Downsizing to be mortgage-free for retirement was the goal for Shernaz and Sarosh Petigara when they built their new home in the Hunua Views, a subdivision in Ramarama, South Auckland. Working with Generation Homes enabled them to achieve that dream in March 2026.
They’re locals – their previous large house in Waiata Shores was sold to finance their build. Their daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons had moved into their own home way back in 2019. However, the couple continued staying in the large place because they wanted to be a support to their daughter and son-in-law and also see their little ones grow. Building their home was never going to be stressful as they chose Generation Homes with confidence and trusted the team, says Shernaz. She is a double leukaemia survivor with a positive attitude to life and living. “I have come a long way just because of my faith and trust in the universe. I said no to the bone marrow transplant and was told that I will live for seven months. But I said, ‘No, I’m going to prove to the doctors that I can do much more’.”
Their daughter and son-in-law convinced them to sell the Waiata Shores house and become mortgage fee otherwise they would keep working past retirement to pay the mortgage, Shernaz says. “The children worked with us hand in hand. They put facts and figures down in front of us and we realised what we were going to pay for so many more years. So, we took a decision to sell that house,” she says.
None of the existing smaller homes they looked at appealed to the couple and Generation Homes popped up in an internet search for new homes in South Auckland. That’s how their building story begins. They spoke while they were still unpacking boxes, finding the right location for their belongings and determining what they didn’t need any longer that could be donated to charity.
SHERNAZ
We looked at many older homes in the Drury and Ramarama area, but that is not what I wanted. When you buy a second-hand home, you always get things which you don’t like, and then it doesn’t become a priority for you to change those things.
When we were invited to visit the show home in Hunua Views (by Managing Director Sean Bignell), the show home itself was very attractive.
SHERNAZ
We met Sean and he is a super human being. He is very nice to talk to. I would say you just have to click with somebody in the first instance, especially when you’re buying a house or something that’s a big investment in your lifetime. For us, it is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and was our first time building a house. Sean showed us the plots and the plan for the land.
SHERNAZ
We had never heard of Generation Homes before we went to the show home. We were very impressed. We sought advice from our lawyer, and he said building with Generation Homes was a good decision because they were known to be reliable and ranked highly for having a good reputation of sticking to their word. If they said it would be built in six months, it would be.
The set timeframe for the build was very attractive because that gave us time to sell our house.
The fixed price was important because we didn’t want a mortgage. That was the reason we were selling that larger house, to enjoy life in the years to come, rather than live with a burden. This price exactly fitted. We paid for this house, we finished our mortgage and we had a few little dollars surplus – that’s what we wanted.
SHERNAZ
From day one, Sean was so kind. We changed the plan – asked can you do this or that and he was so helpful. I tell you, he won our hearts. We didn’t want the bathtub, for example, just the shower. That gave us more space in our bedrooms and the hall.
We contacted Sean every week and he’d let us know if it was worth visiting the site. We used to come every Saturday and take photos of what had been done. When it started taking shape, we were like, ‘oh yes, this is what we want’.
The whole Generation team was very helpful from the beginning. They’re the type of people you want around you as their communication was excellent. I’ve gone through a lot health wise – I’ve survived leukaemia twice and I’ve become stronger for that – so building a house was not something that was going to stress me.
SHERNAZ
Yes. The whole Generation Homes team have done a very good job. The house is beautiful and very well made. I trusted them 100%.
SHERNAZ
I’ve not met a single person in the journey who said no to me. They were very helpful in everything – wonderful.
I had a very excellent experience. When we told our friends that we are building the house, they were worried as there are many stories about builders who have left the projects halfway. But from day one, we just clicked with Sean. Our lawyer gave us confidence about Generation Homes, and he knew my health history from the previous times we have worked with him, from the three houses that we bought and changed.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. If anybody ever asks about building, I will say ‘have you consulted Generation Homes?’
SHERNAZ
We had a Generation Homes plan and made some changes. It is three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Among the few changes we made was to get the toilets higher, keeping in mind we are older. Then in my kitchen I wanted push-back closes with no handles because I often used to bang into the handles in my other house and graze myself.
SHERNAZ
My beautiful kitchen and living room. The kitchen is where I live. As my husband says, ‘my wife can sleep in that kitchen for 24/7’. I just love cooking and I’m always experimenting. The induction stove is something new for me.
I love that I had some beautiful curtains made for the main living room. I didn’t want blinds as that is just more cleaning.
For Sarosh, his favourite place is the garden. He is a DIY person, and as he had a big shed in the old house, all his stuff from the shed is in storage. So, his plan in the next three to four months is to get a new shed. He works for Bunnings Warehouse Manukau and he loves his job as he has a wonderful bunch of team members plus very understanding store and ops managers.
Our grandsons love that one of the spare rooms has an ‘ensuite’ – it’s connected to the second bathroom, and they chose that room immediately for any visits because they wanted that. We’ve made the other bedroom into a prayer room come study.
SHERNAZ
We are 15 minutes away from our family. It is a quiet neighbourhood and a beautiful new suburb. There are no large commercial businesses. A Drury railway station is coming in June for convenience for commuters.
SHERNAZ
Very nice and very thankful to the universe, because we had two things – being mortgage free, and a new home.
SHERNAZ
My tip would be stick to the budget. There are always options, but if you want that, you must pay for that. We stuck to our budget, and we only got the things that we wanted to do. We were very clear in our mind that we do not want to go overboard. The standard of the house is very beautiful.
It is the builder’s job to show you the optional extras, but it is up to you to decide what you want. We sat and prioritised things every day as the house was finishing up. Do we need this? Do we need that? Can we do without it? What is a priority in the coming years? So be clear with your goals.
SHERNAZ
Last, but not the least, a special thank you to the entire team again beginning with Sean, Paul (both), Fiona, Pania and all other workmen involved in making our dream come true. Thank you Generation Homes and bless you all.
