Category: Uncategorised

Yes, our finance partners can help you with finance options, from securing a traditional bank mortgage (including co-ownership and Maori Land) to creative financing options from lenders other than banks, including ones that use the Cosy Home as collateral (no land ownership required!).  We have it all covered depending on your situation.  Contact us now to see how we can help you get finance.

We recognise this may be the biggest purchase of your life, and we take that very seriously. We are Registered Master Builders, which means we have passed their rigorous financial management tests. It also means we can offer you their Master Build Guarantee, which covers you throughout the build and also for a further 10 years. In addition to this, the payments we ask you for are staggered and based on evidence of work done (we send you regular build updates).

It depends on customisations, council consents, existing stock, and the queue.  Essentially once the deposit is paid it typically takes about 10 weeks to build the home.  Council consents may add to this timeframe.

To get started with your Cosy Home these are the steps you need to take: 

• Contact us and arrange to view one of our Cosy Homes
• We can take you through all the options so that you can choose exactly what you want in your home
• From this information we provide you with a quote for your home
• Once you pay the deposit we will order the materials and our dedicated Customer Care consultant will guide you through the remaining steps. 
• You can organise site works and services at your end or ask us to help you manage that locally. Also if you are getting a building consent that process can be started. 
• Once the materials have arrived, the second instalment allows us to start building your unit.
• The build process takes about 10 weeks
• The third instalment is due when the shell is complete
• Once you have checked your building and paid the final instalment we can deliver to your site
  

Estimated transport costs including simple craning are $2000+$1000 (inc GST) per hour (best found on Google maps).   Final cost depends on the transporters being able to check out the detailed route to your specific site and provide for all requirements.

We do our best to keep some in stock, but they are quite popular, so can get snapped up pretty fast. We recommend you contact us to understand your current options.

Absolutely! One of our show homes is designed to be accessible, so friendly for wheelchairs, walking frames, elderly or disabled. E.g. an access ramp to the door with gentle incline, larger roll-in wet wall bathroom, lowered kitchen benchtops, wheel-under vanity and kitchen sink. This is in addition to the “universal design” principles we apply to every Cosy Home, e.g. level entry door, wider internal doors, door levers instead of cheaper knobs, cabinetry handles that are not sharp and do not snag.

It is also worth noting that one point of difference we have from traditional Tiny Homes is that we go “out” instead of “up”, i.e. we avoid split levels and mezzanine floors with tight stair cases as we recognise that is not suitable for many people and can also become tiresome with younger folk.

We have left space for a standard washing machine in the bathroom, beside the vanity, which includes “double headed” fittings to share with the washing machine.

We are certainly supportive of off-grid living, have done off-grid Cosy Homes, and we are aware of the many options to suit varying needs and budgets. 

Cosy Homes are great for off-grid because they are incredibly well insulated and by default come prepared with solar conduits and pre-wired for true heat recovery ventilation. They are also designed to make the most of free “passive” solar gain, so free heating in winter and potential for a veranda and smart ventilation solutions to help keep it cool in summer. We can add a composting toilet for $2000, with other options available. It is easy to hook up and change the water supply. There is plenty of room under the home for rainwater and greywater retention tanks (we have affordable designs for these).

We do gas hot water as standard and we have done full gas ovens and hobs (with electric igniters), and can do built-in gas heating that is flued outside. These are the most energy-intensive tasks, which can lighten the load on a solar system, or even on a limited mains power supply (e.g. in a camping ground).

Some common off-grid options include:

As there are more specialist companies that sell and support the specific equipment, we often work with them rather than do all of that ourselves. Therefore we find out best to share our knowledge with you (e.g. send you our research on the best options), help you choose the best option for you, and design your home to accommodate them. 

We would then often offer that you interact directly with the suppliers to buy, install and support their solutions. For something like a composting toilet, it could be sent to us for install.

Cosy Homes are fantastically versatile to suit many land options. And if your circumstances change, e.g. you want to move, or can now afford to buy your own land, your Cosy Home can move with you. Even our patented modular foundations are transportable, so they can be taken with you too.

As our homes are incredibly strong and light, they can be used on lower quality land (e.g. TC3 or high flood plains) with minimal extra cost compared to traditional builds.

If you will own the land, we can provide a Building Consent to enable traditional mortgages with low interest rates. We can help with fixed price quotes, including services if required by the bank. We can also help with site planning, site works building consents and site resource consents if required. We can arrange prefab home loans, co-ownership home loans, mortgages on Maori Land and even first home grants, shared equity packages and making use of your KiwiSaver as a deposit.

Borrowing money for bare land is typically restricted to 50% of the value, however, if you add a Cosy Home that can be increased to 80%, which can be enough to pay for the entire home!

If you will borrow or lease or rent the land, we can provide Cosy Homes as vehicles, which also reduces costs and time.

This is a great way to get on the property ladder, i.e. start putting your money into paying for a home you own instead of paying a landlord so that they can own it.

Some people can find an option to borrow or rent land from friends or family.

Others are comfortable renting a site at a camping ground or from private owners.

Cosy Homes has many contacts to help you find a site to rent – don’t hesitate to ask us for help.

Either way, Cosy Homes has extensive networks so we can help you find the right solution. Talk to us today.