Doing due diligence

Buying a piece of land can be a very scary proposition! In our case the piece of land we were looking at is some 1610 square metres but only about 28% of that is the building platform, the rest is native bush.

As you can see it has some great views which is why we fell in love with it straightaway.

What you cannot see is the shape of the building plot which we were soon to learn gets somewhat reduced by the 2.2 metre Council berm then the 4.5 m setback. Once that is gone it got hard to imagine what could be done. Oh did I mention covenants ? There were a few of those covering single storey, limited fencing, NO CATS (you'd love it here Gareth) and fitting in with the natural surroundings.

So it was off to a local architect to see what he thought could be put on the remaining part of the section....bit of a necessary evil this, especially if you know at the outset you want a passive house and there is only one local Company who can provide that design!  Anyway a week later and $1500 poorer the architect came up with something that met our requirements.

google Maps

You will see from the map that our planned location is in the vicinity of the Waikanae River so a major due diligence concern was the flooding risk. Sessions with the local Council and the Regional Council, backed up by copious reports from the latter about the risks allayed our fears, and in discussing this with eHaus they pointed out that Passive houses, being tightly sealed, have a defense against flooding that was proven during the recent Whanganaui flooding.

So then it was reading all those long legal agrrments that come with a land transfer...and finding some money for a deposit...more about that another time.

Finding land

When we had made the decision we would look to move from Whitby, where we have a great group of neighbours and friends, the first aspect was to consider where?

Maureen had always wanted to live close to the coast so last year we did some exploration around Plimmerton but could not see any bare land opportunities. We had previously examined an eco-sanctuary to the north of Waikanae but that was distant from the coast and the public transport infrastructure.

Our first call however was to the ehaus showhome at Waikanae. If you are thinking Passive House this is a great start.

https://www.ehaus.co.nz/showhomes/kapiti-showhome/

John Murphy is ehaus' Sales Manager and a great advocate for this form of housing. It was he who informed us of all the various sections within the area that might be suitable so having got the GPS out we commenced our search.

In looking for a section for a Passive House solar orientation is a key factor in achieving the level of certification and energy saving one requires. This only becomes apparent when one is down the road in the process but it is a vital factor.

After exhausting most of the sections in the Kapiti area within the limits set, to have easy access to the bus and train network to reach Wellington from time to time, we arrived at Kotuku Parks in Paraparaumu Beach North.

It appeared that the only section remaining here was one that at first glance had a very small building plot on it, so after scanning the neighbourhood, which we really liked it was time to see the sales agent.....

See the photos for the area

http://kotukuparks.co.nz/photos.php#thumb

Grabbing the concept

This is an invitation to join us in our journey...one that is very new and challenging for us...but leads hopefully to our preferred future...in a Passive Home.

Some of you might be new to this building concept, although if you come from Europe you'll be asking, "Whats new"?

So here is a video to help you understand it:

Watch this space as we keep you up to date with what we are learning and our progress.