Helpful guides Archives

Choosing and buying the right section for your new home

One of the first steps to building a new home is choosing the right section, but there are lots of things to consider. When you search for a section, we recommend jumping in early, doing your research, and consulting your building team as early as possible to support you through the process – it’s likely to save you time, money and unexpected issues in the long run.

Here’s a helpful three-step guide that will make your journey to choosing and buying a section easier.

1. Know what you’re looking for and what you can afford

Have a clear idea of what you’re looking for before you start hunting for a section. Think about where you want to build and the distance to local amenities, whether sun and views are important, and how much space you need.

Then research the cost of sections in the area you’d like to build by checking online property listings on sites like Trade Me Property and Realestate.co.nz. Think about how long you’ll be holding the property for and whether the location provides good prospects for capital value increase.

If you’re looking to build in a hilly area, bear in mind what it means for building costs and insurance premiums. Houses on hills can be susceptible to high winds which may increase insurance costs. Likewise, if your preferred location is in an earthquake zone, you may need to take safety precautions into account, such as reinforcing your foundations.

At this point, we also recommend talking to a bank or other financial provider about home loan pre-approval, if you need it. Getting pre-approval lets you know exactly what you can spend and saves you time when you’re ready to buy.

2. Inspect the site before making an offer

Before you make an offer on a section, we recommend getting a professional builder or architect to inspect the site, organise a survey of the land, and obtain a geotech report. It’s also important to review the district or unitary plan for your region to check for any planned changes or restrictions to the area. This is for your own peace of mind, but also helps when it comes to securing lending.

Your local EasyBuild team can help. Once you have a site in mind, we’ll conduct a site visit to assess site specific requirements and ensure your preferred EasyBuild modular home design is a good fit. We look at factors such as site aspect, wind zone and proximity to the sea, site access and elevation. At this point, we’ll discuss with you any site-specific requirements and whether any extra costs should be factored in for additional time and materials.

At this point, we also recommend getting in touch with your lawyer so they’re ready to check important documents before you make an offer.

3. Make an offer

Once you’ve done your homework and you’ve got your finance sorted, you’ll be ready to make an offer! Your lawyer will either check the Tile and Land Information Memorandum (LIM) for your site in advance of you making an offer, or will assist you in making a conditional offer subject to checking the Title, LIM and any other conditions you choose.

Building a new home is exciting, but not something most of us do every day. We’re here to guide you through the process and make sure you feel supported every step of the way, from assessing your site through to completing your brand new home.

We’d love to chat with you about your new build plans. We can help align your site options and your preferred EasyBuild modular home design with your budget and timeline. Get in touch today.

Unlocking Efficiency: Why your EasyBuild home can be consented up to twice as fast!

Here at EasyBuild, we’re always talking about how quickly our homes can be consented. In fact, a good majority of our homes are consented by councils in less than 10 working days, with no RFIs. Anyone with any experience in consenting new builds will know this is far from the norm!

This is all possible because each of our home designs has MBIE Multiple-Use Approval, more commonly known as MultiProof.

But what do we mean by all of this? How is a MultiProof Approval different from a Standard Building Consent? What’s the benefit to you? And why is it faster?

We’re here to talk you through the differences in consent types, and the benefits of building a home with MBIE MultiProof Approval.

What is a Standard Building Consent in NZ?

A standard building consent in New Zealand is the typical review process that a new home design will go through to be approved to be built on a section. It involves producing and submitting specific detailed plans, engineering documentation, specifications, site-specific information and other necessary documentation to the local Building Consent Authorities – your council.

The council reviews the consent application documents to ensure that all restricted building work complies with the NZ Building Code and other relevant regulations. This process focuses on the specific details of the proposed project, including its design, structural integrity, safety measures, and adherence to environmental standards. Councils aim to complete a standard building consent within 20 working days, however, requests for information (RFIs) and other factors can extend this timeframe by weeks or in some cases, months, delaying the start of your build significantly and increasing costs.

What is MBIE Multiple-Use Approval/MultiProof?

MBIE Multiple-Use Approval is given for pre-approved building designs and is beneficial for builders and companies who build standardised designs. It provides evidence to Building Consent Authorities (councils) that a design complies with the NZ Building code.

EasyBuild has MBIE MultiProof Approval for each of our individual designs.

MBIE’s pre-approval process involves the submission and review of comprehensive plans, including detailed drawings and engineering documentation, along with other documentation that demonstrates compliance with the NZ Building Code and regulations. Once a MultiProof Approval is granted, that design is added to the MultiProof Register, where councils are able to access the information they require.

When a building consent application includes a MultiProof Approval, the Building Consent Authorities must grant or refuse it within 10 working days instead of the usual 20 working days.

Any RFIs, (request for further information) raised while assessing the consent application should only be site-specific (such as service connections, foundations etc), and not related to the design of the home, unless the design has departed from the MultiProof.

A Building Consent Authority (Council) is there to confirm and establish:

the design, with any permitted variations, is the same as the design approved in the MultiProof
that the proposed site meets the conditions of the MultiProof
that the site-specific features of the design comply with the Building Code
the on-site inspections required

So how will building a home with MBIE MultiProof Approval help you?

It saves you time

The primary advantage of building a home with a MultiProof Approval is time. Time saved on both preparation of documents required for your home, and the significant reduction in time required for consenting, with a guaranteed council timeframe of 10 working days, if all information is supplied at the time of submitting your building consent application.

With pre-approved designs readily available in the Multiproof Register, council teams can skip the time-consuming review process for standard building consents. This leads to your project getting started in a matter of weeks after submitting your consent to council. Ultimately, your new home will get out of the ground more quickly, and you’ll move into your new home sooner.

It saves you money

The streamlined nature of MultiProof Approvals translates to cost savings. By avoiding the need to create individual plans and consent documents for similar home designs, money is saved on each home build through both the design and consenting phases.

Increased certainty

Because the design has already been approved, there’s less uncertainty regarding compliance with regulations. This leads to smoother interactions with councils throughout the consenting and inspection processes, and fewer surprises during the construction process.

Design flexibility

While the core design is pre-approved, there’s still room for flexibility within certain parameters. Site-specific considerations and minor floorplan design modifications can be made while staying within the bounds of the approved MultiProof designs, meaning your home can be truly yours.

At the end of the day, building a home with an MBIE MultiProof design, such as one of EasyBuild’s wide variety of home designs, helps to save you money and limit surprises and delays during the consent and building phases, while still offering you the ability to make your home unique to you and your family.

Best of all, MultiProof Approvals on our designs help us get you into your new home sooner, which paired with EasyBuild’s unique construction method, makes the entire build process from design to moving in, seriously fast!

Talk to your local EasyBuild team today to get started on your new home journey with EasyBuild, or visit your local show home to experience the quality and comfort of an EasyBuild home for yourself.

Getting your EasyBuild Home Finance Sorted

Kitchen and Living Space in an EasyBuild Home

Getting all your ducks in a row, including mortgage finance, are often some of the very first steps in building your new home. EasyBuild are here to support you through this with information on our homes, payment and build processes, to help support the information your lender needs.

All too often we hear of people struggling to get finance on transportable homes because so much, if not all of the build occurs off-site. As a result, large deposits and payments are often required before your home makes it anywhere near your site.

But a real benefit of building with EasyBuild is that you are typically able to access standard construction lending for your home.

EasyBuild’s partial off-site prefabrication means much of the work occurs on-site

The great thing about EasyBuild homes is that while there’s a high degree of off-site prefabrication, the bulk of assembly and finishing occurs on site.

This means we don’t require large up-front deposits or payments and makes the risk you take on as new homeowner significantly lower than with traditional transportable homes that are built entirely off-site.

Our staged payment process means you have access to conventional construction loans

EasyBuild’s build projects follow a staged payment process just like conventional new-build homes. This means you pay a smaller up-front deposit and typically don’t pay any more for your house until the pre-built components of your home arrive on site or any foundation work has been completed.

Our customers make payments at the completion of defined stages in the build process such as foundation completion, house being framed up, closed in, lined, painted and so on. You may also have stages in your build contract relating to site specific work if required.

What all of this means is that you have access to the standard construction loans typically offered by banks in New Zealand. These loans usually have low deposit requirements and discounted interest rates for the duration of the build. All in all, you’re set up for success from the start!

Find out more

To find out more about building with EasyBuild, talk to us today, or contact your local EasyBuild team to get started.

Please note this article refers to homes built by a local EasyBuild team. EasyBuild homes built as a DIY build or by your own builder may be subject to different financing requirements from your lender.

Finance for all homes will be dependent on your financial circumstances and the lending criteria set out by your financial institution. This article does not constitute financial advice.

Modular Homes 101.

Prefabrication and off-site manufacturing of modular homes is the future of construction in New Zealand – it allows us to produce high quality homes and buildings more quickly and to a higher standard than traditional building.

EasyBuild’s unique modular construction method is the perfect choice for your new home. We offer a top-quality product that gives you a warm, energy efficient home that you’ll be able to move into up to twice as fast as a conventionally built home.

But first things first – what are modular homes?

Modular homes are partially prefabricated and consist of repeated sections called modules.

In EasyBuild’s case, the majority of your home’s structure is constructed off site as pre-finished panels, with pre-installed insulation, windows and exterior doors at our Upper Hutt factory, and then flat packed and delivered to your site for assembly.

All the additional components that make up the structure of an EasyBuild Home are delivered at the same time as your panels. The remaining materials to build your home are delivered in a series of three deliveries, and these include exterior cladding, interior linings, plumbing fittings, appliances and kitchen. From there, roofing, cladding and interior finishings are completed.

What are the benefits of a modular home?

Faster, Smarter, Better Quality Building

EasyBuild’s unique construction method and partial off-site construction significantly reduces on-site build time, meaning you can move into your new home sooner.

Construction in our Upper Hutt factory is carried out by the same builders, time and again, so you can trust they’re experienced at what they’re doing, and quality control is high.

Modular building is smarter too – our team are experienced at producing EasyBuild homes, and each component is precision cut by custom machinery, so time spent on site by builders is as productive as possible, and building waste is minimised by design.

Plus, with our factory construction able to continue rain or shine, your house components are constructed with no delays, and are completely protected from the elements.

The subsequent quick on-site build time means that your house can be enclosed on your site within as little as a week, further reducing the exposure of your house to the elements. Overall you’ll be moving into your new home up to twice as soon as with a conventional build.

Value for Money

Buying and building an EasyBuild modular home is one of the most cost-effective ways to build your new home – and you’ll enjoy superior quality at an affordable price.

We’ve worked hard to make sure you’re getting the best value for money with EasyBuild. We include premium construction features such as a rigid air barriers, ventilated cavities and high levels of insulation in every home, ensuring they’re extra weathertight, dry and protected from the elements.

You can expect to be warm and dry no matter the weather – in all of New Zealand’s tough conditions!

Pre-Consented Designs mean less admin and faster turnaround to get your home started on site

A key benefit of building with EasyBuild is that all our designs have MBIE national multiple use pre-approval (MultiProof), meaning the consent process is up to twice as fast and costs you less.

Essentially, MultiProof consent means that each individual design already has consent, and local councils are simply checking that your chosen design is suitable for your site and any site specific requirements. Note that this does not cover Resource Consents if they are required.

Warm, Energy Efficient Homes

Another bonus of EasyBuild’s modular home designs is that they’re ultra warm and energy efficient, so it’s easy to keep your house warm in winter, and it will stay cool in summer.

EasyBuild homes are more than twice as airtight compared to conventional builds, a benefit of the unique modular construction process. Our homes have less than 3 air changes per hour, while conventionally built homes have 6 – 10 air changes per hour, making your EasyBuild home easier to heat and cool, and more energy efficient, ultimately saving you money in the long term on heating and cooling your home, and helping the environment at the same time.

Reduced Environmental Impact

Our unique modular construction also has a significantly lower impact on the environment.

Our method reduces total build waste by two thirds compared to conventional build, and our quick on-site build time – up to twice as fast as conventional builds – reduces local environmental impact and land disturbance too.

So there you have it, just a few of many great reasons why modular homes, just like ours here at EasyBuild, are the future of construction in NZ, and a great choice for your new home journey.

Check out Our Designs today and get in touch, we’d love to help turn your new home dreams into reality.

July 10, 2020
12:10 pm