Twice as good

Several generations living in the same house is not a new idea, but the owners of this new home came up with a novel way to make the arrangement work they built two houses in one.

Jason and Rachel Irvine and Rachel's parents Anne and David McCathie had lived under the same roof for several years, but wanted a property that was better suited to the needs of both families. The solution: an extra-large house with two separate wings and a shared entry.

Rachel Irvine says each wing in the 525m² house has two living areas that open to the outdoors, a kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms including an ensuite, and double garaging. There is also a shared formal entertaining room in the house, within the central gabled space behind the entry.

To fund their share of the house, the Irvines spoke to a Westpac consultant about different types of mortgages.

"We chose Westpac because Jason has been a Westpac customer for 20 years," Rachel Irvine says. "We talked with our consultant and used tools on the Westpac website to see what our repayments would be, and whether we would be better paying fortnightly or monthly. In the end we decided to split our mortgage three ways, paying fortnightly. One third is floating, one third has been fixed for two years, and one third fixed for one year. We were advised that this was a good way to deal with uncertainty in terms of interest rates."

Leanne Boyce-Bacon, a Westpac bank manager, says the first stop for people looking to fund a new home is to visit their local Westpac branch.

"Like me, many staff have built homes themselves or are homeowners. We understand the process and can offer advice as well as draw on insights from our own personal experiences."

Boyce-Bacon says if you are building a new home, the loan is structured differently. Loans for building are generally an interest-only loan drawn down in stages as work progresses. This means you only start paying back the principal part of the loan when the building is complete.

"This helps our customers financially as often they are paying rent while their home is being built."

Westpac will advise on different types of home-building loans, so your loan can be structured in a way that works best for you. The bank can also help with other aspects of your project such as dealing with valuers, solicitors and accountants.

"In many instances we also suggest customers building a home get a Westpac hotpoints® credit card account approved together with their Westpac home loan," says Boyce-Bacon. "They can pay for building materials, appliances and furniture with their credit card and earn hotpoints for every dollar they spend, which they later redeem for travel, gifts or furnishing their new home."

For further details visit your local Westpac branch or phone 0800 177 277. Website: www.westpac.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas