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Our Top Tips For Building Your New Home

New year… new home: a common goal or next milestone for many Kiwis today. With the reality of today’s rising property prices, it’s no surprise that we’re continuing to see Kiwis turn to home builds as a desirable and affordable alternative.

Often taking the first step and deciding whether a home build is the right option for you can be very overwhelming. That’s why the experienced team of builders at Latitude Homes are here to help. 

Whether this is your first-home, next-home, holiday home or investment property - the following article aims to assist with some top tips and friendly advice to start your thinking and planning process to kickstart your home build journey.

LAND

An important topic and good place to start is at the foundation of it all - the land your home is to be built on. 

If you’re fortunate enough to have already secured land that works for you - congratulations! This step is easy to take for granted but obtaining land that suits your requirements can sometimes be challenging, so consider yourself having just hit the jackpot! 

For those of you who are reading this and have yet to secure land - don’t panic. There are options available to you, whether it be via a public or private sale or house and land packages. 

To get you started - we recommend you write down some key non-negotiable points for you, that your land must meet. Some questions you should consider prior to purchasing your piece of land are:

  • Is the section big enough and does the shape work to suit your requirements?

  • Is it a level or sloping section? (If sloping, you will need to consider the extra costs for excavation and retaining)

  • What are the local council rules or developer covenants for building on the section? Is there a minimum distance from boundaries?

  • Is your section serviced for stormwater, sewer, power and telephone?

  • Does your site have a geotechnical report? 

If a house and land package is an attractive option for you, you can view our available house and land packages on our website, and like us on Facebook to be the first to hear of any up-and-coming packages. 

STYLE

Whether you’re building off a house plan or custom designing from scratch, making decisions on the style of home that you are wanting to build (or at least having a good idea) will be important in the early stages. 

And by the style of your home, we don’t mean the interior decor (not yet, anyway!) We’re referring to the key non-negotiable design features and functions of your home; including rooms, layout, street appeal and outdoor design.

Some worthwhile questions to consider:

  • What kind of street appeal do I want my house to have?

  • How many bedrooms do you need?

  • Will you need additional bathrooms?

  • Would a separate family room or study be desirable?

  • Do you want a garden you can work in or one that’s low maintenance?

  • Is an inside/outside flow a priority?

Our biggest tip here is to think about longevity and future-proof your design as best as you can. Will you still love the style in twenty years time? Will it be easy to on-sell if you need to? Will you need more space for a growing family or for visiting friends and relatives?

Sit down and take time to research and detail your non-negotiables list; these are the design or functional necessities you simply can not live without. 

To help with some of those big decisions, we’ve drafted up a simple, easy-to-complete questionnaire, which you can find in our downloadable First-Home Builders Guide. Completing an exercise like this will allow you to jot down your non-negotiables so it's visually laid out in front of you.

FINANCING

Financing can often be an intimidating step for first-home buyers, which is how we can help by putting you in touch with local mortgage Brokers we work with. From a simple question through to collating and processing your mortgage application - a mortgage Broker will help you take the first step to securing the finance needed for your new home build.

NEED PROOF?

If working off photos or CAD drawings isn’t quite enough detail for you, why not come see the quality of our Latitude Homes in the flesh? We have a number of show homes all across New Zealand available for you to view at your leisure, with access to our home building specialists who can assist with any of your questions. To find the closest showhome to you, click the button below.

Alternatively, you can enjoy the benefits of a walk-through, 360 tour, all from the comforts of your own couch. We have virtual tours available on a select handful of our most-loved house plans, like the Ngamotu - pictured below. If you see the icon below on any of our house plans, this virtual tour feature is available to you.

If your starting point is here - welcome. We hope this article has assisted you further in your journey, or at the very least, started your thinking and planning process. 

We have a number of tools or downloadable resources available for you on our website to aid with your research, or feel free to get in touch with your local builder to answer any questions (big or small) that you may have.

Find your local builder today and kickstart your home build.