Sounds wonderful, well done. I worked my butt off during my 50 years of working. Now travel the world three or four times a year, eat out several times a week and so on so on. Each to their own. I doubt the news media would be interested in me. I do enjoy reading about how different people in NZ and around the world live their life.
Based on the number of times Ardern has apologized and said she has got something wrong it is clear she thinks she is doing poorly and has not got the experience to do the job she is in.
I do wish some more technical details could be supplied in the article. Like how many units of power were used for controlled (hot water) and uncontrolled. What the fixed charges were. Pretty simple stuff. I once had a tenant with huge power bills like this. Found there was a water leak in the hot water pipes. This showed up when I looked at the account.
I was so proud of my skill when I made a small fortune out of Rainbow shares back in 86. I sold some but in hindsight unfortunately I did not sell them all so the rest turned to zilch in the 87 crash. It still permitted me to have a year off work for the government that changed the course of my life. Thank you Craig for giving me that vision to get off my back side, do the hard things, and be grateful for the opportunity to do crazy things.
Well of course the rabbit is out of the hat now. Who on earth would believe repeated denials that Labour would never think of it again. Party faithfulls mentioned it at a Labour election meeting I went to last year. Yet again one of their agendas. Next it will be a special tax on second cars, caravans, boats, and overseas holidays.
Phil Twyford wants private landlords to be as bad as his own HNZ property managers. That is why he is proposing a law to say landlords can not give 90 day notices. The proposal is for all terminations to be approved by the tenancy tribunal. He says this is how it is in some Utopian society in UK. He says it is better and fairer there?
It seems to be the plan of the government to squeeze private landlords out of the market. Private landlords provided 22000 homes in the Manawatu - Wanganui area in the 2013 census compared with 6000 social houses. There will be lots more now. Perhaps we should be telling Phil Twyford to encourage the provision of more private rentals. What purpose does it serve to put ladies like Noeline in this situation?
Why are people picking on the property managers. A few years ago I had a tenant referred to me by a social agency. He was overloading the flat in excess of the specified number on the tenancy agreement. These extras were making a nuisance of themselves. I issued a 14 day notice to remedy and took the case to the tenancy tribunal. My request for remedy as prescribed by the RTA was declined. I did not even ask for a termination. If the courts will not support legitimate legal requests to avoid over crowding does this mean society condones it.
As a landlord in Nelson with a number of elderly tenants I understand the issue. Fully agree the NCC and TDC should have more pensioner housing. Their stock is old as they say and has not been added to for the last 40 or so years. The government used to help councils build pensioner housing. Why not start that assistance again.The Salvation Army with community assistance used to have aged housing in Nelson but they sold it so they can not claim the moral high ground. The recent accommodation assistance increases did not help pensioners much. In Nelson there are around 10,000 private rentals and less than 1000 social houses (including pensioner flats) so Phil Twyford can not take the moral high ground either. Private landlords are carrying the community on its back. Most private tenants do not even get the accommodation assistance.
I do wonder why kiwi build homes have a restriction of not on selling until three years are up but the brightline test is 5 years. These people will be able to flick them off in three years and not pay a bean in tax unlike those people who have been housing the homeless at a loss. When they are forced to sell because of circumstances beyond their control they have to pay tax on inflation.
I am getting sick and tired of people going on and on about student tenants and landlords.Yesterday I visited one of my commercial tenancies. The stupid tenants had been complaining for ages about all sorts of things. I noticed they had left their heat pump going continuously, the light they complained about flicking had been smashed and I could see why the drains were often blocked based on the mess left in the sink. You do not need to be a student to be a poor tenant.
Our society needs to think clearly as to what they want. surely no one wants tenants to be out of control upsetting the neighbours and the wider community. Good landlords / property managers can influence the issue but the law does not permit much. The RTA needs to change to make provision for better control by landlords. One simple issue would be to permit landlords to forbid taking of drugs or alcohol. It is acceptable to ban smoking but not drug taking?
What about all those tenants who took their private landlords to the tenancy tribunal and claimed they got sick from meth contamination. Are those cases to be struck out by the court and the fines imposed on the landlords refunded. The claimants must have been lying.
I have been trying to let my property today. As new interior and one of the cheapest flats on Trade me. Three appointments but only one turned up. When asked to fill out the simple application form asking for DOB and existing address they declined to fill it in. Am I to be punished for having an empty property when there are needy people looking for accommodation. They let slip they were living in a caravan, girl 9 months pregnant and wanting a house (not flat) of their own.
I attended an election meeting last year when Phil Twyford spoke. This very same tax was mentioned then by one of the meeting officials.. So I guess this is another of their agendas. At the time I responded in jest by suggesting they should also tax people who own a boat and a second car. That got some gasps and strange looks!
Oh no another lets copy UK story Things are much better there. The building rules are there for peoples safety. Not just fire safety either but plumbing, noise, and quality of living. Someone should look at what Cresa is up to. They get government money but their reports seem to have a political flavour to them.
It is easy to see the writer is not working in the industry. From my observations a significant number of people living free are as a result of matrimonial relationships. A huge number of people have lifetime use of a house provided by way of a benefit granted from an estate. Many are occupied by older children left after parents die. The estate still owns the property and pays all the bills. I lot of these properties come to the market after the last one standing moves on. They are normally in a very poor state of repair.
I am soon off for my third hiking adventure in Siberia. The mid winter trip on Lake Baikal stuff of dreams. Wonderful decent people all keen to connect with the West. Must struggling financially though.
Trouble is there is a huge locked gate on the road that goes up the valley to where the dam will be. So the lovely river close to town is not actually currently any use to the general public.
Yet another example of the evils of income related rents. Everyone in New Zealand who needs financial help should get the same assistance based on their needs. The rent should be at market rates and the tenants should have their income increased via the Accommodation Supplement (AS). That way he would have chosen to move to a more appropriate property of his own free will at his own timing rather than being pushed around by civil servants. We need a fair and caring decent society not one run by people who pick some and ignore the rest.
As a long term private landlord I have housed many people over the years that have come out of supported care. The level of support whilst the sick people are in the community varies enormously in quality and consistency. No extra assistance is given to landlords who provide this service. When things go wrong DSW and the tenancy tribunal are not much help.Little wonder not many landlords want them as tenants. It can be dangerous to the property, the neighbours and the landlords. I know I have been assaulted.
It is about time we told the government that we will not be paying them their stupid landfill tax. The tax is causing people to make the wrong decisions. I bet Cullen who is being paid a kings ransom to make taxes fair would not agree.
I bought my first home (still living in it) in 1973. I did not find it easy then. I had to get a second mortgage at 9% which was 25% of the purchase price. My parents bought their first home in about 1958. The government helped them by selling them the state house at a they had lived in for the previous 20 years at a discounted rate. They did not find it easy. Mum took in boarders to pay the mortgage. When they first got married before the war they could not afford to buy. My dad worked for the government. My eldest bought his first property about 20 years ago and did not find it easy. Put off buying a car before buying his first rental. Get real Peters. It has never been easy. The more governments mess with the banks and the market the harder it gets for everyone.
I sure wish my house and granny flat had rates that low. The person who built the granny flat and the council authorities at the time knew that is was border line. That is why no stove (kitchen) was installed. I wonder if the council will let the owner put a stove in now.
I would like to see an article about the tenancy tribunal where landlords were penalized because the tenants claimed they got sick from the second hand meth contamination. According to Gluckman not one case exists of someone getting sick from the so called meth contamination. The whole issue is about over reaction by the courts, media and government. It would be wonderful to think the current government had learnt what happens when you pass laws or start punishing people without good science to back it up.
When statements from paid spin doctors state. But it then on-sells them to eligible KiwiBuild buyers, so the cost to the government, and taxpayers, of the scheme is minimal. one has to worry. So it appears they have either not worked out what the cost will be or they are hiding that information. The scheme is a government based ponzi scheme with the main qualification being a gamble to win the government run lotto. This is not how business and good decent working people progress in life. If I was young again I would not be gambling or hoping for government handouts. I would roll my sleeves up get working and save hard.
So many people want to blame this or that red blue or green politicians. The fact of the matter is New Zealand, Australia, and UK plus many other countries the percentage of owner occupiers is dropping and the percentage of renters is going up. Sure the silly politicians keep copying each other just like lots of posters here refer to the way they think happen in Europe. Last time I was in France people were complaining about house prices. What people should be saying how to solve the problem.
Under Twyfords new law the landlord would need to pay the tenant for loss of business and hurt feelings. It would good if the Stuff reporteres could get comments from MBIE and NZPIF when reporting cases like this.
What they need to do is overhaul their accounting systems. Governments both local and central have crazy lazy accounting systems often using money jars to make it look as if someone is controlling it.
Special deal for Auckland and Christchurch and different for the rest of the country. At the moment Canterbury is awash with houses to sell that are sitting empty waiting for either buyers or tenants.Has this got to do with the strong support Christchurch has for the Labour party.
I do find it strange how this government keeps introducing multiple amendments to the RTA. Can they not make up their mind or is this just a series of knee jerk reactions. On the issue of changing 42 day notice for sale does he not then understand first home buyers will have to wait for three months for possession when buying a property. For every new law there will be some people who gain from them and some people will suffer. Sadly the people who suffer the most will be those who can least afford it. Phil and Jacinda will be remembered for what harm they did to innocent people for years to come.
Now we will see who among the world leaders has the honesty truth and decency to deal with the issue. First step is to refuse entry of any Saudi royal. We are not dealing with a bad country we are dealing with a bad leader.
When I was made redundant at age 45 by the Labour government I thought the super payments would have been changed by the time I reached 65 so worked my butt off and saved hard to cover that eventuality. Here I am at 70 and on reflection I could have taken things a bit easier. We all need a goal and finish line to get us up in the morning and run the good race.
I get so angry when people talk about using the oven to heat. There seems to be some sort of urban myth. Apart from being hopelessly inefficient and expensive to operate it is dangerous. Dangerous from burns and fires, likely damage to stove doors and worse the wiring in a stove is not intended to operate for such long periods. A very common fault with stoves is burnt out element connectors in the back of the oven.
No I am not keen on lots of immigrants. Fair enough for young people who want to work but I do wonder about the older ones with claims they have plenty of money. This government keeps quoting how things are so much superior in UK. I just wish the politicians would sell up and move there if they think it is so good there.
I do hope they prevent overloading of the homes by stopping people with more than one child buying a two bedroom home. I also trust that people declaring to live in their new homes to guarantee that their relationship will last as long. There is no point in people coming up with all the excuses in the world after gambling and winning to then want to cash out before the three year period is up.
Webb said there was a huge waiting list for social housing in Christchurch but theres actually enough houses on the rental market so if you can pay a market rent, theres a house there for you.So why do people in social / council housing get way more subsidy than the same income people in private rentals. There has been a huge slippage between the two and it is not fair. Not good ethics to publicly acknowledge this discrimination yet not wanting to fix the problem.
I think the article is well written. But is this problem restricted to only Auckland. What about all the new nurses and all the new retail workers. These are good people who need homes also. Or is the writer suggesting that teachers are different and need special treatment. More likely I say their union is more proactive.
Well I have been a landlord now for 25+ years. Some of my tenants have been in my properties for 10+ years. I am not permitted to charge tenants for maintenance? Why let landlords do that?
I am encouraged that all the readers think drove offs are wrong. Shame the same attitude does not extend to people who do not pay their rent. Bigger amounts not paid and the action is not even a crime. I just wish I could have instant access to vehicle registration owners details like petrol station owners have. Multiple standards for privacy ad honesty in this country.
In the 2010 RTA amendments I made a submission that a different adjudicator should sit on re hearings. My submissions were rejected. Yet if the adjudicator has some sort of relationship with one of the parties (like a client or relative) they always declare this to the other party and a different adjudicator is appointed to hear the case if the other party wishes it to be so.
Yes definitely. As soon as grandma moves into a rest home throw some tenants in. Working in another city for 12 months? Do not want to sell and do not want to pay the tax on the rent and other costs. Simple we will make it impossible for you to move. That will stop people moving just to work in another place.Have a house in Canterbury for the kids to go to university. When they come home at Christmas put some homeless people in there. I am worried about some people in New Zealand these days and what they would do if they got into power. Oops sorry they are.
Well done. loved the story. I get so angry with the 0 power saving advise the power companies put out. A number of people I know have wrongly changed to the low fixed charge high rate per unit. This only works if you are careful like Peter. That cylinder looks like it was installed in the 1960s. He definitely should insulate it with a wrap and lag his pipes.
To me as a landlord / property manager / investor of both residential and commercial properties I read the well written article and wonder ? I am not comfortable with comments like Chinese and sign the rent increase demand? Rent increase notices are not served this way? The law states that an overseas landlord must appoint a local manager. No mention of a manager here? The family is not normal but I have had tenants like this. Readers might be interested to lean that if the family was in a HNZ property HNZ would be collecting more money per week than your much maligned landlord. My experience with HNZ as a neighbor landlord is way worse dealing with / getting rid of problem tenants who cause problems for the neighbours.
You need to get your facts right. I bought my first home in 1973. The maximum State Advances would lend was $10,000 which equated to less than 50% of the purchase price in my provincial city. The approval committee only met once a month. Anyone lucky enough to get one needed to take out a second and sometimes a third mortgage at 9%.
Auckland growth is nothing to crow about. They are still only growing at 2.61% compared with Otago at 2.75%. Even Tasman at the top of the South is growing at 2.25%. Interesting to see the average consent price $340522 compared with the country average of $350478. Nelson is $470588. The report card could have the comment. Could do better
Been there done that. Had a medical event once in a remote part of the world. Insurance would not pay out. My doctors all said the event was not related to any sort of pre condition. Insurance stated their definition of pre condition was different to my specialist expert physicians definition. Best insurance is always healthy bank.
The issue is the allocation of subsidies for low income tenants is terribly unfair. Why on earth should some people get a greater subsidy than others based not on income but on who their landlord is. HNZ tenants receive almost four times greater subsidies than tenants in non government owned properties. This inequity is a ticking time bomb. We should be helping people based on their needs. Of the 500000 non government tenants less than half get rental assistance and that assistance is insufficient for them to live as well as their friends on the other side of the street in HNZ properties.
You think you have some problems? I have to suffer from trees planted by the council. Their leaves block the gutters and cause flooding inside my commercial property on one side and on the other side of the building the roots from another tree get into the sewer pipes. I have tried talking with the council. As far as I can see there is no legal remedy nor a process in place to deal with the issue.
The issue of commercial operators complaining about mum and dad operators providing short term accommodation has been going on for years. What about checking to see how many motels have people renting their units for more than 28 days. This contravenes the RTA and the planning laws. I have noticed a lot of old motels are quietly turning themselves into blocks of flats.
I was a GSF member also. At 45 they kicked me out when made redundant by the Labour Government of the time. Found Muldoon National government had not paid its guaranteed share into fund so the payout was less than promised amount. My dad was also a member. When he died the family lost his life time of contributions when mother remarried a few years later. Young people should avoid super schemes, the risk is too high because politicians of the future can not be trusted.
I have had lots of refugees as tenants over the years in Nelson. Most of them have come from Myanmar but others from Bhutan. They are all decent peace loving people who work as soon as they can. Very few have gone into social housing. Most are in private rentals. A number have worked their butts off, saved every last dollar and purchased their own homes. I speak from first hand knowledge. Happy for more to come to my town. Not at all like the ten pound poms that came to NZ when I was a kid.
With rising sea levels we need as much landfill possible to save us from being swamped. Everyone should be doing their best to build up our landmass. Reading articles like this just shows we are blindly following the rest of the world without stopping to think through the issue. How much non renewable fuel is spent shipping our rubbish to China.
Bert you have missed the point of most of the posts. Almost everyone agrees currency fluctuations are uncontrollable. No matter what a country does the currency will move either up or down. Usually efforts to control things make things worse. Currency fluctuations are used wrongly to justify all sorts of price increases, that is what the suggestion was about rent increases. Totally unrelated but any excuse is better than just greed, stupidity, or desperation. When in a position of power use that power for good not evil.
The number of building consents is still way too high. Year to August 4624 dwellings consented which is 2.26%. This is similar rate to Auckland. BC const per dwelling $380,710. Number for sale on Trade Me 5139 equates to 2.51% and for rent 1547 3%. Landlords were commenting 12 months ago difficulty finding tenants with some offering incentives like one free week. What I can not understand is why and how are builders still able to keep on producing new dwellings. Their deep pockets might soon seem as if they have holes in them.
Sure there will be some corrections. The really risky places are those that have had more than their share of government money. Government money is never based on logic. For instance Christchurch is heading downward as the government money dries up. At the end of the three year Labour kiwi build / HNZ spend up in Auckland they will have problems also.
The credibility of the likes of Faulkner quoted in the article needs to be judged on the accuracy of his statements. Before the REA amendments were passed many independent property management firms such as Quivnovic were legally operating.The legality of these operations were tested in the high court and approved. Property management is difficult and problematic. There are many robust laws already in place to censure dishonest and sloppy operators who do not pay their tax, misappropriate other peoples money, and act incorrectly. There is no need to set up another self appointed police force of mates looking after mates.
I have just checked the ownership of the property by using goggle street view, Terranet and LINZ. There are lots of people bagging landlords out there blaming them for all the evils of the world. I can see this house is not in that category. It is almost impossible to get the local authority to do anything all over NZ and even harder to make sure it stays clean and tidy.
Based on the information the minister has released one can deduce that 60% of all private rentals are managed.Analysis of Trade me advertisements comes up with similar numbers.A number of tenants move more often than they change their underwear. They are the ones that cause a lot of the work. There needs to be some mechanism to charge the tenants that cause 80% of the effort.Perhaps a promise to drop the rent after 12 months if the tenant stays on longer than 12 months.The rent premium for the first 12 months could go direct to the managers!
I started pretty well the same year. Got 27 years till redundancy from technology career which pushed me into another interesting profitable world. Wonderful time working and wonderful time in retirement.
I have just returned from bumbling around Siberia and Iran. I had what I thought was a powerful translation App on my phone but it never worked when I tried. When attempting to navigate my way along a poorly signposted route between terminals at Khabarovsk in Siberia (as one does ) a helpful local dashed up to me with her App and it did the job! Fool me did not know I could get a translate App that worked off line. Better get it for my up coming trip to DPRK. I do trust it will work there! ?? Comments please readers ?
As a tramper / mountain biker for the last 50+ years hiking in NZ and around the world, and current independent member of FMC I think I can see some of the problem. I was a DOC hut warden at an isolated hut this last summer on the TA trail and what I observed of the international and kiwi hikers sent shudders down my spine. We all need people in power sitting down to figure out how we can apply some more government money to be used by the huge pool of experienced volunteer users of our mountains. There is room for many paths to achieve the same goal. Lets not fix problems by putting up safety cones and barriers over the entrances to our world. It is there for us to enjoy by using not just observing from plastic bubbles.
Lovely house and even better lovely owners. Fantastic credit to people who have put their lives and money into restoring one of the countries great treasures.
Too 1. Far too many people think power outages are mostly caused by poles falling over. Too hard for them to understand things like power factor and other simple technical stuff. They are probably bleeding dollars due to lost power.
This is all rubbish. My wife and I put the maximum we were permitted to put in as self employed. I took the highest risk scheme and she took the lowest risk. When I reached 65 five years ago I collected $14000. At the time my wifes fund was not much difference. Apart from the money that the government gave us the returns were not great. I would have been better to have been putting that money into my own investment property. What is not said is the last 5 years have seen really good returns on the share market. That is why the fund has recently looked good. It might not be that good over the next 5 years.
I am no currency trader Hamish. I follow the exchange rate continuously on my iPhone desk top. I purchased enough Euro to pay for my next three overseas holidays when the currency hit a peak a few weeks ago. It does this every year at the same time. It is not rocket science but the occasional missile does miss its target. If I get it wrong I suppose I could just put the rents up like the retailers do with their products.
Fantastic well written article that has lifted the lid on the struggles new migrants have. I have housed many of these people in Nelson and never really understood the issues they had with employment. Tell your friends they will be welcome in my community.
A simple search on line will show TDC has been declining and delaying requests for subdivisions on the Richmond urban boundary for the last 17 years. Recent reason given by TDC no water available. Earlier reasons were they wanted to keep the land as rural. then they wanted it for industrial. At last a 1500 lot series of subdivisions has been approved but they demand low coverage only. No 60 to 80% coverage like other fast growing urban areas. They do not want change.
I do enjoy the thinking views. Most are based on 0 assumptions. The refugees airfares to NZ are not paid for by NZ unlike the assisted immigrants from UK 50 years ago. Most do their best to get a job as soon as they arrive. Pretty hard when English is not good. The bulk get a private rental (in Nelson) and not a HNZ property. The most recent property I let was $50 less than the average rental level. Some people housed in emergency properties (motels) came and looked but did not apply. I gave it to the Bhutanese refugees. WINZ would not even help him with the bond.
Since when did a graduated tax system become a subsidy for employers and landlords. People who earn more like me should pay more tax. WWF and AS are not subsidies for employers and landlords. Wage levels are not based on the number of dependents one has. Rent is the same. Less than half my and other landlords tenants receive AS. If AS influenced rents they would be way more expensive in the cheap areas of town where people who get AS live. Assistance from the state should not be based on favoritism, what party your local MP is in or on who your relatives are. That is called corruption.
Oh how I wish you were right. Unfortunately the author of the article clearly is not a fully experienced landlord. It always looks so bad when an adjudicator is being asked to reconsider their own ruling. This brings disrespect by landlords and tenants of the court process. Law can only work when people respect it.
I am over hearing how some aspect of society is causing children to get sick. Be it bad landlords, sugar drinks, Mc Donalds, and now power costs. A really interesting article would be to do a real one day study of every child entering hospital. Detail diet, tenure of dwelling and ownership of that dwelling, rent paid, parent details like employment, income, number in family / household, school attendance records, social media habits, alcohol consumption, distance walked per day.
Sorry no offense intended to Christchurch. Actually QV is owned by an Australian company! Akaroa suffered the biggest fall in prices but there is no oversupply there. Do not put your faith in Government money. They just splash it around to get votes. That is why HNZ is still building rentals in Christchurch despite the oversupply.
I note that a licensed real estate firm has been fined by the Tenancy Tribunal for multiple tenancy breaches. Ref Tribunal number 4128075. Being licensed by the REI and passing their training requirements is no guarantee of being a good property manager. So far no independent property managers have been fined.
Thanks for reply. Just checked again. This is what is on Car Jam site. Please note that names and addresses of individuals are not available as of May 2011 privacy law changes unless you are an authorised business entity. You can use our Seller Check service to confirm the exact owner. Landlords are not one of the lucky trusted people. Car dealers and petrol station owners are. Used to be able to get all this information off Baycorp/ Veda / Equifax until 2011. Privacy helps the bad people.
I wish I could agree with you but the Housing Improvement Regulations of 1947 make no distinction between owner occupier homes and rentals. Owners are not free to do what they want and live how they see fit jamming children and friends into every available corner and shed on a property. This law was introduced after the second world war when people were breeding like rabbits and thousands were flooding into the country.
History always repeats itself. I started my career in the Post Office which morphed into Telecom NZ. We got rid of the last war time telecoms equipment in the 70s perhaps about 30 or 40 years after it was manufactured. I was involved in bringing similar multiaccess radio equipment to many extremely remote areas like this in the late 80s. It was world leading technology at the time but of course pre internet days. Here we are 30 years down the line and wondering how it is such old equipment is still working? Will we be as surprised in 30 years time to discover some people still using out of date fibre optic cables to bring phone and broad band to homes.
I was made redundant at age 45 from my high tech job. I had been in that job since leaving school. I am now 70 and look back over the last 25 years fondly at the challenges and wonderful people I have worked with that I would never have met if I had not been pushed out into the real world. Hard experiences are enjoyable after the event if you put your mind to it and do not let low positions grind you down. Of course ending up with a few million $ of property has helped!
I fail to see why anyone would want to buy dirt that is cold barren and unable to earn enough to make a decent farm worth while. It is only good as a holiday / lifestyle home to pop into on the way the ski field. The vendors are laughing all the way to the bank.
It is normal for the market to osculate a bit. If you look at the number of properties for sale on Trade Me the total New Zealand numbers are surprisingly steady. At beginning of October 2018 up 9% on October 2017 but down 10% from February 2018. What I find interesting the average selling price in Nelson / Tasman now exceeds average Wellington prices and is second only city to Auckland. For a small city / region to do this something must be happening. Watch this space in February 2019.
Well done it already looks fantastic. Not just a retirement village either. The original farmer owners of this land have been wanting it to happen for over a decade. Nelson city growth is headed there because there is no flat land left in Nelson city.
What an idiotic article. Why not comment on the properties that sport clubs including racing clubs own. Then come to think about it how about all the land, buildings, and resources that the military tie up in this country. What do they do for the homeless? How much tax does the Devonport Navel base contribute? Best just get on with your productive life.
I am at retirement age and think the 2 mil figure is conservative. That amount would be lucky to bring in $50000. Not much to live on for a couple. Certainly way short of what is required for rest home care.
This whole drug testing thing is wrong. The idea is not to weed out the dangerous people surely it should be to week out the people who are breaking the law. Taking recreational drugs is not permitted by law. Why should building compliance officers, cashiers, parking attendants, plumbers, or landlords be above the law. I want to live in a society of law abiding citizens.
Housing NZ does a credit check on all of their prospective tenants. That is ever single new applicant. This shows up on credit reports. If it is good enough for HNZ which is not even a government department then it is good enough for all landlords.
Sure is sad to see things like this. The poor owner lets slip a few details like Foolishly, we allowed them to stay until long after they should have been asked to leave. Having better laws will help but will never stop this sort of thing if owners insist on doing a poor job of their own management. It is so easy to think you are a good manager when the tenants are normal. Unfortunately a number of property managers are not much better. They clearly never even bothered doing some pre tenant checking and allowed a dog.
I was chatting over a coffee with my Bhutanese refugee tenant last Saturday. He said he would be shot if he returned to his own country. Of the range of countries his various family members have fled to NZ seems the nicest and safest place. No moans or wanting to return for him. His family will make NZ a better place for my grandchildren to enjoy.
Yet again a clear case of unfair provision of housing assistance. Some people are lucky to get social housing and ten times that number in the private sector who might have identical incomes get way less. This just encourages people to put their families at risk by overcrowding while the wait for one of the lucky existing social housing tenants to die or what ever. Their landlord should be fined for permitting them to continue living in the one bedroom flat.
Kiwi Rail is sucking Nelson dry. Why do the 100,000 people in Nelson / Tasman have to pay the subsidies that keep the likes of Kiwi Rail afloat yet get nothing back. This area has the worse State Highway roads in the country. A new $35 million airport is being built without any help from Kiwi Rail nor Shane Jones slush fund.
Yes fully agree. It is refreshing to have a politician who seems to be honest be they male or female. Give her a few years and she will learn the trade.
Christchurch has a serious surplus of properties to let. There are 1681 properties to let advertised in Trade me and lots of these have been empty for some time.
I am sick and tired of seeing plastic bags full of dog poo left on the walking tracks. Really some people (lots of them) are just idiots. Jacinda should also ban paper bags being used at supermarkets. I want to walk in the woods. Paper bags are made from trees.
Massey University bans Don Brash from speaking
Let the students decide. If they want a modern education go to Auckland. If they want to adopt the views of the management then go to Massey.
Our power bill is $70 - and we don't go without
Sounds wonderful, well done. I worked my butt off during my 50 years of working. Now travel the world three or four times a year, eat out several times a week and so on so on. Each to their own. I doubt the news media would be interested in me. I do enjoy reading about how different people in NZ and around the world live their life.
Simon Bridges says criticism of PM Jacinda Ardern not sexist
Based on the number of times Ardern has apologized and said she has got something wrong it is clear she thinks she is doing poorly and has not got the experience to do the job she is in.
Questions raised as power bill rises to $1100 a month
I do wish some more technical details could be supplied in the article. Like how many units of power were used for controlled (hot water) and uncontrolled. What the fixed charges were. Pretty simple stuff. I once had a tenant with huge power bills like this. Found there was a water leak in the hot water pipes. This showed up when I looked at the account.
Millionaire Craig Heatley rates Jacinda Ardern at book launch shared with John Key
I was so proud of my skill when I made a small fortune out of Rainbow shares back in 86. I sold some but in hindsight unfortunately I did not sell them all so the rest turned to zilch in the 87 crash. It still permitted me to have a year off work for the government that changed the course of my life. Thank you Craig for giving me that vision to get off my back side, do the hard things, and be grateful for the opportunity to do crazy things.
"Labour's bach tax will hit voters who don't think they are the problem",
Well of course the rabbit is out of the hat now. Who on earth would believe repeated denials that Labour would never think of it again. Party faithfulls mentioned it at a Labour election meeting I went to last year. Yet again one of their agendas. Next it will be a special tax on second cars, caravans, boats, and overseas holidays.
"Troublesome social housing tenants frustrate image-conscious neighbours
Phil Twyford wants private landlords to be as bad as his own HNZ property managers. That is why he is proposing a law to say landlords can not give 90 day notices. The proposal is for all terminations to be approved by the tenancy tribunal. He says this is how it is in some Utopian society in UK. He says it is better and fairer there?
"Beneficiary who can't find rental in Feilding fears she will end up homeless
It seems to be the plan of the government to squeeze private landlords out of the market. Private landlords provided 22000 homes in the Manawatu - Wanganui area in the 2013 census compared with 6000 social houses. There will be lots more now. Perhaps we should be telling Phil Twyford to encourage the provision of more private rentals. What purpose does it serve to put ladies like Noeline in this situation?
Crowded House: One-bedroom Auckland apartment 'suitable for up to four people'
Why are people picking on the property managers. A few years ago I had a tenant referred to me by a social agency. He was overloading the flat in excess of the specified number on the tenancy agreement. These extras were making a nuisance of themselves. I issued a 14 day notice to remedy and took the case to the tenancy tribunal. My request for remedy as prescribed by the RTA was declined. I did not even ask for a termination. If the courts will not support legitimate legal requests to avoid over crowding does this mean society condones it.
Older renters living in constant uncertainty
As a landlord in Nelson with a number of elderly tenants I understand the issue. Fully agree the NCC and TDC should have more pensioner housing. Their stock is old as they say and has not been added to for the last 40 or so years. The government used to help councils build pensioner housing. Why not start that assistance again.The Salvation Army with community assistance used to have aged housing in Nelson but they sold it so they can not claim the moral high ground. The recent accommodation assistance increases did not help pensioners much. In Nelson there are around 10,000 private rentals and less than 1000 social houses (including pensioner flats) so Phil Twyford can not take the moral high ground either. Private landlords are carrying the community on its back. Most private tenants do not even get the accommodation assistance.
KiwiBuild: Not for low-income families, says Housing Minister
I do wonder why kiwi build homes have a restriction of not on selling until three years are up but the brightline test is 5 years. These people will be able to flick them off in three years and not pay a bean in tax unlike those people who have been housing the homeless at a loss. When they are forced to sell because of circumstances beyond their control they have to pay tax on inflation.
Damp and cold flats a Scarfie rite of passage or student slum?
I am getting sick and tired of people going on and on about student tenants and landlords.Yesterday I visited one of my commercial tenancies. The stupid tenants had been complaining for ages about all sorts of things. I noticed they had left their heat pump going continuously, the light they complained about flicking had been smashed and I could see why the drains were often blocked based on the mess left in the sink. You do not need to be a student to be a poor tenant.
HNZ tenants intimidating Northland residents
Our society needs to think clearly as to what they want. surely no one wants tenants to be out of control upsetting the neighbours and the wider community. Good landlords / property managers can influence the issue but the law does not permit much. The RTA needs to change to make provision for better control by landlords. One simple issue would be to permit landlords to forbid taking of drugs or alcohol. It is acceptable to ban smoking but not drug taking?
Housing NZ to compensate 800 tenants over bogus meth testing
What about all those tenants who took their private landlords to the tenancy tribunal and claimed they got sick from meth contamination. Are those cases to be struck out by the court and the fines imposed on the landlords refunded. The claimants must have been lying.
Opinion: Tax ghost houses and pour the money back into affordable housing
I have been trying to let my property today. As new interior and one of the cheapest flats on Trade me. Three appointments but only one turned up. When asked to fill out the simple application form asking for DOB and existing address they declined to fill it in. Am I to be punished for having an empty property when there are needy people looking for accommodation. They let slip they were living in a caravan, girl 9 months pregnant and wanting a house (not flat) of their own.
"Tax Working Group plan for baches a wealth tax that will rob Kiwis of their dream",
I attended an election meeting last year when Phil Twyford spoke. This very same tax was mentioned then by one of the meeting officials.. So I guess this is another of their agendas. At the time I responded in jest by suggesting they should also tax people who own a boat and a second car. That got some gasps and strange looks!
London solution to Kiwi housing crisis
Oh no another lets copy UK story Things are much better there. The building rules are there for peoples safety. Not just fire safety either but plumbing, noise, and quality of living. Someone should look at what Cresa is up to. They get government money but their reports seem to have a political flavour to them.
Freetown NZ: Kiwis who don't pay rent
It is easy to see the writer is not working in the industry. From my observations a significant number of people living free are as a result of matrimonial relationships. A huge number of people have lifetime use of a house provided by way of a benefit granted from an estate. Many are occupied by older children left after parents die. The estate still owns the property and pays all the bills. I lot of these properties come to the market after the last one standing moves on. They are normally in a very poor state of repair.
A Russian lesson in hospitality
I am soon off for my third hiking adventure in Siberia. The mid winter trip on Lake Baikal stuff of dreams. Wonderful decent people all keen to connect with the West. Must struggling financially though.
TDC hopes Provincial Growth Fund will plug $18m hole in Waimea dam plan
Trouble is there is a huge locked gate on the road that goes up the valley to where the dam will be. So the lovely river close to town is not actually currently any use to the general public.
Housing NZ tenant, 84, forced to move as newly renovated home set for demolition
Yet another example of the evils of income related rents. Everyone in New Zealand who needs financial help should get the same assistance based on their needs. The rent should be at market rates and the tenants should have their income increased via the Accommodation Supplement (AS). That way he would have chosen to move to a more appropriate property of his own free will at his own timing rather than being pushed around by civil servants. We need a fair and caring decent society not one run by people who pick some and ignore the rest.
Men with mental health challenges face uncertain future as hostel home of 12 years closes
As a long term private landlord I have housed many people over the years that have come out of supported care. The level of support whilst the sick people are in the community varies enormously in quality and consistency. No extra assistance is given to landlords who provide this service. When things go wrong DSW and the tenancy tribunal are not much help.Little wonder not many landlords want them as tenants. It can be dangerous to the property, the neighbours and the landlords. I know I have been assaulted.
Recycling goes from hero to zero as China's plastic ban hits
It is about time we told the government that we will not be paying them their stupid landfill tax. The tax is causing people to make the wrong decisions. I bet Cullen who is being paid a kings ransom to make taxes fair would not agree.
Winston Peters wants affordable homes for those on living wage
I bought my first home (still living in it) in 1973. I did not find it easy then. I had to get a second mortgage at 9% which was 25% of the purchase price. My parents bought their first home in about 1958. The government helped them by selling them the state house at a they had lived in for the previous 20 years at a discounted rate. They did not find it easy. Mum took in boarders to pay the mortgage. When they first got married before the war they could not afford to buy. My dad worked for the government. My eldest bought his first property about 20 years ago and did not find it easy. Put off buying a car before buying his first rental. Get real Peters. It has never been easy. The more governments mess with the banks and the market the harder it gets for everyone.
Rates bill jumps $1000 after council reviews status of granny flat
I sure wish my house and granny flat had rates that low. The person who built the granny flat and the council authorities at the time knew that is was border line. That is why no stove (kitchen) was installed. I wonder if the council will let the owner put a stove in now.
Housing NZ debt collectors continued to pursue tenants for meth damage
I would like to see an article about the tenancy tribunal where landlords were penalized because the tenants claimed they got sick from the second hand meth contamination. According to Gluckman not one case exists of someone getting sick from the so called meth contamination. The whole issue is about over reaction by the courts, media and government. It would be wonderful to think the current government had learnt what happens when you pass laws or start punishing people without good science to back it up.
Five myths about KiwiBuild - and who its meant to help
When statements from paid spin doctors state. But it then on-sells them to eligible KiwiBuild buyers, so the cost to the government, and taxpayers, of the scheme is minimal. one has to worry. So it appears they have either not worked out what the cost will be or they are hiding that information. The scheme is a government based ponzi scheme with the main qualification being a gamble to win the government run lotto. This is not how business and good decent working people progress in life. If I was young again I would not be gambling or hoping for government handouts. I would roll my sleeves up get working and save hard.
'We're renting very long-term': NZ's new normal with more tenants and rising rents
So many people want to blame this or that red blue or green politicians. The fact of the matter is New Zealand, Australia, and UK plus many other countries the percentage of owner occupiers is dropping and the percentage of renters is going up. Sure the silly politicians keep copying each other just like lots of posters here refer to the way they think happen in Europe. Last time I was in France people were complaining about house prices. What people should be saying how to solve the problem.
"Landlords can take tenant's Airbnb profits, court confirms",
Under Twyfords new law the landlord would need to pay the tenant for loss of business and hurt feelings. It would good if the Stuff reporteres could get comments from MBIE and NZPIF when reporting cases like this.
Tracy Watkins: Bridges doesn't need a formal inquiry into limogate
What they need to do is overhaul their accounting systems. Governments both local and central have crazy lazy accounting systems often using money jars to make it look as if someone is controlling it.
KiwiBuild: Couples earning up to $180k will be able to buy homes
Special deal for Auckland and Christchurch and different for the rest of the country. At the moment Canterbury is awash with houses to sell that are sitting empty waiting for either buyers or tenants.Has this got to do with the strong support Christchurch has for the Labour party.
Limits on rent increases and an end to rental bidding as Government reviews rental rules
I do find it strange how this government keeps introducing multiple amendments to the RTA. Can they not make up their mind or is this just a series of knee jerk reactions. On the issue of changing 42 day notice for sale does he not then understand first home buyers will have to wait for three months for possession when buying a property. For every new law there will be some people who gain from them and some people will suffer. Sadly the people who suffer the most will be those who can least afford it. Phil and Jacinda will be remembered for what harm they did to innocent people for years to come.
Will Saudis use oil price as a weapon over Khashoggi disappearance accusations?
Now we will see who among the world leaders has the honesty truth and decency to deal with the issue. First step is to refuse entry of any Saudi royal. We are not dealing with a bad country we are dealing with a bad leader.
"Donald Trump: 'Severe' consequences if Saudis murdered Jamal Khashoggi",
The prophet Muhammad said: âThe first cases to be decided among the people on the day of judgment will be those of bloodshed.â
Woman 'flabbergasted' at cost of consenting granny flat for her deaf brother
I would love to find a territorial authority somewhere in New Zealand that does not charge around $20,000 fees to create an additional dwelling.
Raise the pension age regardless of future Super affordability
When I was made redundant at age 45 by the Labour government I thought the super payments would have been changed by the time I reached 65 so worked my butt off and saved hard to cover that eventuality. Here I am at 70 and on reflection I could have taken things a bit easier. We all need a goal and finish line to get us up in the morning and run the good race.
New Zealanders hungry and cold in their own homes this winter
I get so angry when people talk about using the oven to heat. There seems to be some sort of urban myth. Apart from being hopelessly inefficient and expensive to operate it is dangerous. Dangerous from burns and fires, likely damage to stove doors and worse the wiring in a stove is not intended to operate for such long periods. A very common fault with stoves is burnt out element connectors in the back of the oven.
"Labour's bach tax will hit voters who don't think they are the problem",
No I am not keen on lots of immigrants. Fair enough for young people who want to work but I do wonder about the older ones with claims they have plenty of money. This government keeps quoting how things are so much superior in UK. I just wish the politicians would sell up and move there if they think it is so good there.
KiwiBuild pre-qualification opens, allowing keen buyers to get ready to enter ballot
I do hope they prevent overloading of the homes by stopping people with more than one child buying a two bedroom home. I also trust that people declaring to live in their new homes to guarantee that their relationship will last as long. There is no point in people coming up with all the excuses in the world after gambling and winning to then want to cash out before the three year period is up.
Councils should be social housing providers: MP Dr Duncan Webb
Webb said there was a huge waiting list for social housing in Christchurch but theres actually enough houses on the rental market so if you can pay a market rent, theres a house there for you.So why do people in social / council housing get way more subsidy than the same income people in private rentals. There has been a huge slippage between the two and it is not fair. Not good ethics to publicly acknowledge this discrimination yet not wanting to fix the problem.
"Experienced teacher forced to live in tiny home because she can't afford house or apartment",
I think the article is well written. But is this problem restricted to only Auckland. What about all the new nurses and all the new retail workers. These are good people who need homes also. Or is the writer suggesting that teachers are different and need special treatment. More likely I say their union is more proactive.
'We're renting very long-term': NZ's new normal with more tenants and rising rents
Well I have been a landlord now for 25+ years. Some of my tenants have been in my properties for 10+ years. I am not permitted to charge tenants for maintenance? Why let landlords do that?
Daily petrol thefts cause Christchurch station owners to take elaborate measures
I am encouraged that all the readers think drove offs are wrong. Shame the same attitude does not extend to people who do not pay their rent. Bigger amounts not paid and the action is not even a crime. I just wish I could have instant access to vehicle registration owners details like petrol station owners have. Multiple standards for privacy ad honesty in this country.
Renters put Tenancy Tribunal's operations in the spotlight
In the 2010 RTA amendments I made a submission that a different adjudicator should sit on re hearings. My submissions were rejected. Yet if the adjudicator has some sort of relationship with one of the parties (like a client or relative) they always declare this to the other party and a different adjudicator is appointed to hear the case if the other party wishes it to be so.
Opinion: Tax ghost houses and pour the money back into affordable housing
Yes definitely. As soon as grandma moves into a rest home throw some tenants in. Working in another city for 12 months? Do not want to sell and do not want to pay the tax on the rent and other costs. Simple we will make it impossible for you to move. That will stop people moving just to work in another place.Have a house in Canterbury for the kids to go to university. When they come home at Christmas put some homeless people in there. I am worried about some people in New Zealand these days and what they would do if they got into power. Oops sorry they are.
Nelson pensioner fights the power to keep his bills to less than $50 a month
Well done. loved the story. I get so angry with the 0 power saving advise the power companies put out. A number of people I know have wrongly changed to the low fixed charge high rate per unit. This only works if you are careful like Peter. That cylinder looks like it was installed in the 1960s. He definitely should insulate it with a wrap and lag his pipes.
$50,000 to get electricity down the street is unfair, developer says
This fee is nothing compared with many other sites.If I was him I would pay up quickly before they think of something else to charge him.
Trying to house a family of nine in Aucklands rental market
To me as a landlord / property manager / investor of both residential and commercial properties I read the well written article and wonder ? I am not comfortable with comments like Chinese and sign the rent increase demand? Rent increase notices are not served this way? The law states that an overseas landlord must appoint a local manager. No mention of a manager here? The family is not normal but I have had tenants like this. Readers might be interested to lean that if the family was in a HNZ property HNZ would be collecting more money per week than your much maligned landlord. My experience with HNZ as a neighbor landlord is way worse dealing with / getting rid of problem tenants who cause problems for the neighbours.
Five myths about KiwiBuild - and who its meant to help
You need to get your facts right. I bought my first home in 1973. The maximum State Advances would lend was $10,000 which equated to less than 50% of the purchase price in my provincial city. The approval committee only met once a month. Anyone lucky enough to get one needed to take out a second and sometimes a third mortgage at 9%.
Housing consents surge amid concerns it's not sustainable
Auckland growth is nothing to crow about. They are still only growing at 2.61% compared with Otago at 2.75%. Even Tasman at the top of the South is growing at 2.25%. Interesting to see the average consent price $340522 compared with the country average of $350478. Nelson is $470588. The report card could have the comment. Could do better
Small insurance mistakes cost customers dearly
Been there done that. Had a medical event once in a remote part of the world. Insurance would not pay out. My doctors all said the event was not related to any sort of pre condition. Insurance stated their definition of pre condition was different to my specialist expert physicians definition. Best insurance is always healthy bank.
Wellington City asks Government for rent subsidies and votes to review social housing rents
The issue is the allocation of subsidies for low income tenants is terribly unfair. Why on earth should some people get a greater subsidy than others based not on income but on who their landlord is. HNZ tenants receive almost four times greater subsidies than tenants in non government owned properties. This inequity is a ticking time bomb. We should be helping people based on their needs. Of the 500000 non government tenants less than half get rental assistance and that assistance is insufficient for them to live as well as their friends on the other side of the street in HNZ properties.
A dispute over trees casts an ugly shadow over neighbourly relations
You think you have some problems? I have to suffer from trees planted by the council. Their leaves block the gutters and cause flooding inside my commercial property on one side and on the other side of the building the roots from another tree get into the sewer pipes. I have tried talking with the council. As far as I can see there is no legal remedy nor a process in place to deal with the issue.
City council launching campaign to crack down on illegal Christchurch Airbnbs
The issue of commercial operators complaining about mum and dad operators providing short term accommodation has been going on for years. What about checking to see how many motels have people renting their units for more than 28 days. This contravenes the RTA and the planning laws. I have noticed a lot of old motels are quietly turning themselves into blocks of flats.
Heres why you need $2m saved for a comfortable retirement
I was a GSF member also. At 45 they kicked me out when made redundant by the Labour Government of the time. Found Muldoon National government had not paid its guaranteed share into fund so the payout was less than promised amount. My dad was also a member. When he died the family lost his life time of contributions when mother remarried a few years later. Young people should avoid super schemes, the risk is too high because politicians of the future can not be trusted.
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
I have had lots of refugees as tenants over the years in Nelson. Most of them have come from Myanmar but others from Bhutan. They are all decent peace loving people who work as soon as they can. Very few have gone into social housing. Most are in private rentals. A number have worked their butts off, saved every last dollar and purchased their own homes. I speak from first hand knowledge. Happy for more to come to my town. Not at all like the ten pound poms that came to NZ when I was a kid.
Wishful thinking about what can be recycled is an expensive mistake
With rising sea levels we need as much landfill possible to save us from being swamped. Everyone should be doing their best to build up our landmass. Reading articles like this just shows we are blindly following the rest of the world without stopping to think through the issue. How much non renewable fuel is spent shipping our rubbish to China.
Housing Minister sets up ministry to advise on house prices and homelessness
He does not mention Tenancy Services, The bond center, and the tenancy Tribunal.I wonder where they will go. Who will be controlling HNZ?
If the dollar is dropping in value, how can that be a good thing?
Bert you have missed the point of most of the posts. Almost everyone agrees currency fluctuations are uncontrollable. No matter what a country does the currency will move either up or down. Usually efforts to control things make things worse. Currency fluctuations are used wrongly to justify all sorts of price increases, that is what the suggestion was about rent increases. Totally unrelated but any excuse is better than just greed, stupidity, or desperation. When in a position of power use that power for good not evil.
"Is Christchurch the only New Zealand city with too many houses?",
The number of building consents is still way too high. Year to August 4624 dwellings consented which is 2.26%. This is similar rate to Auckland. BC const per dwelling $380,710. Number for sale on Trade Me 5139 equates to 2.51% and for rent 1547 3%. Landlords were commenting 12 months ago difficulty finding tenants with some offering incentives like one free week. What I can not understand is why and how are builders still able to keep on producing new dwellings. Their deep pockets might soon seem as if they have holes in them.
Meet the rugby mad surgeon who is changing the way we think about urology
What on earth is all that water that Andy is standing in? Perhaps his expertise could be called upon to look at this problem also!
Falling Australian house prices a warning for NZ: commentator
Sure there will be some corrections. The really risky places are those that have had more than their share of government money. Government money is never based on logic. For instance Christchurch is heading downward as the government money dries up. At the end of the three year Labour kiwi build / HNZ spend up in Auckland they will have problems also.
Is regulation looming for property managers? One says yes.
The credibility of the likes of Faulkner quoted in the article needs to be judged on the accuracy of his statements. Before the REA amendments were passed many independent property management firms such as Quivnovic were legally operating.The legality of these operations were tested in the high court and approved. Property management is difficult and problematic. There are many robust laws already in place to censure dishonest and sloppy operators who do not pay their tax, misappropriate other peoples money, and act incorrectly. There is no need to set up another self appointed police force of mates looking after mates.
Relief for Marton neighbourhood plagued by 'disgusting' derelict house
I have just checked the ownership of the property by using goggle street view, Terranet and LINZ. There are lots of people bagging landlords out there blaming them for all the evils of the world. I can see this house is not in that category. It is almost impossible to get the local authority to do anything all over NZ and even harder to make sure it stays clean and tidy.
Tenancy fees for landlords replace banned letting fees
Based on the information the minister has released one can deduce that 60% of all private rentals are managed.Analysis of Trade me advertisements comes up with similar numbers.A number of tenants move more often than they change their underwear. They are the ones that cause a lot of the work. There needs to be some mechanism to charge the tenants that cause 80% of the effort.Perhaps a promise to drop the rent after 12 months if the tenant stays on longer than 12 months.The rent premium for the first 12 months could go direct to the managers!
Clive Stirling is an outlier in a constantly changing job market
I started pretty well the same year. Got 27 years till redundancy from technology career which pushed me into another interesting profitable world. Wonderful time working and wonderful time in retirement.
"I travelled the world for 6 months, and here's the single best app I couldn't live without",
I have just returned from bumbling around Siberia and Iran. I had what I thought was a powerful translation App on my phone but it never worked when I tried. When attempting to navigate my way along a poorly signposted route between terminals at Khabarovsk in Siberia (as one does ) a helpful local dashed up to me with her App and it did the job! Fool me did not know I could get a translate App that worked off line. Better get it for my up coming trip to DPRK. I do trust it will work there! ?? Comments please readers ?
Federated Mountain Clubs attack Mountain Safety Council over tramping report
As a tramper / mountain biker for the last 50+ years hiking in NZ and around the world, and current independent member of FMC I think I can see some of the problem. I was a DOC hut warden at an isolated hut this last summer on the TA trail and what I observed of the international and kiwi hikers sent shudders down my spine. We all need people in power sitting down to figure out how we can apply some more government money to be used by the huge pool of experienced volunteer users of our mountains. There is room for many paths to achieve the same goal. Lets not fix problems by putting up safety cones and barriers over the entrances to our world. It is there for us to enjoy by using not just observing from plastic bubbles.
For sale: Could historic Warwick House be NZ's biggest home?
Lovely house and even better lovely owners. Fantastic credit to people who have put their lives and money into restoring one of the countries great treasures.
Otago lines company accused of causing power cuts due to under investment
Too 1. Far too many people think power outages are mostly caused by poles falling over. Too hard for them to understand things like power factor and other simple technical stuff. They are probably bleeding dollars due to lost power.
Choosing the right KiwiSaver fund can earn you an extra $1.4m in savings
This is all rubbish. My wife and I put the maximum we were permitted to put in as self employed. I took the highest risk scheme and she took the lowest risk. When I reached 65 five years ago I collected $14000. At the time my wifes fund was not much difference. Apart from the money that the government gave us the returns were not great. I would have been better to have been putting that money into my own investment property. What is not said is the last 5 years have seen really good returns on the share market. That is why the fund has recently looked good. It might not be that good over the next 5 years.
If the dollar is dropping in value, how can that be a good thing?
I am no currency trader Hamish. I follow the exchange rate continuously on my iPhone desk top. I purchased enough Euro to pay for my next three overseas holidays when the currency hit a peak a few weeks ago. It does this every year at the same time. It is not rocket science but the occasional missile does miss its target. If I get it wrong I suppose I could just put the rents up like the retailers do with their products.
Moving to NZ "the most humbling experience" of her life, migrant says
Fantastic well written article that has lifted the lid on the struggles new migrants have. I have housed many of these people in Nelson and never really understood the issues they had with employment. Tell your friends they will be welcome in my community.
Five myths about KiwiBuild - and who its meant to help
A simple search on line will show TDC has been declining and delaying requests for subdivisions on the Richmond urban boundary for the last 17 years. Recent reason given by TDC no water available. Earlier reasons were they wanted to keep the land as rural. then they wanted it for industrial. At last a 1500 lot series of subdivisions has been approved but they demand low coverage only. No 60 to 80% coverage like other fast growing urban areas. They do not want change.
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
I do enjoy the thinking views. Most are based on 0 assumptions. The refugees airfares to NZ are not paid for by NZ unlike the assisted immigrants from UK 50 years ago. Most do their best to get a job as soon as they arrive. Pretty hard when English is not good. The bulk get a private rental (in Nelson) and not a HNZ property. The most recent property I let was $50 less than the average rental level. Some people housed in emergency properties (motels) came and looked but did not apply. I gave it to the Bhutanese refugees. WINZ would not even help him with the bond.
Housing NZ tenant, 84, forced to move as newly renovated home set for demolition
Since when did a graduated tax system become a subsidy for employers and landlords. People who earn more like me should pay more tax. WWF and AS are not subsidies for employers and landlords. Wage levels are not based on the number of dependents one has. Rent is the same. Less than half my and other landlords tenants receive AS. If AS influenced rents they would be way more expensive in the cheap areas of town where people who get AS live. Assistance from the state should not be based on favoritism, what party your local MP is in or on who your relatives are. That is called corruption.
Renters put Tenancy Tribunal's operations in the spotlight
Oh how I wish you were right. Unfortunately the author of the article clearly is not a fully experienced landlord. It always looks so bad when an adjudicator is being asked to reconsider their own ruling. This brings disrespect by landlords and tenants of the court process. Law can only work when people respect it.
Being cold and rationing heating is now normal in New Zealand
I am over hearing how some aspect of society is causing children to get sick. Be it bad landlords, sugar drinks, Mc Donalds, and now power costs. A really interesting article would be to do a real one day study of every child entering hospital. Detail diet, tenure of dwelling and ownership of that dwelling, rent paid, parent details like employment, income, number in family / household, school attendance records, social media habits, alcohol consumption, distance walked per day.
Falling Australian house prices a warning for NZ: commentator
Sorry no offense intended to Christchurch. Actually QV is owned by an Australian company! Akaroa suffered the biggest fall in prices but there is no oversupply there. Do not put your faith in Government money. They just splash it around to get votes. That is why HNZ is still building rentals in Christchurch despite the oversupply.
NZ Super down at least $57m on second 'green tech' investment
I do my own investing. Not prepared to risk my old age comfort on anything the Cullen had an input in.
Is regulation looming for property managers? One says yes.
I note that a licensed real estate firm has been fined by the Tenancy Tribunal for multiple tenancy breaches. Ref Tribunal number 4128075. Being licensed by the REI and passing their training requirements is no guarantee of being a good property manager. So far no independent property managers have been fined.
Daily petrol thefts cause Christchurch station owners to take elaborate measures
Thanks for reply. Just checked again. This is what is on Car Jam site. Please note that names and addresses of individuals are not available as of May 2011 privacy law changes unless you are an authorised business entity. You can use our Seller Check service to confirm the exact owner. Landlords are not one of the lucky trusted people. Car dealers and petrol station owners are. Used to be able to get all this information off Baycorp/ Veda / Equifax until 2011. Privacy helps the bad people.
KiwiBuild pre-qualification opens, allowing keen buyers to get ready to enter ballot
I wish I could agree with you but the Housing Improvement Regulations of 1947 make no distinction between owner occupier homes and rentals. Owners are not free to do what they want and live how they see fit jamming children and friends into every available corner and shed on a property. This law was introduced after the second world war when people were breeding like rabbits and thousands were flooding into the country.
Disconnected: the 1 per cent who might never get internet
History always repeats itself. I started my career in the Post Office which morphed into Telecom NZ. We got rid of the last war time telecoms equipment in the 70s perhaps about 30 or 40 years after it was manufactured. I was involved in bringing similar multiaccess radio equipment to many extremely remote areas like this in the late 80s. It was world leading technology at the time but of course pre internet days. Here we are 30 years down the line and wondering how it is such old equipment is still working? Will we be as surprised in 30 years time to discover some people still using out of date fibre optic cables to bring phone and broad band to homes.
Jobs warning to over 45s - ageism is alive and well
I was made redundant at age 45 from my high tech job. I had been in that job since leaving school. I am now 70 and look back over the last 25 years fondly at the challenges and wonderful people I have worked with that I would never have met if I had not been pushed out into the real world. Hard experiences are enjoyable after the event if you put your mind to it and do not let low positions grind you down. Of course ending up with a few million $ of property has helped!
Price revealed for Aussie billionaire's Walter Peak purchase
I fail to see why anyone would want to buy dirt that is cold barren and unable to earn enough to make a decent farm worth while. It is only good as a holiday / lifestyle home to pop into on the way the ski field. The vendors are laughing all the way to the bank.
"Wellington homes sell for record high, outpace NZ spring property fling",
It is normal for the market to osculate a bit. If you look at the number of properties for sale on Trade Me the total New Zealand numbers are surprisingly steady. At beginning of October 2018 up 9% on October 2017 but down 10% from February 2018. What I find interesting the average selling price in Nelson / Tasman now exceeds average Wellington prices and is second only city to Auckland. For a small city / region to do this something must be happening. Watch this space in February 2019.
Work begins on new $130m Arvida village at Richmond West, near Nelson
Well done it already looks fantastic. Not just a retirement village either. The original farmer owners of this land have been wanting it to happen for over a decade. Nelson city growth is headed there because there is no flat land left in Nelson city.
Church sitting on property portfolio worth millions
What an idiotic article. Why not comment on the properties that sport clubs including racing clubs own. Then come to think about it how about all the land, buildings, and resources that the military tie up in this country. What do they do for the homeless? How much tax does the Devonport Navel base contribute? Best just get on with your productive life.
Tenancy fees for landlords replace banned letting fees
Generally you are looking at a minimum of 10 hours per lease. At $80 per hour charge out that is $920
Heres why you need $2m saved for a comfortable retirement
I am at retirement age and think the 2 mil figure is conservative. That amount would be lucky to bring in $50000. Not much to live on for a couple. Certainly way short of what is required for rest home care.
Council manager refuses random drug test over privacy concerns
This whole drug testing thing is wrong. The idea is not to weed out the dangerous people surely it should be to week out the people who are breaking the law. Taking recreational drugs is not permitted by law. Why should building compliance officers, cashiers, parking attendants, plumbers, or landlords be above the law. I want to live in a society of law abiding citizens.
'KFC' test for tenants: Property managers asking for bank statements
Housing NZ does a credit check on all of their prospective tenants. That is ever single new applicant. This shows up on credit reports. If it is good enough for HNZ which is not even a government department then it is good enough for all landlords.
Nightmare tenants and unfair laws mean we’ll never rent again
Sure is sad to see things like this. The poor owner lets slip a few details like Foolishly, we allowed them to stay until long after they should have been asked to leave. Having better laws will help but will never stop this sort of thing if owners insist on doing a poor job of their own management. It is so easy to think you are a good manager when the tenants are normal. Unfortunately a number of property managers are not much better. They clearly never even bothered doing some pre tenant checking and allowed a dog.
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
I was chatting over a coffee with my Bhutanese refugee tenant last Saturday. He said he would be shot if he returned to his own country. Of the range of countries his various family members have fled to NZ seems the nicest and safest place. No moans or wanting to return for him. His family will make NZ a better place for my grandchildren to enjoy.
Toddler's bedroom behind tarpaulin 'wall' as housing wait stretches to years
Yet again a clear case of unfair provision of housing assistance. Some people are lucky to get social housing and ten times that number in the private sector who might have identical incomes get way less. This just encourages people to put their families at risk by overcrowding while the wait for one of the lucky existing social housing tenants to die or what ever. Their landlord should be fined for permitting them to continue living in the one bedroom flat.
Key link in country's rail attractions for tourists coming back
Kiwi Rail is sucking Nelson dry. Why do the 100,000 people in Nelson / Tasman have to pay the subsidies that keep the likes of Kiwi Rail afloat yet get nothing back. This area has the worse State Highway roads in the country. A new $35 million airport is being built without any help from Kiwi Rail nor Shane Jones slush fund.
Simon Bridges says criticism of PM Jacinda Ardern not sexist
Yes fully agree. It is refreshing to have a politician who seems to be honest be they male or female. Give her a few years and she will learn the trade.
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
Christchurch has a serious surplus of properties to let. There are 1681 properties to let advertised in Trade me and lots of these have been empty for some time.
New Zealand to ban single-use plastic bags
I am sick and tired of seeing plastic bags full of dog poo left on the walking tracks. Really some people (lots of them) are just idiots. Jacinda should also ban paper bags being used at supermarkets. I want to walk in the woods. Paper bags are made from trees.