Evaluating Your First Home in NZ

Making sure the house is right for you

Our Open Home Checklist. I kept printouts of this on a double sided A4 page. For houses we were serious about, we went through and filled out each section after the open home.

It helped us stay objective and not idealize a house too much, because it kept the positives and negatives right there.

We had a ‘priorities’ checklist and a ‘full’ one with everything.

The rest of this page will talk about some items on my checklist in more detail.

Making sure the house is in solid condition

Kainga Ora has a good checklist for the specifics of checking for issues - water damage, mould etc

(I've focused on the general things affecting your opinion on the house's suitability for you).

We valued an efficient layout, so that each square metre of the house was used effectively. For us, a 100sqm house with no wasted space is better than a 120sqm house which you will likely pay more for and still have the same usable space. Increased floor area tends to increase the RV, which tends to increase what people will pay for a house.

We also valued efficient land use for the same reason. Some poor uses of land for us were houses that had a giant driveway or giant front lawn (which we wouldn't end up using much due to lack of privacy).

Note an internal garage is included in the floor plan, but an external garage isn’t. Generally we have found: a double garage is approx. 35sqm, and a single is 20sqm. So a 100sqm house with detached garage is about the same size as a 135sqm with a double internal garage.

Re: extending a house - can be more expensive than buying a bigger house in the first place.

A well insulated home will help keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter.

Wall insulation is a bonus that really helps keep a house warm.

• Houses made past 1980 have wall insulation (was a legal requirement introduced in 1979).

• Note many houses have floor and roof insulation and the Trademe listing may mention ‘insulation’ - this doesn't mean it's wall insulated.

A consent may be required to insulate the walls and involves stripping the internal plaster lining off the external walls and stuffing in insulation (bit of work). 

There are companies where they externally inject foam insulation into the wall without removing it this is known to set hard so you can never change wall plug outlet positions after injecting.

References:

https://greenside.co.nz/blog/why-older-kiwi-homes-need-insulation-upgrades/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tighter-rules-promise-toastier-homes/56O7SELLTHXFOKVUM4D7ZUBADQ/

Image: "Heat loss in the building" by S.M.A. Bekkouche, T. Benouaz, M. Hamdani, M.K. Cherier, R. Djeffal, and M. Chaker is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Sourced from ResearchGate. No changes were made.

Houses made in 2004 and after have double glazing (legal requirement introduced).

You can look for this yourself in the house - double glazed window is thicker and has a visible lining inside it. See below - single glazed on left and double glazed on right.

It can be retrofitted (installed) to older houses. Installing new frames is fairly expensive, while retrofitting glass panes is cheaper.  Old metal window frames can often be retrofitted with double glazing if the frames are thick enough. Please see pictures below.

References:

https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/assets/PDF/Build-101-70-Special-Report-Understanding-Double-Glazing-Or-IGUs.pdf

Pictures (from left to right)

1 - single glazed pane, 2 - double glazed pane

Where should windows face to get sunlight? 

• North = sunlight for most of the day

• West = bright late afternoon/evening sun

• East = morning sun

• South = not great for sun

You can check which way is which when you're in the house with google maps satellite view.

Check they have the lights on in the open home, and turn them off if so to reality check how dark the house really is

If there's a sunroom, check which way it's built - usually they choose west.

We think having north and west facing windows in the lounge is ideal - all day sun and a bit of pleasant afternoon sun.

Summary about Leaky Homes:

Homes built from 1988 to 2004 are at higher risk of being a leaky home. Houses with 'monolithic cladding' are at very high risk (built with plaster exterior, often white but can be other colours). Other houses may still be at high risk if they lack a cavity system. A cavity system means there is a gap between the exterior of the house and the inside, it allows water to drain out, if there is no cavity moisture can get stuck inside the house and cause water damage. There is a huge cost to reclad a leaky home (200-300k).

There is no definitive test to whether a home is leaky or not. Thermal testing can be done to detect moisture, however even if there is no moisture now, the house could still be at risk of moisture damage in the future.

Note on Eaves

The other thing to know is eaves (overhang of the roof) help with preventing moisture leaking into your house, as they will block rain from hitting your outer walls in the first place.

Newer townhouses are often built with plaster and sometimes no eaves, this is because they now include a large cavity between the plaster and inner structure. It's still preferable to buy a house with eaves though as it gives double protection.

The longer version:

What is a leaky home and why worry?

'Leaky homes' are houses which retain moisture in their timber framing. This leads to rot of and eventual destruction of the timber structure as well as constant mould within the walls. The cost to fix is enormous - in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Houses deemed as 'leaky homes' generally cannot get bank finance and are sold to investors for close to land cost and either fixed or demolished and rebuilt. 

When were they built?

From 1988 - 2004 buildings are at higher risk of being 'leaky.' Many houses that have 'monolithic cladding' are at very high risk of being leaky in this period. Other houses may still be at high risk if they lack a cavity system. 

Generally all houses past 2004+ should have cavity systems which eliminates risk (if between 2004 - 2006 double check as legal loopholes!).

Please see explanation of cavities below:

How to check date construction?

Check the date of construction by searching the house on homes.co.nz or similar site and 'view council records'.

If it shows 1990's or 2000's then flag it and check the LIM report and that will tell you the exact age of the house (when build permit granted)! 

What is a cavity?  

Houses historically were built with a 'cavity' (air space) that allows for air to circulate and water to dry or drain out.

Leaky homes in NZ were built without the cavity with the cladding fitted directly onto the timber structure, so once moisture gets inside it has nowhere to go and causes rotting of the inner frame. You may hear these homes referred to as direct fix and were often with 'monolithic cladding' which refers to the plaster often used.

What old houses have cavities?

Brick/stone houses are always built with a cavity (gap between brick and framing).

Weatherboard (overlapping plank) houses have gaps between the planks and framing, due to their overlapping nature. This works similarly to a cavity. 

Non - weatherboard timber houses do not have this however! 

References 

Easy to read breakdown: https://www.opespartners.co.nz/investment/property-investment/leaky-homes-n

A little bit more into dates and history: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/where-the-rot-really-set-in/6GALDEVQ3T46EI6RZAAGZDE74M/

Photo source and cost estimate: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/130553877/135000-bill-to-fix-leaky-home-why-the-problems-arent-going-away

The 'Hunn' report: Overview Group Limited, 31 August 2002, Report of the overview group on the weathertightness of buildings to the building industry authority: https://fyi.org.nz/request/12275/response/46795/attach/5/The%20Overview%20Group%20on%20the%20Weathertightness%20of%20Buildings.pdf

What reduces the 'leaky home' risk? 

A cavity system is the most important as mentioned above. There are several other things that can significantly reduce the risk of a home being 'leaky.' 

Wide Eaves - the roof overhangs the walls

If the roof extends over the house past the external walls, then it will reduce the level of rainwater which splashes on the external walls. This is another big factor to reduce the risk of being 'leaky.'

Good Maintenance

Regular painting of plaster (with cavity) or timber will help stop water coming in. Painted/well maintained roof also helps. 

Simple roof

A roof which is a simple shape is lower risk - as it is simply far less complex to build well! If a roof is flat then it increases the risk  of a 'leaky home' and is also likely less durable (rubber roof). 

New/recent roof

From what we saw houses with steel roofs had them replaced at around 60 years old. Concrete tiled roofs seem more durable if well maintained. Rubber roofs seem quite a bit less durable (15 - 30 years). 

References

• Current building code E2 building moisture guide to determining leaky home risk https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/e-moisture/e2-external-moisture/external-moisture-guide-to-e2as1-risk-matrix

• https://roofbuddy.co.nz/blog/how-long-does-roof-last-in-nz

• External moisture - An introduction to weathertightness design principles, Department of Building and Housing National Association of Home Builders

• Bank of America Home Equity, February 2007, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components https://www.reservedataanalyst.com/mt-content/uploads/2019/10/national-association-of-home-builders-life-expectancies.pdf

May be in houses built anywhere before mid 1980's. It’s likely if there is this spotted appearance on the ceiling - they put asbestos in the stippled ceiling and then painted over it. is only dangerous when it is in particulate form and disturbed in a way you are going to breathe it in, so usually it’s fine unless you’re going to disturb it (e.g. there’s a leak and you need to drill through it, or doing renovations to it). Note fibre cement in the eaves and exterior cladding often contained asbestos during the 1950’s - 1970’s.

I did not find any evidence that meth was a health hazard worth investigating for most. It isn't a part of standard due diligence, but may be relevant if the house was used to manufacture meth or there was very heavy use in the house.

Official advice: A 2018 report by the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor found no evidence for negative health impacts from living in a place where meth was previously smoked. The report concluded previous 'contamination' standards were set far too low at 1.5 micrograms per 100 cm2. The report suggested a new level of 15 micrograms per 100 cm2 be used and stated that at this level a health effect is thought to be extremely unlikely.

You only need to test the house if 1) it was used to manufacture meth, or 2) if you have good reason to suspect very heavy use in the house. They recommended an initial screening method called a rapid test, which can be purchased online and carried out by any home owner. They will detect very low levels of meth, and can indicate if any room needs further investigation / professional testing.

Reference:

https://drugfoundation.org.nz/articles/in-the-wake-of-the-meth-testing-scam-practical-advice-for-homeowners-and-landlords