Housing Update

Yes, I know it has been a long long time since I posted. I'm a bad bad blogger.

I was kicked out of my apartment. My landlords sold at auction, losing very close to $100,000 in the process. I've currently packed up all my stuff and stashed it at my brother's place, and I've moved back in with my family on Waiheke to save some money.

Since I hate moving so much, I'd really like to buy a place this time. Also, I've had such good luck with landlords in the past that I can't realistically expect it to continue. Even though I earn (I think) a fairly decent salary, I'm almost completely priced out of the housing market in Auckland. There are a few places I can afford but I really don't want to live in them (Manurewa, Clendon) or that are just too far away to be feasible (Papakura, Pukekohe).

I've been looking at units in the Mt Wellington/Panmure/Ellerslie area (I can't afford an actual house in this area), but most of them are not really places I'd want to live. For instance, I'd quite like to have a deck/garden where I can have a BBQ, but many of these places have just a shared lawn that doubles as extra carparking for everyone. I'm also not a big fan of having a carport miles away from the unit, or a situation where everyone coming and going from the other units has to drive or walk past mine to get to theirs.

My second choice is to look for a place out west - Massey, Royal Heights, West Harbour. At the very bottom of the market there are some actual houses that I could possibly just afford. They aren't flash - basically kitset type houses with flimsy fibro-cement cladding, but they are sufficiently old that they are unlikely to leak. They're usually three bedroom and most places have a garage and at least room for a deck or patio. I'll probably end up having to rent out one or two rooms for a while to try and get the mortgage paid off.

I'm still busy saving up a deposit so I won't really be able to buy anything until the end of the year, but I'm starting to tentatively look for places now.