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Building a New Home?
There are a lot of questions that arise when you start the house build journey.
We've put together some frequently asked questions to help guide you. If you can't see what you are looking for, contact our team and we'll get your questions answered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should we choose Latitude Homes?
Too easy! We’re not too big that you’re treated as a number but big enough to be able to offer you competitive pricing and top quality service. We’re not owned by investment companies or overseas interests. Each of our Licence Holders are owner-operators, and treat each of our customer’s home builds as if they were building their own home.
Where can we view one of your showhomes?
A list of showhomes and opening hours are available on our website.
Can I make changes to your standard home build plans?
Yes you can, however, our plans have been priced to ensure they're the most cost-effective way of building and option for you.
There are so many building terms that I’m not familiar with, for instance what is a PC Sum, what is a gable?
You can view a glossary of terms. This may help you understand some of the meanings and terms that will be presented to you during the sales and building process.You can always clarify anything with your local Latitude Homes team.
How long after the building consent is approved and issued can the construction start?
Weather permitting, 1-2 weeks after the building consent is issued the excavation of your site can start. Once excavation is completed works can start on the foundations.
We own a section and we like one of your house designs, what do we do next?
Give your local Latitude Homes team a call and they will be able to tell you whether the desired house design will fit on your section. Once this is established, a building cost estimate will be provided. From there a plan deposit is required and a set of preliminary plan drawings will be completed showing you how the house sits on your section and a more accurate costing will be provided. Once you are happy with all this, a building contract will be entered into and a building consent application will be submitted with your local Council.
Do you provide a full list of other costs not associated with the actual house build, for example, excavation, drainage, driveways and fencing?
Your local Latitude Homes team can provide you with a full quote for your new build project with all associated costs.
Can I do any of the build work myself?
Yes. We offer varying options from a kitset:
- We supply all the material required to build your new home and you organise the builder and tradies to complete the work; or
- A shell only option where we would build to a lock up stage and you complete the rest of the home build
Do the prices for your homes vary in different regions?
The price of a home build will vary throughout New Zealand due to the varying labour costs and distances that contractors may need to travel. You can discuss this with your local Latitude Homes team.
Can we change the exterior cladding?
Yes. The majority of our plans can be altered to another cladding. For example, one of our brick houses can be changed and be clad with Weatherboard. There are exceptions and it does depend on the house design so talk with your local Latitude Homes team about options.
Do you supply a warranty?
Absolutely. We supply a 10 Year Master Build Guarantee along with an additional 25 Year Structural Warranty (conditions apply).
How long will it take to build my new home?
The building consent process (required before we can start your build) can take up to 4-6 weeks. If you require a resource consent then allow another 6-8 weeks. This is all dependant on the complexity of the consents required. In general you should allow 5-6 months from the time you receive your plans to the completion of your new home.
Why are Latitude Homes prices so competitive?
This is mainly because all our home build plans are pre-costed and designed. This allows us to optimise the most cost-effective ways of building and reducing waste. Also, due to the volume of houses we build, we have negotiated extremely favourable rates with suppliers.
What additional costs are there?
This can vary from site to site and will depend on your home build requirements. Our local Latitude Homes representatives can supply you with a list of additional costs during the estimating process.
What is the payment schedule?
The payment schedule is worked on the stages of the build process and bank lending criteria. Talk to your local Latitude Homes representative for further details.
What is the next step to get things moving?
All it takes is a deposit from as little as $5000 to get your plans underway. Give us a call and we can get things started.
Lee and Ross were a pleasure to deal with from the start of the process right through to completion. The end result was better than I hoped for thanks to their considerable effort. They truly went the extra mile. I recommend their team effort highly.
Simon Aitken
We recently moved into our Latitude Home and we couldn't be happier! This was our first new build and it could not have been easier! Nothing was an issue from customising the plans from the outset to changing tapware at the last minute! Ross & Lee were able to accommodate everything that we required for us and our 3 young children! We are absolutely stoked with the finished product. If/when we need to build again our first port of call will be to Ross & Lee! Thanks Guys
Phil Gasnier
Thank you Latitude Homes for building our first home! It was our first time to build a home and we were told that behind the excitement are stressful decisions and unexpected twists and turns. The section that we wanted our home to be built was not as steep as others in the Wellington region, but the wind factor is really strong here in our section. Latitude was willing to take on the project. Our home was a mix of standard and non-standard specs. They used good quality materials and they were transparent with the costs. The build wasn't without hiccups but Latitude made sure things get sorted. The actual physical build took roughly 9 months to complete; June 2018 until March 2019. I guess 8 months if we exclude the holiday break. We were told by friends and colleagues that it should only take 6 months to build but as Alix mentioned- “he doesn’t want to compromise the quality of the build”, which gave me confidence in Alix and Latitude. Latitude was already with us almost 3 years ago from the planning and paper works. Alix, Amanda and their project managers supported and guided us throughout the entire home building experience. When I signed the contract to build our home with Alix and Latitude, he mentioned to me that “the key to a successful project is communication” and I’m glad both of us are in the same page. Since we have someone from the Latitude team that communicates with us and for us, we were shielded from most of the stress of building our home. Overall, I highly recommend Latitude Homes giving them 4.5 stars. The Wellington team is a pleasure to deal with especially Alix and Amanda who are trustworthy and easy to talk to. If we get the chance to build another home, I would gladly ask Alix and the Latitude team to build our next one.
James Bacero
Lee and Ross were a pleasure to deal with from the start of the process right through to completion. The end result was better than I hoped for thanks to their considerable effort. They truly went the extra mile. I recommend their team effort highly.
Simon Aitken
We recently moved into our Latitude Home and we couldn't be happier! This was our first new build and it could not have been easier! Nothing was an issue from customising the plans from the outset to changing tapware at the last minute! Ross & Lee were able to accommodate everything that we required for us and our 3 young children! We are absolutely stoked with the finished product. If/when we need to build again our first port of call will be to Ross & Lee! Thanks Guys
Phil Gasnier
Thank you Latitude Homes for building our first home! It was our first time to build a home and we were told that behind the excitement are stressful decisions and unexpected twists and turns. The section that we wanted our home to be built was not as steep as others in the Wellington region, but the wind factor is really strong here in our section. Latitude was willing to take on the project. Our home was a mix of standard and non-standard specs. They used good quality materials and they were transparent with the costs. The build wasn't without hiccups but Latitude made sure things get sorted. The actual physical build took roughly 9 months to complete; June 2018 until March 2019. I guess 8 months if we exclude the holiday break. We were told by friends and colleagues that it should only take 6 months to build but as Alix mentioned- “he doesn’t want to compromise the quality of the build”, which gave me confidence in Alix and Latitude. Latitude was already with us almost 3 years ago from the planning and paper works. Alix, Amanda and their project managers supported and guided us throughout the entire home building experience. When I signed the contract to build our home with Alix and Latitude, he mentioned to me that “the key to a successful project is communication” and I’m glad both of us are in the same page. Since we have someone from the Latitude team that communicates with us and for us, we were shielded from most of the stress of building our home. Overall, I highly recommend Latitude Homes giving them 4.5 stars. The Wellington team is a pleasure to deal with especially Alix and Amanda who are trustworthy and easy to talk to. If we get the chance to build another home, I would gladly ask Alix and the Latitude team to build our next one.
James Bacero
Lee and Ross were a pleasure to deal with from the start of the process right through to completion. The end result was better than I hoped for thanks to their considerable effort. They truly went the extra mile. I recommend their team effort highly.
Simon Aitken