It’s easy to underestimate how long it will take to finish a project or you make the mistake of starting too many at once, leaving your house looking more like a construction site. However, not every DIY task needs to be a lengthy process. In fact, there are plenty of projects you can take on that will only require a free weekend and some DIY willpower.
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Home ownership is a fantastic goal and aspiration. Not only providing personal benefits, but also collective benefits to a community, as people take ownership and pride in their piece of dirt and become more invested in their neighbourhood. Whilst much is written about the purchase process (including our own articles), we thought we would share some of the realities and responsibilities that come with the purchase of a house.
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When it comes to spending money on your property, most home owners will consider what will add value to their home. Whether you own your forever home or are using your current property as a stepping stone, making calculated and considered financial decisions can result in your property being worth more than what you invested. We all like a return on our investments, but how is that achieved for your house?
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Saving for your first home can be a daunting and overwhelming task. It can be hard to know where to start and how to get to where you want to be. I still remember when we were newly married and set the goal to purchase our first home. It took my complete focus - from when we created our plan, until we signed the contract for that home. It was something we really wanted, so we prioritised our finances and focused on this goal.
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Budgeting. It’s a love-hate relationship. Caleb “the saver” gets excited about spreadsheets, while Alice “the spender”… not so much! After seven renovations, we have come to value and prioritise the role a budget has within each of our projects.
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We are excited to start our Renovation Road Trip - but how do we narrow down where to move to when there are so many options? In fact, over 30,000 properties for sale in NZ right now. How do we know we will move to the right place? Or buy the right house? Will we be able to buy, renovate and sell a home and create a profit in any town? We may be have all the answers but Caleb has a strategy that will help us find right town and house that will suit us!
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For a while now, we have been working toward an idea we can’t stop thinking about - The Renovation Road Trip. In short - we are leaving our world in Auckland (including jobs), packing a car and trailer full of the essentials and relocating around New Zealand. The aim is to renovate 2-3 homes in different towns within 12-18 months, as well as taking constant road trips to explore our big backyard. This has been a plan that was conceived and developed over the past 2 years for us. But before we get started, we wanted to begin by sharing why we are doing this crazy, scary thing that is, The Renovation Road Trip.
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We purchased this property in September 2016 after seriously searching for a property for the previous 6 months. We were pretty keen do our next project but careful not to rush into anything, seeing as we had just added another child to the mix. We found this property through a local agent we know who had just put the house on the market. The property that was not going to auction, it had an owner that needed to sell, there was potential to renovate and add value – it seemed like a great option. What really stood out was the opportunity to subdivide and add an additional house on the section without having to move the existing house. The prospect of getting a 2-for-1 project was very appealing to us, so our next renovation journey begun…
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The story of buying our first house together is best shared as a tale of “she said, he said”. Because to say we had a difference in experiences and expectations - would be an understatement. We didn’t begin our property story as a united force, though there was a lot of forceful emotions involved! So as unconventional as our story about Caleb buying a first house is, the way we started ours “together” may be just as surprising...
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