Total Property Hawkes Bay

It is important to have a clear understanding of your renovation budget so that we can determine if your expectations are feasible. Your budget will not be treated as a target, but rather as a guide to ensure that your desires align with the required investment. Beginning a renovation project without a defined budget may result in frustration and disappointment due to various reasons, including exceeding your intended spending, running out of funds before the project is completed, or having to compromise on features or finishes that you had hoped to include in the project.

We have all trades covered. Total Property have a network of trusted and well respected team of trades who understand our system, follow up process and can work effectively with the rest of our team to ensure a smooth renovation project. So you’re just engaging us (not multiple companies) to complete the whole job from start to finish.

To begin the process of creating your dream kitchen, start by collecting ideas, designs, and your own thoughts in a new kitchen scrapbook. This could be a physical book containing written, printed, and cut-out ideas. Additionally, make a list of the appliances you intend to incorporate into your new kitchen. Model numbers are usually sufficient to obtain accurate dimensions online. Your new kitchen cabinets will need to accommodate these appliances, whether they are new or repurposed from your current kitchen. In order to design your kitchen, we will require the measurements of your new appliances so that we can construct the kitchen around them.

Resource consent and building consent are two different things that you might need for your home renovation. Basically, resource consent deals with things that can affect the environment and community, which are protected under the Resource Management Act 1991. On the other hand, building consent is more about the specific construction details of your renovation project.

Each council has its own set of rules to help them enforce the Resource Management legislation.

The need for resource consent in renovations is usually seen in the following cases:
– Infringements of height-in-relation-to boundary rules
– Exceeding the permissible site coverage with building structures or non-permeable surfaces (or both)
– Special heritage/character rules that apply to either the zone the property is in or the house itself.

If you need resource consent for your renovation project, it’s best to apply for that first, even though it might take longer. This way, you won’t have spent money on obtaining a building consent only to be rejected because you didn’t have resource consent.

Sometimes when we are pulling together a fixed price for a renovation, a particular item has not been selected by the homeowner or can’t be priced accurately until the project gets underway (eg: excavation/rock breaking). In this instance we make a ‘best guess’ and include an allowance for the item in the quote.

Once the project is underway and the actual cost of the item becomes known, we regularly keep you up-to-date, using our online project management portal, so you always know what is happening and whether there is an extra charge or a credit owing to you.

At Total Property, we offer a fixed price for renovation projects. The price will only change under certain circumstances such as a change in project scope, additional work requested by the council, unforeseen issues discovered during the renovation, or a selection of items that differ from the included allowance. This is different from other builders who charge on a cost-plus basis.

Renovating a building is a complex process that comes with its own set of challenges. There are always unexpected issues that arise, especially when it comes to existing buildings that have been around for a while. It can be difficult to predict what problems might be hidden within the walls or underground, which is why it’s important to include a contingency in your renovation budget.

To ensure a successful renovation experience, we recommend including a contingency of 10-15% if you are working under a fixed price. For charge-up/cost-plus contracts, it is advisable to allow for overruns of approximately 25% of the builder’s estimate. This will give you peace of mind and help you avoid any unexpected costs that may arise during the renovation process.

We understand how important it is for you to stay informed about the progress of your renovation. That’s why, when you choose to work with Total Property, you will have access to our online project management tool. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home, work or on vacation, you can stay up-to-date 24/7.

With our tool, you can:
– See a detailed schedule of what is happening on-site every day, week and month. This will help you keep track of the progress in real-time and understand what tasks are being completed and when.
– View and share progress photos with your friends and family.
– Ask any questions that you may have.
– Request and approve any additional work or changes that you wish to make to the project scope.
– Keep track of the financial status of your project, including what has been invoiced, the financial impact of any additional work, what has been paid already, and the remaining balance.

Our previous customers frequently mention that we are always willing to address any issues and concerns that may arise. We are committed to ensuring your complete satisfaction and will not let anything stand in our way. Moreover, we offer a 12-month maintenance agreement to our clients for their peace of mind.

Certainly! While we have no objections to you purchasing items directly and providing them for installation at the appropriate time, we highly recommend that you choose our suppliers for a number of reasons. Firstly, we are confident in the quality of the products and services they offer. Secondly, we can manage the logistics of the renovation process more efficiently when we have direct contact with our suppliers. Additionally, we can offer better trade prices and troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the renovation more easily if we have direct contact with our suppliers.

In many cases, you may need to provide a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) to your bank and home insurance company when you apply for renovation work or your home insurance. A CCC also plays a crucial role in completing a house sale.

It’s important to note that if you fail to apply for a CCC within 2 years of when your building consent was issued, the council has the right to refuse to issue one. However, homeowners can reapply to have the decision reconsidered if their CCC application is refused.

If more than 5 years have passed since your building consent was issued, the council will have to visit your home to assess the durability of the materials used. It’s vital to keep these timelines in mind to prevent any complications in obtaining a CCC.

In general, any building work that affects the structure, water-tightness, or changes the use of a room/building will require council permission in the form of a building consent and/or resource consent. Examples of such work include removing load-bearing walls, re-piling a building, demolishing a structure (an asbestos survey may also be required), making additions or alterations, changing cladding, plumbing and drainage (excluding repair and maintenance work on existing), retaining walls higher than 1.5 metres, decks and platforms more than 1.5 metres above the ground (over 1 metre must have a handrail compliant with the building code), fences or walls higher than 2 metres, and swimming pools and their associated fencing.

According to Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004, some building work that is considered to be ‘low-risk’ is allowed to be done without a building consent. However, it is important to note that this work still needs to be completed in accordance with the Building Code, which may mean that a professionally qualified tradesperson needs to be engaged. From August 2020, the above ‘low-risk’ exceptions will also include single-storey detached buildings of up to 30 square meters, such as sleep-outs, sheds, and carports. We advise caution, though, as a structure of this size will still need to be built to code and may require specialist advice and assistance from a builder and/or engineer.

You can check if you need a building consent by using the online tool available at www.buildit.govt.nz.

Restricted Building Work, commonly referred to as RBW, includes any work that is essential to the structure or weather-tightness of your home. As per the Building Act 2004, this work must be designed and carried out or supervised by a licensed building practitioner (LBP).

It is mandatory for each LBP who performs Restricted Building Work on your home to provide either a Certificate of Design Work (for the design of RBW) or a Record of Building Work (for the actual construction of the RBW).

It’s important to ensure that your builder holds current policies for various types of insurance in addition to Contract Works insurance (also known as Builders Risk insurance). Contract Works insurance should be taken out by either the homeowner or the builder to cover the renovation project. Here are the types of insurance your builder should have:
• Public Liability insurance – provides protection from damage or loss to third party property or injury to a third party.
• Professional Indemnity/Errors & Omissions Indemnity – provides protection if the company or an employee allegedly causes a financial loss as a result of some advice given or action taken (or not given or taken).
• Statutory Liability insurance – provides cover over any legal costs and/or fines for breaches of any statutory law such as the Building Act, Fair Trading Act, Resource Management Act etc…
• Employers Liability insurance (if they employ staff) – provides cover for any liability over an injury or illness to an employee that is not covered by ACC.
• Commercial Vehicle insurance – insures the builder’s vehicles, trailers etc…
• Tools & Equipment insurance – provides protection over tools, equipment, other assets (e.g., phones, scaffolding) and stock.

Your builder should provide you with the details of these insurance policies in a Disclosure Statement. Under Section 362D of the Building Act, the Disclosure Statement is required to be provided to homeowners prior to signing a building contract. The minimum insurance requirements should also be listed within the building contract.

Renovating your home can make it more vulnerable to damage. Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the structure may be temporarily compromised or open to the elements. It is essential to note that your standard home insurance policy will not cover any loss or damage caused by renovations, especially for significant projects. Therefore, you should notify your home insurer and secure the correct insurance policy, also known as Contract Works Insurance or Builders Risk Insurance. This additional policy should complement your standard home insurance and cover any damage caused during renovation work. However, not all Contract Works Insurance policies are the same. It is crucial to research and find the best policy that suits your needs. The insurance company may ask you technical questions about the site conditions, work being done, and construction methods used. This is to assess the risk involved and charge you an appropriate premium.

The time it takes to complete a renovation project usually depends on its size and complexity, and can vary greatly from one homeowner to another. Some people tend to make decisions quickly, while others prefer to take their time and consider all their options.

For smaller projects such as a kitchen or bathroom renovation, it may only take a few weeks to complete. However, larger projects such as ground-level extensions, internal alterations, or second-storey additions could take as long as 4, 6, or even 8 months to complete.

Regardless of the project size, one thing is for sure – a renovation project will always take longer than you think. This is just the nature of renovations and building in general.