Category Archives: Housing

Insulation

Winter is here but it’s not too late to think about insulation. A property owner from Northland said they recently upgraded a rental property with ceiling and under floor insulation and said the impact was significant and instant. Because their tenant had a community services card, they qualified for the government subsidy and were able […]

Housing goes up in smoke

Oily raggers are not ones to dwell on the negative so they are probably not taking a lot of notice of all the talk about expensive housing. As oily raggers we know that home affordability is more like a molehill than an insurmountable mountain, so we thought it worth sharing some hints about home ownership […]

Frugal housing

Hardly a day goes by without housing appearing as a headline on the news. What you tend to read about are the hard-luck stories of course, not the good news stories about oily raggers making things happen. The aim of those housing themselves off the smell of an oily rag is to have comfortable accommodation […]

DH, Whangarei.

Hi Oily Raggers, this is a bit more of an expensive question, but all the more reason to be an oily ragger. Firstly, we wish to build on a site with great views, but little privacy at this point. What can we grow that will add privacy quickly and wont cost too much? Secondly, checking […]

Anonymous

Share a house with others. Communal living can be fun and will slash living costs. Or take in borders. Out of town students looking for a stable domestic environment.

Kim, Auckland.

I cut my rent in half by flatting with an old high school friend and some other people. At the same time I recently had a 25% pay rise because I changed jobs, so I am saving at a much better rate.

Oily Rag housing

Be trendy. Buy a warehouse, convert part of it into residential accommodation and rent out the rest. That way you get a roof over your head and income. Many businesses like the security of having someone living on the property. Buy the shell and finish the interior yourself on a pay as you go basis. […]

Rates rebate

Having trouble paying your rates? Low income earners may be eligible for a rates rebate. See this website for details, Rate rebate. Some councils also let you defer rates payments until the property is sold. You have to pay interest on the balance and there may be some establishment costs, but it is there for […]

JB, Whangarei.

Looking around our home, I realise most of the furniture is recycled. My husband made the dining table out of planks from his Dad, the chairs don’t match but I painted them all the same. When my mother in law downsized, I painted all the garden furniture which she had no need for. The lounge […]