“I’ll never be able to afford to buy a house in Auckland.”

That’s what I kept telling people five or six years ago whenever real estate came up. I had given up on the idea and made peace with renting for as long as I stayed in Auckland. Moving somewhere cheaper was an option but I preferred renting in a place I loved over owning a home in an area I didn’t want.

Then my partner and I discovered tiny homes. For a while we were into the idea. Buy a small, relatively cheap home, pay it off, and live rent-free. Reality hit quickly. You still need land to put the tiny home on and not owning the land is basically renting again. Prices rose a lot after the pandemic and tiny homes that once seemed affordable became expensive. You also can’t use KiwiSaver to buy a tiny home so we shelved the idea.

After we got our finances in order and had a bit of luck with investments, buying in Auckland started to feel possible.

The preparation

Before you look at any properties, understand your finances so you know what you can afford. We used a mortgage broker recommended by a friend but you can also talk to your bank or shop around. Being pre-approved tells you how much you could borrow and signals to agents that you’re serious.

Just because you’re pre-approved for a certain amount doesn’t mean you should borrow that much. A loan that looks manageable at one interest rate can become difficult when rates rise. Play with a mortgage calculator like the one on Sorted.org.nz to see different scenarios.

We engaged a solicitor early so we’d be ready to submit an offer when the time came. Contact a few and pick someone who feels like a good fit. We valued responsiveness and were lucky to find someone great.

A building inspector is another essential part of your team. Look for one before you need them so you’re not forced to pick whoever is free. Skipping an inspection to save money is a bad idea for the biggest purchase of your life. Our inspection found a leak the vendor didn’t know about. The inspector paid for itself.

The hunt

We picked a few areas we liked and set our criteria then saved searches in the Trade Me Property app. I also used OneRoof a lot because it often had more detail. You could go straight to OneRoof or Homes.co.nz if you prefer.

To give you an idea, our main criteria were:

1. Freehold title so the home was truly ours
2. Location within walking distance of shops, cafés, schools, parks and the beach
3. A usable outdoor area for kids to play and for us to relax
4. Not being in a flood zone after the storms we experienced a few years ago

OneRoof usually shows title type and flood zones on the listing page which is handy.

We ignored auction listings. I don’t like the auction process and didn’t want to do the upfront work with no guarantee. Properties that fail to sell at auction usually come back on the market later.

Checking new listings became part of my daily routine. Most open homes are on weekends and for about six months that was how we spent our time. We grouped viewings when we could but that didn’t always work.

When we were particularly interested in a property we asked the agent for a private viewing. Private viewings let you go through everything properly without the crowds. If you can be flexible they give you more time to do due diligence and can make the difference in a competitive situation.

The one

People tell you not to get emotionally attached to a house and that’s generally good advice.

One day, after about six months of searching, I checked Trade Me and found a listing that felt promising. It had an asking price rather than a deadline sale or by-negotiation which was a rare and attractive sign. We booked a private viewing for the next day.

Before we left, our solicitor had already reviewed the Sale and Purchase agreement. We agreed that if the place ticked the boxes, we’d offer asking price that night. If not, we’d move on. After months of viewings and lost bids, we had a good feeling about this house.

When we arrived there were several other private viewings already booked and open homes hadn’t even started yet. Interest was clear and we had already missed out on properties through multi-offer processes.

At this point, we followed the Barefoot Investor’s advice for anyone buying a home: if you find a place you love and can afford, don’t play games. Put your best offer in writing straight away, make it clear you’re serious, and get it off the market as quickly as you can.

We did exactly that. The vendor chose to deal with us exclusively and after negotiating a few conditions we signed. We were excited and a bit terrified but mostly excited.

Going unconditional

Once the agreement was signed everything moved quickly.

We ordered the council property file and chose the urgent option to avoid delays. Our mortgage broker went away to secure the best offer we could from a bank. We booked the building inspection which flagged a few issues including a leak. The vendor agreed to fix the leak and did so very quickly.

We included the three standard conditions: finance, LIM and building report. All were satisfied within ten days and the sale became unconditional. We transferred the ten percent deposit straight away. This amount can be negotiated.

At that point it became real. We were no longer looking around. We had bought a home in Auckland.

Looking back

A few years earlier I thought owning a house in Auckland was unrealistic. What changed wasn’t a sudden windfall. The main differences were:

1. We got clear about our finances
2. We knew what we wanted in a home
3. We built a small support team: a broker, a solicitor and a building inspector
4. We were ready to act when the right place turned up

The process wasn’t stress free. There were long weekends of open homes, a handful of disappointments and more paperwork than I expected. But the planning and the team made it manageable.

If you are where I was a few years ago and think you’ll never be able to afford a home here, it’s worth running the numbers and talking to a professional. Even if buying isn’t possible right now, get a plan together so you’re ready if your situation changes.

And if you start looking, remember one thing from our experience: please get a building inspection.