Each home in the new Solan Heights development must have its own water tank and wastewater system.
Image / Supplied
Each home in the new Solan Heights development must have its own water tank and wastewater system.
Image / Supplied
ADVERTORIAL: A new home on a 1500-metre section just 25 minutes from Auckland for under $1 million.
ADVERTORIAL: A new home on a 1500-metre section just 25 minutes from Auckland for under $1 million.
That's what is on offer at Solan Heights, a northfacing slope at Waimauku, accessed from a cul de sac off SH16 just past the Muriwai turn-off. Developer Andrew Taylor describes it as a return to the "quarter-acre dream," where people can put in vegetable gardens and fruit trees and have room for children and pets to run free.
There is a walkway to the primary school, so children don't have to walk on the main highway, and it's a short walk to the village with its cafes, supermarket and hardware store. "All the sites have views north down the valley because of the contour of the land," Taylor says.
"What sold me on the land was there are a lot of pylons in this area, but from these sections you can't see any of them. It's a subdivision in an area with no more residential land available, so this is a limited edition."
He says if people want to go off-grid, the possibility is there. Each home must have its own water tank and wastewater system, and the northern aspect is ideal for solar. Initially Taylor ran a promotion for photovoltaic solar which some early buyers picked up on, but he has now switched to an offering for a discounted Eloy wastewater system.
"I did extensive of research and came to the conclusion they were the best available by far at the moment. From a builder's perspective they are aesthetically pleasing - the ability to install them under a concrete driveway was one of the selling points - and they were the only company to guarantee zero odour."
Eloy is a European company which is expanding into Australasia and the South Pacific. New Zealand managing director Michael Dawson says Eloy systems can range from plants for whole communities to tanks that treat the output of small households.
If people want to go off-grid, the possibility is there. Each home must have its own water tank and wastewater system, and the northern aspect is ideal for solar
The systems at Solan were especially designed for New Zealand conditions for four and five bedroom homes. They include a relatively lightweight direct-molded concrete tank containing three stainless steel chambers, which process the waste through the various stages.
All that can be seen on the ground are the covers on two 600mm access holes. The final products are the heavy sediments which get pumped out every few years, and water which is put back into the ground through drip irrigation.
Michael says they can handle up to 1.8 cubic metres of waste a day under normal conditions. They can also be adjusted to cope with smaller numbers of people, which gets around the problem that most systems are configured for the maximum capacity of the household, and then fail because only one or two people live there.
"A big system without enough pollution won't work. These are living systems, and they need to be properly calibrated for the use they get. That's the key to preventing odour," Dawson says.
To sell the development, Taylor called in KEY2, which specialises mostly in land sales, plus land and new home packages.
"I was previously with a traditional real estate agent, but KEY2 sold me a solution that takes the hassle out for the purchaser." Leading licenced KEY2 agent Maree van de Water says KEY2 works with developers to market a complete land and house package. "We are there to facilitate so we help the vendors get the full price for the land rather than it being sold down to get the deal," van de Water says.
"We can introduce people to a range of preferred builders and put together a full solution they can take to the bank."
Because they are new builds, they qualify for a 10 per cent deposit rather than the 20 per cent loan to value ratios imposed by the Reserve Bank for purchases of existing homes. She says the process lessens some of the risk, such as having builders go belly up before a house is finished. So far 17 of the 30 sections have sold, with three more under contract. Titles should be issued mid-year, once site works are complete and the conditions of the resource consent met, and people can start building their new homes.
Taylor says purchasers so far are aged from mid-30s couples to people in their 60s.
