GH

What attracted you to Katikati’s Fairview Estate?

GAIL

One of the main things that attracted us to Fairview was the beautiful outlook over the golf course and the stunning Kaimai ranges in the distance. Everyday they look different and the sunsets are just amazing. We haven’t even been here for one month but when I wake up in the morning and pull back the curtains, I almost have to pinch myself. The location is just surreal.

GA

What made you decide to build a new home as opposed to buying an existing property?

PETER

We had never considered building new until I saw the Generation Homes logo on the Chief’s jerseys. During the match I suddenly found myself thinking: ‘Can I afford to build a new home?’ Surprisingly enough, I found that existing housing prices had reached the same as the cost to build a new home, so for me it seemed like a no brainer. I called Generation Homes Tauranga at half time and booked in an appointment.

GAIL

For me the main driver to build new is that we don’t have to worry about maintenance down the track.

GH

We understand this is your first building experience together, but Peter can you tell us about your other forays into new home ownership? 

PETER

I’ve previously built two new homes before. My first home was in Torbay, Auckland, and I was only about 25-years-old at the time. In those days, you got the basics and of course there were no luxury appliances like today’s modern home. My second build was also located in Torbay, and it was a kitset. The rest of them have been renovations.

GH

How has your home building experience been different this time round? 

PETER

Well I was a bit hesitant to do another new build because my last experience was a horror story and I ended up on Fair Go! I was quite reluctant to go through with another new build again but after looking into Generation Homes, I felt a lot more confident. We could see that they had quality products, great workmanship, and they stood right behind their product.

GAIL

We have been absolutely amazed at the quality of the tradesman and contractors that Generation have working for them. They have been very professional. Certainly for us, we are very happy we made this decision.

GAIL

The community atmosphere is absolutely fantastic! The people are just lovely and there is just a good balance of retired and semi-retired people as well as young families. It is just a wonderful community. We always see neighbours walking past and people saying hello. This is a place where you’ll never feel alone. You lose that close knit community feeling in Auckland because everyone is too busy doing their own thing. Whereas here, you know that you will get the support you need if something goes wrong.

PETER

And it’s not bad getting from here to the Waikato Stadium! I went to watch the Chiefs last weekend with my new neighbour and he showed me a quicker way to go. Already I’m doing things with other people, which is really nice. Katikati has a great sporting community, and there’s lots of different clubs that you can join here.

GH

What house plan did you choose?  

PETER

We went for the Montana, but since our section was a long, narrow rectangle, the plan was too big so we had to work closely with Generation to customise it to the site. We now call it the Montana-modified. We downgraded from four bedrooms to three and turned the storeroom, which is located in the middle of the house, into a computer room. The storage area is now in the ceiling instead. Essentially, we ended up with a three bedroom home, double garage, office, two bathrooms and a walk-in-wardrobe off the master suite. It’s a great house for entertaining.  

GH

Were there any challenges to overcome during the design process?

PETER

I originally wanted the storage over the garage, but we couldn’t do it as there wasn’t enough height in the ceiling so the storage was placed in the middle of the house and the access is off the kitchen. Other than that, the rest was easy. 

GAIL

There were a few things we chose that weren’t standard. For example, we upgraded to stone benchtops in the kitchen and we’ve got beautiful Italian stone floors, which are lovely. Generation Homes Tauranga supported us through every step so we didn’t really have any challenges to overcome.

PETER

We designed the lounge room so it has a lovely alcove feel to it. You’re not competing with any other room even though the lounge, dining room and kitchen is open plan. We have a corner suite that wraps around in a half circle, so that the room’s focal point is the television. Generation also put in a high definition aerial and our TV has never looked this good!

GAIL

The pallet of the house is very neutral because I wanted to add splashes of colour with accessories, and it has worked very well. Our gas stove was one of them. It’s red and black, and has three ovens. Above the stove we ordered a custom splashback to match it. It’s a beautiful red lily with black and grey. Everyone who walks in says that it is a real wow factor! Previously, I have bought existing houses and sometimes you have to work with what is already there and it’s never just right. It has been lovely to have this blank canvas that we can create something from.

GAIL

Generation Homes was very good and they knew what I wanted. The landscaper even worked with me to choose plants from my work. Peter is also going to be building a raised vegetable garden. Along the side of the house we are going to have some citrus plants, and I’ve allocated space for a rose garden. It is going to be a multi-themed garden, so a little tropical but also English themed.

GAIL

It’s warm! We’ve never had double glazing before, and the sun comes into all of our central living areas. It’s just amazing, we can’t believe it! We’ve hardly had the heat pump on at all, so the house is extremely energy efficient.

PETER

Gail has done an excellent job with her colour choices and the whole house looks beautiful. It’s also really comfortable. The other factor that I really love is the aluminium used around the windows. It is a very, very good quality and looks great. 

GAIL

One of the things we did when we came down to Katikati was talk to other people that had built here to find out what their experience was. Knowing that we were building with a company that had a good backbone was very important. Do your homework first and talk to other people in the area.

PETER

My advice would be to partner with Generation Homes.

GH

Would you partner with Generation Homes again?

GAIL

Absolutely. No hesitation.