The last few days
Well it’s been a few days since our last post and I’d be lying if I said we’ve been too busy to get to it. We spend most of our days getting up around 8am, having breakfast then heading to the pool/ gym for an hour or so. Back to the house to clean up and have lunch then off to run any errands we have. Evenings usually consist of watching several episodes of the Simpsons, the news, then an hour or two of whatever is on or just reading. Very difficult to get comfortable without furniture – we have a table, 2 chairs, and the air mattress. What I would give for just a sofa or even comfortable recliner. This sure is roughing it.
It’s been cloudy here the past 2 days and looks like we have another before we get clear skies again – rain comes and goes but not really too cold. We took Friday to finally get in the car and explore around a bit. We’ve hadn’t driven anywhere significant in 2 weeks and still had a full tank of gas so we decided to change it up a bit. We drove along they bay out to Rabbit Island and then to Mapua and a couple other small communities just to get a feel for the area.
Saturday we decided to visit a few open houses. They run in 30 minute timeframes here and then the real estate agent packs up and heads off to the next house on their list. We just want to see what our $ will buy and get an idea of potential neighborhoods for if/ when we decide to buy. Based on what I saw the housing market is a bit different than what we were used to in Colorado. For example, we saw several in town that were in pretty crappy shape with terrible layouts (very small rooms) for NZ$300,000 (approx $200k US) – I guess that is the price you pay for being in town. The newer model houses start around NZ$400,000 (small and out of town a bit).
We also looked in the communities northeast of town on the hillsides. The hillsides, as you might imagine, can have amazing views of Tasman Bay and the Tasman Mountains and of the towns leading to the Abel Tasman to the west (I know, that’s a lot of Tasman). At the entry level point, you can get a decent sized (I’d say 1800-2000sqft) older house overlooking the bay for around NZ$550,000 (approx US$350,000). I would think something similar in the States would easily go for over a million dollars just because of the unobstructed views of the surrounding area. Some of the houses we looked at had stunning views from every single room.
Sunday the market was rained out but we had coffee with a British couple we’ve met. They’ve been here about a year after just packing up and leaving England. They traveled the north island looking for a place they might like to live but didn’t find anything that interested them until they reached Nelson. We got a lot of good information about the local scene, jobs, etc. Plus they are nice and easy-going, fun to hang around with.
Off to the pool for a swim now.
posted by Don Bartkowiak @ 11:38 am
2 comments
2 Comments:
You mentioned the size/price of the homes. Helpful! What about the quality of construction? Are they made of wood, brick, etc.? Were any of these stucco-type homes? All this info is so interesting.
Love, Dad & Mom
PS Nice that we finally saw what Livie looks like. Cute photos.
Some houses are made of wood, some of brick. None that are older than 15 years have any insulation, literally. That is the cause of the cold houses and why heating is such an issue here. Houses made in the last 15 years do have ceiling and floor insulation but not wall insulation. Few double-pane windows, but they really aren't necessary, in the Nelson climate at least.
You do see stucco-type homes, but many of them were built during a 10-year period in the early 90s that led to the "Leaky House Syndrome" because they were made with inferior building products that allowed water to get into the walls and rot the wood in the walls. Many of these houses are mediterranean style or without soffets. We've read about this and know to obtain this information in a builder's report (like an inspection report). Also, we found out last weekend that, although the government offered a one-time payment to leaky house homeowners to fix the problem, some kiwis took the money but didn't make the repairs. Our new acquaintances Dan and Clare almost purchased an unrepaired leaky home!
We found a home we would purchase in a heartbeat--were we without a home already (in Colorado)! It has gorgeous views from every room, tons of windows, built 20 years ago but feeling quite new, wood accents and floors, privacy, decent amount of space--but not too much, 2 bathrooms (not typical). I'll remember that house for sure when we start to look and hope to find something like it. There is always a new dream house out there, I know . . . at the least we are identifying neighborhoods that we want to look at, and deciding that perhaps an investment home is the way to go in Nelson as property ONLY appreciates in this town. The housing market here is CRAZY!
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