When you’re building your new home, where do you live? Do you rent a property, stay in your existing home (and pay two mortgages) or live in a caravan
It’s worth thinking about. While the cost of the land and the build are considered in your budget, often the cost of rent doesn’t get accounted for. And if it does get accounted for, you’ve probably not left any fat in the budget – what happens if the build gets pushed out by a few weeks? Where does that extra money come from? It’s a common dilemma facing new home builders, which has led to a rise in what we’ve labelled ‘temporenting’.
Sentinel Homes recently conducted a survey to better understand the needs of their customers, and found that short-term renting is the most common form of accommodation when building.
While some people have the luxury of being able to move in with friends or family, most people find they have no choice other than to rent. Once the family home has been sold to fund the new build, they need somewhere to live, fast. People also often want to stay in their current suburb, so they’re near work and social networks. As Sentinel Homes CEO Stuart Shutt says, that’s a less than ideal solution.
“Renting is the main form of temporary accommodation Kiwis opt for while waiting for their homes to be built. Paying rent to a landlord obviously adds to the financial stress of building and renovating,” he explains.
As build times increase, this continues to put pressure on new home builders. Statistics NZ has said that ten years ago, the average build took six months. Now, it takes ten months from when the dwelling consent is issued to completion of the build. That’s an expensive wait – $17,520 in rent paid to someone else.
Even with Sentinel Homes’ shorter-than-average build times, the survey found new home builders would be wise to add $13,140 or more to their build budget. That’s money that could have gone toward far more exciting things like a different bench top, flash imported wallpaper or the section landscaping.
“Temporenting still ends up being a significant amount of money for clients, especially those who are watching their budget closely,” says Stuart.
The numbers of temporenters is increasing, too. With the lack of good quality accessible accommodation in popular regions, rents continue to increase, making the building process more expensive and less achievable for the ordinary Kiwi.
From 1 February 2019, if you build your new home with Sentinel Homes, you win a chance to have your accommodation paid for while your new home is being built.
When you sign an unconditional contract before 31 May 2019, you go into the draw to have your rent or mortgage paid during the build period, for up to $25,000. It doesn’t matter if you’re staying in your current home or moving to a rental property, we’ll cover it.
Plus, with our end-to-end project management, quality construction, guarantees of workmanship and clear up-front pricing, Sentinel makes your home build a great process. Check out one of our latest testimonials – it’s not just us tooting our own horn.
Let’s get together for a free, no-pressure meeting with one of our team, at your place or ours.
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