Building a dual occupancy house in a Cambridge subdivision
Building a dual occupancy house in a Cambridge subdivision, with two attached but separate residences beside each other, was a beautiful solution to enable three generations of one family to live together but apart.
The family love their new house in Grace Park and within weeks it has quickly become home for Darren and Tracy and their two adult sons, with Darren’s mother next door.
When Darren and Tracy found out the Grace Park subdivision was being extended from the end of the street where they were living, they decided where they would build their new house.
With a site chosen, they originally planned to build a single-story house tailored for the couple and their sons.
But the family’s circumstances changed and they needed to consider a dual occupancy home so Darren’s mother could live alongside.
Their two-story house took shape over five months and they moved in in June 2025.
The move was just 100 metres, but Darren says it’s amazing how heavy the coffee machine is when you carry it that distance!
And Tracy is still laughing at the image of Darren shifting things between the houses on a trolley.
“It seemed like a great idea, right? But oh my goodness,” he jokes.
The family are very happy in their new property and set up to work from home in great comfort, which is vital for Tracy as she works remotely for an Australian financial services company.
TRACY
We liked the idea of having brand new. When Darren’s Mum came into the picture we looked at existing dual occupancies. But there wasn’t really anything in the market that was suitable in Cambridge and our price range.
DARREN
What we found was that the vast majority of existing properties with dual occupancy had been renovated to make them dual occupancy. That meant the second residence was attached to the existing one with internal access between the properties. The biggest thing around that was, because there were no firewalls and stuff like that, you couldn’t have a full kitchen in the second dwelling. That just didn’t feel like the right thing for Mum. And in terms of that accessibility, we want each property to be really separate, to create that privacy and that sense that each group’s got their own place. Alternatively, the existing properties with dual occupancy and a full kitchen were on lifestyle blocks. The price was significantly higher and we didn’t actually want to live on a lifestyle block, either.
So, we started conversations with a few different building companies.
DARREN
When we initially met Julie, at Generation, we felt like we really connected with her; that she understood and she listened. One of the things that I really liked was she was as excited about it as we were, which was really cool. Every time we would say ‘hey, we’re thinking about this’, Julie said either, ‘yeah, that’s a great idea or what are you thinking?’ And then she’d help us flesh the idea out. She was super excited about things, which actually made us more excited. It built the rapport with Julie.
We looked at a couple of Generation show homes. We really liked the way they finished things, the layouts and how they had lots of options for us.
TRACY
We looked at the Generation Homes website and found the Dover plan (for a house and income home) and thought it looked good.
DARREN
We’d also spoken to other people who built with Generation and had a really good experience – they had built homes a few times with three or four different building companies, and they really raved about Generation. So, we got really good feedback about them as well.
TRACY
Definitely for the build time – that was really attractive. No one else could give us a guaranteed move date. The fixed price looked better for the bank and made things easier, too.
DARREN
Sometimes when I look back to some of the show homes we went to and the sales people we talked to, there was a kind of disinterest, a lack of energy I guess. They don’t know if you are truly looking to build and they’re not as engaging as you want them to be. It created doubts that the building process with those companies might feel like that as well.
Julie was never like that. Right from the start, she had confidence that we were going to build with Generation.
TRACY
Julie went away and did her homework. She asked us what we were looking for and recognised that Cambridge is very strict on its consent process. So, she did some hard work and digging to find out whether what we wanted was going to be achievable. It wasn’t too hard for her.
DARREN
Julie did a really good job of working out who we are, what was important to us, and then working with us. It is a big testimonial for Julie that during the process, as things in our world were changing and evolving, she was adaptive. In the moments when we needed her to be humanistic, she was. Just when we were choosing the property and what things might look like, and all that sort of stuff, Tracy’s mum sadly passed away. Julie was really caring and flexible. I think we built trust with her really quickly.
DARREN
I think for a single-level dwelling, it was a 16-week build and for two stories it was 20 to 22 weeks. We asked what happens if you miss the deadline? And we were told they never have, so not to worry about it.
Once we’d all signed off and everything was ready to go, they gave us a schedule. We had this big, three page 20-week schedule of what was happening on every single week. And so we put that up in our scullery and, of course, living 100 metres down the road, you could see every day what was going on. Everything on that schedule happened in the week, and if it didn’t happen that week, it happened on the following Monday. We saw people here on the weekends and all that sort of stuff. So they run a really tight ship around time frames.
Some of the subcontractors told us Generation is awesomely strict on the timetable and that meant they could plan their jobs well as it went like clockwork. There were a couple of times when I said to Julie, ‘are we still on schedule?’ Because something didn’t seem to be happening. But it was on schedule and they delivered. They delivered it really quickly.
They were cool, too, if we wanted to have a look through. Every time we rang we were able to visit within 24 hours. Again, your trust builds because there’s nothing being hidden.
TRACY
We had some hiccups, but they were smoothed and dealt with. I don’t think anybody’s built a house where there hasn’t been something.
DARREN
That’s part of building houses, right? I think sometimes when you’re in it, the thing feels enormous. Then you talk to other people where they’ve had stuff happen, and you realise our’s was minor compared to their thing.
The way Generation’s team planned things with us was excellent. They were asking how are you going to use this home? What does a typical day look like? Then they could also make recommendations.
An example is the electrician. One of the considerations we had was around Tracy working from home and making sure there’s a good space for her. Then, talking with the electrician, we changed our internet set-up so that rather than having standard Wi Fi, we’ve got extenders and various access points. Those are the things you don’t think about until you talk to an expert. Tracy works from home, I might be at home working, the boys might be streaming or gaming, and then you’ve got my Mum right next door who is streaming as well. So, it’s sucking a lot of internet!
TRACY
The electrician helped us to future proof as well in case we ever put in a spa pool or a swimming pool and things that that you wouldn’t even think about.
TRACY
Definitely after seeing the quality at the show homes.
Another thing is Generation use good appliances. They’re not putting in budget appliances – there’s a difference in having good ovens and cook top.
DARREN
And the tapware and all that sort of stuff, too. It’s even little things like your walls have rounded corners rather than square corners and stuff like that. Visitors notice those things.
The sub-contractors were all excellent. I guess Generation very purposefully select the people they have working with them.
TRACY
We’ve had people come in and comment on the quality of our bathrooms and our appliances.
DARREN
I recommend Generation Homes because the team were all amazing.
Six months ago, we were standing in the driveway looking at just the section, trying to work out where the boundaries sat exactly and how the house was going to sit. Now the house is up and we’re in. Well, a 20-week build. That’s not even five months, right? When we talk to people about it, everyone thinks it’s really fast. You can see how they do it – they just run it like clockwork.
I love that when we did get hiccups, like you do in every build, they were honest about what had happened or what was going on. And then, the team went through our options on how to get this solved quickly. So, that felt pretty good.
For example, the flooring we had chosen was discontinued and we needed to make a decision really fast. We were really busy at work that day and couldn’t get to the show home to have a look at options. Jo dropped planking samples around to our house so we could have a look and then let her know the next morning.
Something like that could have been really frustrating, but it wasn’t. She helped make the whole process seamless. And I think actually, we’ve got a better looking floor now than we would have if we’d gone with the original!
TRACY
The team knew their stuff, too. Operations Manager Scott Duncan could come into a home and recognise if there was something that needed adjustment, and he’d tell you straight away, while you wouldn’t have noticed it yourself.
TRACY
We chose the Dover plan and made a few changes, but nothing structural. In the kitchen, we’ve added a second oven. We took the door off the scullery to give us that wall space.
DARREN
We put a study nook in the main hallway. There was a double linen cupboard and we took that out and put a little desk in there, because with my job I occasionally work from home so I just want to have a space where I could work.
TRACY
In the lounge, we put a barn door to close it off. Then we moved the laundry location in the garage and we’ve put double barn doors on that as well to close that off. We changed the balustrade to one that was more our style. It’s a lovely home.
DARREN
Generation calls this a home and income plan. Some people refer to the second place as a granny flat. It all depends on your perspective. For us, it has dual occupancy. For someone else, they might use it for older children, or Air BNB, or guests. You could rent it out. You could do all sorts of things with it. It does give lots of options.
TRACY
Darren’s Mum has a lovely, cozy, two-bedroom place with a full kitchen / lounge / dining room, laundry, everything. She’s got a nice backyard, with a little deck.
DARREN
We’ve maintained separate spaces for her and for us – there’s no internal access in the property or in the backyard. We’ve fenced off her part so her yard is private and our yard is private as well.
DARREN
We’ve got the kitchen / dining area, which is a big open area – that’s our favourite space in the house right now.
TRACY
We’ve got a really big entertainers’ kitchen and then we’ve got a 10-seat dining table in this area, as well as a little bit of a family area with a couple of chairs, coffee table. It’s the hub of the home and the entertaining area opens up onto a big deck. We love this space.
DARREN
It’s got two big floor-to-ceiling windows which lets in lots of light. We’ve spent less time in the lounge and it’s funny, as we’ve watched less TV. We spend most of our evenings in the entertaining area.
TRACY
Our home works great with two adult children, and we’ve all got our own bathrooms. One bedroom upstairs has an ensuite, as well as the master, and then downstairs is another bathroom.
TRACY
It was surreal. We felt like the build went fast. It just flew by.
DARREN
It feels right, it feels great. We love it.
It’s everything we wanted. It’s a cool family home for us and having Mum right next door is great. Tracy this morning whipped up a batch of scones in her two new ovens. We just gave Mum a quick call and said, ‘hey, we’re having scones’ and she comes over, has a coffee and a scone. It’s lovely to be able to have that as part of your life. We’re all really settled. It feels like home. Everything fits pretty much and it’s only three weeks since we moved in.
When you move in, everything’s done. Generation make an allowance for everything in the budget. You work out what you want to do and what are the parts you don’t want to do. The blinds are up, the property’s fenced, the lawn is down, the garden prepared.
DARREN
We grew up in Rotorua and married there. When we came back to the region, Cambridge appealed to us as a pretty place – it’s a lovely spot. It has all the beautiful villas and bungalows and the streets lined with trees that are decades old.
We are in the newer part of Cambridge, close to the Waikato Expressway. Cambridge is central for my job managing the Waikato and Bay of Plenty and travelling to Tauranga and Taupo and places in between.
TRACY
Cambridge is beautiful. And in this area we’ve got lovely bars, cafes and a supermarket close by, and then there’s other developments happening and we know our neighbours already.
We’ve got a rural outlook and I understand that we probably aren’t going to be built out. Upstairs, out of our bedroom window, we look out to the hills one side of Cambridge, and then from the other upstairs bedroom, you look out to the hills on the other side of Cambridge, out to the farming area. That’s a beautiful outlook. From the kitchen window, you can also see out to the hills.
DARREN
I think the fixed price contract is awesome – you know what you’re up for.
TRACY
I think it’s really important to always have extra money set aside. Even though you have a fixed price, don’t think you are not going to have some additional costs.
DARREN
Yes, there has been additional stuff. As you’re going through you think ‘what if we were to do this?’ So being able to have some money to do those things is really important.
TRACY
I also think when you are moving into a new home, you want new things.
DARREN
Don’t push yourself to your limit on the initial amount, though, because things will things will change and evolve. For example, with the electrician there’s a package they put together. There might be three power points in the lounge, and you actually need more than that. That stuff will cost more, but it’s never going to be cheaper than doing it then as adding a power point later on is going to be horrifically expensive.
So when you’re walking around, think about how you’re going to live in the property.
And, don’t sweat every decision. Sometimes you have to change things and that happens for a good reason (such as our floor). I think in the overall scheme of things, the one or two things that weren’t quite what you expected or what you initially wanted, they can feel really big. But when you when you walk into your new, beautiful home you love it.
