The Metias family were ecstatic to move into their Hamilton home for Christmas 2024. It’s the first house they have owned and a new beginning in a multicultural community where they feel accepted.
Joyce is from the South-East Asia and Software Developer Julian is from the Middle East. They met in Qatar and searched around the world for a place where their multiracial, Christian family could be at home.
Her cousin was living in Auckland and that drew Joyce to explore New Zealand. She found work and became a resident, and Julian arrived in 2022.
Now reunited in Hamilton with their small family, they’ve found a community and embarked on the adventure of building their first home when existing properties only presented compromises and the prospect of renovation uncertainty.
A special promotion from their bank discounting mortgage rates for new builds led them down the path of creating their own dream, while a smooth partnership with Generation Homes made the dream come true.
“We wanted to find a place where the setting is liberal and we can live permanently that is open to multicultural, marriage,” Joyce says.
The couple started the building process with Generation Homes in April 2024 and were settled in by Christmas of the same year.
Initially, they didn’t think about building a house.
“We just wanted to get our own home,” Joyce says.
“We started looking at existing homes until we found that, actually, building was within our budget.
“We had a good mortgage broker who gave us all the options and the pros and cons with regards to the dollar value,” she says.
JOYCE
We have been renting since I came to New Zealand. Rents are rising and we wanted to get our own home, our own place, with no restrictions.
JULIAN
And no inspections!
JOYCE
You can do whatever you want, right? We had been looking around here in Hamilton, considering existing and new builds as well. We even looked as far as Cambridge and Ngāruawāhia, just trying to see what options we had that suited our budget. We searched online and you can’t imagine how many weeks we were out at open homes! When we were looking around, we needed to have the right feel when we were inside a house. Some were too large, some were too small, and some were too far from school and work.
With existing homes, many had large sections, but old houses. They might be in our budget, but there’s no way that we can customise things. We checked for turnkey properties. We visited show homes. Then Julian was inspired and found Generation Homes was the best one and the property would have most of what we wanted.
JULIAN
We needed a study. It is important for us as we work from home. Most houses we looked at there was no study option or it had to be in a bedroom. A good advantage of building a new house is that you can customise as much as you want. You tell them what you want. And Generation said they could work around our needs.
JOYCE
We thought that if you build your own house, there is less maintenance and then you’re able to customise it. The 10-year Master Build guarantee is a very good thing. When you get into an existing house, you wouldn’t really know what’s the problem until you live there.
JULIAN
We first enquired about a section over the phone. But it was sold before we even inspected it. Then we went to the show home and the team told us about another section in Greenhill Park which was available, which was in our price range and ready to build on. When I saw the section, it was a good size. So, I told them I’ll go for that. When we had finalised the land purchase, we started playing with the floor plan.
JOYCE
We met other building companies, but the more options you have seen, the more home visits that you do, the more clarity you get. It’s really satisfying to say ‘we’ve done our research, our comparisons, and this is the best that we can get with this price.’ We could really see how Generation Homes wished to help us.
JOYCE
At the beginning, it was hard to find a place and to get a trusted builder that works. Generation Homes had the right people. We felt that when we went to the show home – the way they accommodated us. Their approach was that there were no dumb questions. These people are, very good. Also, 27 years of doing business, that sustainability spoke to us. It made us feel like they wouldn’t stay around this long if people weren’t happy about their service.
They gave us what we wanted with the price, and it was guaranteed. They told us once we contracted with them, we are guaranteed a fixed price and delivery date. Also, they were flexible. They told us ‘let us know what you want to do on your house, and we are going to do it for you.’ It was also easy for us, straightforward. They could start right away because there were no complications.
JOYCE
It’s very straightforward and honest – they said this is the process and committed to how long it will take. We didn’t have building consents – that took another month or so. They guaranteed us that within this amount of time the house would be delivered. It was a clear plan. Because we were renting back then, there was a financial factor to it for us. It was very important. We experienced a ‘minor delay’, but they were still within the timeframe guarantee, so for us, it wasn’t really a delay.
JULIAN
It was smooth. Almost every day we were getting updates and photos from Sales Consultant Elizabeth Karam. If there was important information to share or something that needed to be actioned, we were also informed by email. It was good communication.
JOYCE
Really, communication was the key. If they can do something, they will. And if they can’t, they will tell you. It was always good to have an answer. That’s the type of transparency that we wanted to get from our builder. It was nice to have that. It was very handy to have open communication with the Managing Director and Construction Manager as well. We can always contact them both whenever we need something or if we have questions.
After we moved in, if we found any minor defects, we just emailed them and told them. They did their very best to get someone here quickly to fix the problem.
JULIAN
Yes, we put our trust in them when we signed the contract and they have done what they said. We saw what they were saying was true. They were honest.
JOYCE
At first we were cautious – we could see a lot of good remarks from customers, but we would see how it goes for us. The trust that we have given them just flowed through. There were some variations of the conditions of the contract and they were very flexible to cater to our needs for our payment plan with our bank, for example. They were very good about that.
JOYCE
They’re very considerate. They made sure that we were involved in every step of the building process and even added us to notifications about the plumbing, the electrical, all these things that were happening. I was like – wow! It was very transparent. We could drive by and we had the chance for walk-throughs to see the progress from the inside. It was very fun.
We could always call them, text them, and they replied to us. Our experience of Generation Homes it’s pretty much straightforward, you know. And if there’s anything that may cause potential delays, they were not hiding it from us. They made us part of their team. One of the things we liked most about Generation Homes, they’re hands on people with their projects. Plus the free upgrades on some chattel and fixture during the building process and a cash discount to start the contract with.
JOYCE
We chose the Akaroa plan and then we customised it. We added the study. To do that we limited the bedroom sizes, wardrobes, then we moved the kitchen, living room and dining a little bit to adjust for a space for the study room. We did some upgrades as well from the standard options at very competitive prices. We have extra storage, wooden wardrobes and a kitchen mixer.
JULIAN
I like our bedroom and study because those are the places where I’m spending most of my time.
JOYCE
For me, it is the master bedroom as well. It’s a place where we find comfort every single day, after a long tiring day. I also love the kitchen, living room and dining room. That space is where the family get together, to eat and spend time playing. It’s nice that we have our own spaces. With the open bungalow style, you can move from your comfort zone to the family zone easily.
JOYCE
Greenhill Park is in a pretty good neighborhood with amenities around us. The shopping centres, playgrounds, restaurants, GP, schools and other essential services are near. It’s in the middle of Hamilton.
Also, it’s very near to the state highway exits. There is also a proposal for a daycare and a shopping centre within the subdivision, so things are all in one place when all these concepts are built. We feel secure here.
JULIAN
Walking around, there are small parks and children playing.
JOYCE
They tried their very best to deliver it just on time for Christmas. It was like a Christmas gift to us. It was thrilling, especially as there was a bit of uncertainty of when it will finish and when it will get approved by the council. I was very thankful.
We actually didn’t move in on one day. We had the house on the first week of December. We furnished it and tried to move little by little every day. Our first day here was Christmas Eve and it was a really meaningful Christmas for us. We finally have our own house and a place we can call our own home, that’s ours.
JOYCE
We had a very good relationship with our broker and that was important. He mentioned to us some pros and cons about getting a new build, getting an interest-only option for at least a year or two, and then getting us a discount for a new build with the bank.
Definitely do your homework. Do some research. Going to open homes will give you better visibility of your options and make you realise what works best for you and what you really want.
Another thing is really stick to your budget. If the bank says this is what you can afford, this is what you can afford! It is tempting to get a four-bedroom house with two garages, but it just didn’t work for our budget.
Compare prices, talk to the builder. We negotiated with Generation Homes to make it work for us. We talked things through and relied on their experience. Generation Homes give you options and they try to help you and do the best that they can. They had other locations. They even told us they’ve got in-house financing for bridging finance, but we worked with our bank.
