Has apartments not catched up to NZ?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Has apartments not catched up to NZ?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1958605 15-Feb-2018 13:37

And if the those who don't use the lift, don't want to pay now because its not their problem and say its the engineers problem who say its the builders problem (which is what happened.).

Didn't think of asking if covered by insurance at the time.

Many owners didn't live in the units as they were investments and their tenants weren't affected and trying to get them to vote was a nightmare.

Several members of the body corporate committee were those who didn't want to share their parks with us... But it was very interesting to see what a multi million pound apartment on the roof looks like.

I was the only renter who turned up to the meetings as it was driven by me wanting a car park which I was paying rent for. (my landlord was in other city and everything went through a property manager).

The saga lasted for 6 months and was still going when I left. I managed by parking my car on the building site of the new apartment they were building on the same site as I left in the morning before the builders arrived and arrived home after they had left) But if I had owned the place, I would have been extremely annoyed. But living overseas is full of interesting experiences !

(one of the cars trapped was a nice flash sports car owned by a premier league footballer)

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Benjip

940 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#1958606 15-Feb-2018 13:45

afe66:

And if the those who don't use the lift, don't want to pay now because its not their problem and say its the engineers problem who say its the builders problem (which is what happened.).

Then they can vote that way. Hopefully there would be enough votes in favour of fixing/replacing the car lift :)

I'm not sure of how well this kind of stuff is set out in UK law, but here in NZ there are provisions for this exact kind of occurrence.

MikeAqua

7769 posts

Uber Geek

#1958615 15-Feb-2018 14:11

The BC in our building works quite well. It was set up with additional revenue streams that supplement the BC fees.

The building management is tendered out regularly. There is no incentive for the building manager to skimp other than to stay within the budget set by the BC.

Everything outside of the actual apartment interiors is common property (including exterior cladding and utilities). There is no BS about fixing stuff it just happens. A pipe in our ceiling leaked, the building manager had a plumber there 30 minutes after I notified him.

Mike

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1958718 15-Feb-2018 18:04

You wouldn't get me into an apartment here because they are poorly designed for proper living since they're primarily aimed at students. Or they're at the complete other end of the spectrum.

afe66:

And if the those who don't use the lift, don't want to pay now because its not their problem

Too bad. It should be structured so that infrastructure is maintained or replaced to an equal or higher standard by the BC fees and they should get no say in that.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1958724 15-Feb-2018 18:12

t0ny: Quality of apartments have been crap in NZ compared to places like Asia.

I've noticed that too. Eastern Europe is busy trying to get rid of its communist-era plattenbauten, while in NZ developers are putting them up willy-nilly.

Dratsab

3946 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1958774 15-Feb-2018 20:10

wellygary:

NedLudd:

Any other suggestions to add? What are our other 'God given' rights....?

I'm gonna get myself a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado convertible
Hot pink, with whale skin hubcaps
And all leather cow interior
And big brown baby seal eyes for head lights (yeah)
And I'm gonna drive in that baby at 115 miles per hour
Gettin' 1 mile per gallon,
Sucking down Quarter Pounder cheeseburgers from McDonald's
In the old fashioned non-biodegradable styrofoam containers
And when I'm done sucking down those greaseball burgers
I'm gonna wipe my mouth with the American flag
And then I'm gonna toss the styrofoam containers right out the side
And there ain't a goddamn thing anybody can do about it

:)

"You're an a$$hole, an a$$hole, an a$$hole..."

Great song :-)

webwat

2036 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1958809 15-Feb-2018 21:59

Some apartments actually are that small that it might as well be a prison except that nobody punishes the noisy neighbours or fixes the rubbish ventilation, so you can't sleep at night. They aren't called shoe-boxes because of the spacious living areas. Other apartments are much better and you pay for that.

Lots of kiwis love apartment living most of them younger, students, or having a fairly spartan existence like yourself -- but apartments also are really not suitable for many types of people. Imagine a tradie having to park a van in the basement and not having anywhere secure to store tools etc. I presume you remember what its like carrying anything heavy up and down through the lifts.

Perhaps some of the countries where you love living in apartments have special low-rise areas for people who need a different mode of living? Or have other issues with quality of life or pollution that becomes more difficult to manage where people are squeezed into a smaller footprint.

Time to find a new industry!

mattwnz

20045 posts

Uber Geek

#1958814 15-Feb-2018 22:09

I don't mind them as long as they are well designed, but generally NZs aren't good at designing apartments, especally when many are driven by the developer, who often do things as cheaply as possible from my experience with apartments..

Apartments generally exist in places where there is a large population and little land, and is concentrated in nodes around magnets, such as CBDs. The land that does exist is also very expensive. New Zealanders have chosen to grow the population significantly, especally in places like Auckland. Many have gained significant benefit as a result, as house prices have increased significantly, due to the land now being so valuable for future apartments. So it has made home owners feel rich. This is why I am surprised when I see stories of people complaining that their single level house is now getting boxed in and losing sun form multi level apartment buildings. You cant have your cake and eat it too, because if you want high house prices, then there is always a cost to that, which may result in you ending up having to move, and have multilevel apartments built on that land..

alasta

6671 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#1958870 16-Feb-2018 08:23

It's worth noting that there is a social trend across the developed world in favour of living alone. Apartments and units are needed to cater to this, because for most people living alone it isn't viable to live in a big house on a big section.

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1959154 16-Feb-2018 14:10

mattwnz:

I don't mind them as long as they are well designed, but generally NZs aren't good at designing apartments, especally when many are driven by the developer, who often do things as cheaply as possible from my experience with apartments..

There seems to be a clear intent of long-term fleecing of the occupiers too. Many force you to pay for your utilities through them at exorbitant mark-ups.

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek

#1959207 16-Feb-2018 15:36

I think you mean caught up not catched up. Back to OP apartments are not popular here because most people grew up on a quarter acre section.

tripp

3848 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1959233 16-Feb-2018 16:38

Use to live in an apartment across from sky tower and tvnz, it was fine, great views, enough room etc. However you really can't control what goes on around you, issues with getting something that is not standard (i.e. UFB etc) can be a nightmare. Also that lovely view might not last as other buildings go up. If i was in the same apartment now (which had great views of the harbour bridge) would now be looking into peoples bathrooms etc as a very tall, ugly looking apartment building when up right next door.

UHD

655 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1960196 19-Feb-2018 10:15

t0ny: Quality of apartments have been crap in NZ compared to places like Asia.

Have you ever been to China or Malaysia or any Asian country that is not HK, Singapore, or Japan? They are pretty much the only three Asian countries with building codes and quality apartments I would consider. The rest build nice looking brand new apartments but they are falling apart inside ten years. 0/10, would not select most Asian countries as a good example of apartment construction.

MikeAqua

7769 posts

Uber Geek

#1960208 19-Feb-2018 10:46

webwat:

Imagine a tradie having to park a van in the basement and not having anywhere secure to store tools etc. I presume you remember what its like carrying anything heavy up and down through the lifts.

Would be OK in ours ... locked garage with swipe cards required for all pedestrian and vehicle entrances, security cameras.

Mike

Aredwood

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1960237 19-Feb-2018 11:19

MikeAqua:
webwat:

Imagine a tradie having to park a van in the basement and not having anywhere secure to store tools etc. I presume you remember what its like carrying anything heavy up and down through the lifts.

Would be OK in ours ... locked garage with swipe cards required for all pedestrian and vehicle entrances, security cameras.

Assuming that the van could even fit into the basement. Lots of them have quite low height restrictions. And tradies normally carry ladders and other stuff on top of their vans.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4