however, you might want to give consideration to the locality as there is a possibility of also having social housing in the vicinity. So you might want to consider if the safety in the area has been affected or there has been increased activity.
Yes this one comes with a homestar 6 cert.
Thanks for the replies all…. Yes it is in Mount Roskill. I will ask about social housing. I am more a person who would be keen on an investment property that will gain in the coming years however I'm also someone that loves new not old and I am going to struggle to find a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom brand new build for this price so this decision is really difficult.
The mrs is really keen for it but again she doesn't really know the ins and outs haha… thanks for all your opinions i appreciate it.
Wow, the ultimate cheapies post haha.
Some context around where you are thinking might help, and what your long term goals are (obviously the 'professional' advise here is subjective to peoples opinions.)
My thoughts are somewhere in between what you have said. If you were going into it, I'd say your mentality should be that its not an investment, and to not expect much (if any) capital gains.
So if you of the mindset or economic class that you are happy owning your own house, being mortgage free one day, and nothing more then I'd say sure, give it some heavy consideration.
If however you are thinking that this is your first property, and you intend to live in it for a few years before starting the process of buying a second property and renting this out and holding this for years, then any capital gains would be a big risk as they may not eventuate.
So a good opportunity if you just want a house to live in and your after something modern and new and simple.
As for being a 'dud,' thats again somwehere between subjective and partially true. It definitly won't be the best quality out there as they are the housing version of mass produced. There will likely be average workmanship, simple generic layout, and little customisation in the way of creature comfort designs. Lighting etc will be simple and functional but thats amout it.
So again, really depends on what you are after.
I know someone who has bought into this, as well as a couple of people who have bought into prebuilt or off-the-plans large housing developments (all terraced housing.) They are all the types of people who 5-10 years ago might have said they would never afford to own their own home and so their expectations are happy to have something. In return, their expectations were not high, and therefore are all quite happy with their purchase.
Hopefully this thread gets some more opinions on it for you!