After admiring Generation Homes’ show home for over twenty years, Brian and Jacqui Cavit finally got to build their dream home with the multi-award winning residential building company in Tauranga’s beachside town of Papamoa.
The couple, who have been married for forty-five years and have four children, wanted to build their forever home and start winding down into retirement.
Working as hospital chaplains for a number of years, Brian and Jacqui struggled to retire fully, so actually moving into their new home was the first step of a brand new chapter for them.
The Cavits opted to build a three-bedroom home with a double garage, and future-proofed their home for aging, allowing enough space for a walker to fit though the hallways and a shower that was large enough to allow a wheel chair inside should they ever need one.
JACQUI
We went with Generation Homes because we liked them and have being going to see their show home for 20 odd years! Back when we first bought a holiday home in Papamoa, I would go visit Generation Homes show home with my mum when she came to stay with us, because we enjoyed doing things like that together. Whenever there was a new show home, I’d go and have a look at them. The layout, finish and the feel of the houses were always great and the quality of the workmanship is just fantastic.
BRIAN
Jacqui told me about the Generation Homes show home when we began to think about downsizing. We went and had a look together, and we really liked them. We shopped around a bit at other building companies and saw their show home too, but we decided to go with Generation Homes. The other appeal to us was a definite moving in date, which was important, because we were going to be without a home while this one was being built.
BRIAN
Jacqui and I lived in Mount Maunganui for six years, and three out of four of our children were born here. We also bought a little beach place in Papamoa in 1989, so we have had a foothold here since then. It was an easy choice when it came to decide where we would put our bolt hole down.
JACQUI
We like the feeling that you are always on holiday all year round and we wanted to feel like that for the rest of our lives. We spent our lives working hard and doing all sorts of crazy things, and now it’s time to relax and enjoy life a bit more. Papamoa is expanding beyond anyone’s imagination, but it still has that nice relaxed and lovely feel to it.
BRIAN
We downsized and released some funds. We were asset rich but cash poor, so we had to address that challenge which is part of (the reason) why we did the build. If we bought an existing property we would still have to spend a lot of money to get a place to how we liked it. Building brand new, everything is totally up to the modern spec, and you can’t buy an existing house like that. All those things really start to add up, and financially it was a much better way to go.
JACQUI
We realised that it would be very unlikely for us to buy anything existing that would be future-proofed, where we could grow old and retire into. It’s so expensive to do the bathrooms so you can have shower chairs wheeled in and things like that. We just decided it was better to start from scratch and do everything properly. It ended up being less expensive, which really surprised us.
JACQUI
Our first home build was nearly 45 years ago, just after we were married. We bought a section on a new development in Hamilton and went with a builder who was a one-man company, which is what it was like back then. It was a very different build, we didn’t have a date when we would move in, and we would get a phone call every week where we were told that we needed to choose some fittings, or finishing’s and things like that. It was very stressful.
BRIAN
Even when we moved in to the first home build, we had to organise all the window fittings and drapes and we had to do the gardening, paths and the driveway. When we moved into our Generation Homes house, there was absolutely nothing to do inside or out; it was all done for us.
JACQUI
Since this is our last home, we wanted to ensure that we could grow old in it. We made the whole house suitable so that you could easily fit walkers through it, our ensuite shower can wheel a shower chair into it.
BRIAN
We really liked the fact with Generation Homes, we could adapt the plan and change things around if we wanted to. We kept it all under the roof line, but we added in a walk-in pantry, rearranged the middle of the house, put in a study nook behind doors, included a walk-in linen cupboard and increased the dining room size by reducing the outdoor alfresco area. The house was open plan originally, and we liked the idea of being able to close off some areas so we inserted cavity slider doors in between the dining and lounge area. Most of the time it’s open and we have a big double doorway between the two rooms, but when we want to we can pull them across and have a separate room.
JACQUI
For the inside, the wall colour is called Opononi, which is a nice neutral colour. We went with that because over the years we have collected a bit of art work from trips we have taken overseas, and they have a bit of colour to them. We went with a medium grey carpet and the tiles are cream with a marble effect through them. On the outside we have a cream coloured brick called Limestone and all the joinery is cream to match the brick. We have gone with a black roof, black front door and a black garage door.
JACQUI
We found it really easy. It was great having Paul as our one point of contact – from when we walked into that until the l the day he handed over the keys to us. And that service still continues after we have moved in.
BRIAN
Everyone took us seriously and helped us if we needed it. When our bricks arrived, we thought it was the wrong colour because it didn’t look like what we had ordered. The issue was, we saw the bricks when they were wet, and it turns out that they were the right colour and they just looked completely different from wet to dry. But our concerns were taken seriously and that made us feel good.
JACQUI
I loved that the moment I walked in, it felt like my home. I also love my walk-in pantry. I enjoy walking into it and being able to find everything and not having to look through lots of cupboards and having everything jammed into a small space.
BRIAN
One of the things I like about it is that we have outdoor areas that are very usable. Where we lived before, there were outdoor areas, but it never felt like it was well connected.
BRIAN
Yes we would.
JACQUI
We wouldn’t think twice about building with them, we would just go straight to Generation Homes. We are telling our friends to go with them as well. One of our friends asked us about our experience, and he said we are the first people he has ever spoken to who are happy with their new home and even moved in on the date given to us.