About Us
In 2011 we purchased a 2 acre lifestyle block near Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. We were captivated by the view and the tranquil rural setting. Our plan to retire to the good life soon evolved into a dream to build a home that we would love to own.
New to the housing market, or rather absent from it for many years, we set out to find out what was now available. We trooped from one building company to another, viewing their brochures and their showhomes until finally we settled for one with plans and designs that fitted with our vision.
But it was not to be. Several months of discussions and draft plans followed until, more than $2000 out of pocket, we came to the sad realisation that no-one was ever going to be able to provide what we wanted at a price that we could afford without making huge compromises in quality of materials, design and fitout. Even then we were concerned that the ‘hidden’ costs of building, the unavoidable costs associated with compliance, bureaucracy and red tape, would soak up such a significant amount of our budget that there would not be enough left to complete the building.
And so our search began for a truly affordable home that would not only meet our needs and our desires, it would also be a home we would love to own.
Affordable, of course, means different things to different people but for most it means at a cost that leaves sufficient in the household kitty to actually have an enjoyable life. We used the World Bank guideline – affordable meant outgoings were no more than 30% of average income. For the majority of people this is a reasonable measure of affordability.
