For 23-year-old Raj Nakura, there is "nothing" like the feeling of buying his first home.
After two years of working multiple jobs and saving everything he could, he is proud to own a home in Rotorua, and to have achieved it without being able to use KiwiSaver.
His journey started with a vision.
"The vision of wanting to become a home owner came to mind when I visited my friends' first home. Seeing how happy they were, I wanted that same feeling.
"So I needed a plan to pursue my vision."
Nakura moved to New Zealand from India in 2017. But in order to buy a home, he had to be a New Zealand resident.
"I have just got my New Zealand residency, that is why I had no KiwiSaver."
He studied hospitality at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology's Rotorua campus. He had $40,000 saved from previous jobs, and started working hard to build it up to a 20 per cent house deposit.
"I worked in hospitality businesses, cafes, restaurants, takeaway shops — everywhere I could."
He said he worked days, nights and weekends.
Nakura worked part-time at a local cafe and also picked up Uber driving and shifts at a takeaway pizza shop.
With each pay cheque, Nakura would make a budget, putting savings away first then paying his rent, food, and other bills. Anything leftover would be for spending only if he had to.
He said he did not have help saving the money and people were often "shocked" when he told them what he had achieved, but the key was budgeting.
"If you can budget properly, you can do it."
Being single and without other commitments also helped him save.
But he said it was not all work and no play.
He still went to the gym and saved every now and then for small holidays.
With bank pre-approval, Nakura said he started looking seriously at houses in July, in the $500,000 to $580,000 range. He saw 10 to 15 homes and put an offer on at least two but missed out due to multi-offers.
At the start of this month, he finally found the home he wanted. Settlement day will be in October when he will finally get the keys.
"I got goosebumps when the agent phoned to tell me it was mine and when I signed the papers."
It is a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, one-storey home in Kawaha Point with a "big backyard".
"It is a lovely home," he said. "It is 1970s built but it feels brand new."
Nakura said it was difficult viewing properties to buy when he did not know what he was looking for. He enlisted the help of Rotorua's The Mortgage Centre director Praveen Bhati and Ray White Rotorua's Chander Sandhu.
"Without their help, I would have not known what to do. They made the whole process so easy."
His advice to other first-home buyers was to seek help from the experts.
"They can tell you what to look for and where to start."
Nakura said being a homeowner felt "amazing". "You can only feel this feeling once in your life. It is something else.
"There is a feeling nothing like it."
Nakura said he had heard stories about it being impossible for people in their 20s to be able to afford a home.
"For me, I want to tell them it is possible," he said.
"You just have to set a vision, make a plan, and anything can happen."
He planned to celebrate with a barbecue with his close friends and family.
"It will be nice to show them I am a proud home owner. I have already bought my couch."
The Mortgage Centre director Praveen Bhati said it took a lot of commitment from Nakura to buy his first home.
Bhati said the hunt began about two years ago.
"I told him exactly what he needed to do and said when you get there, let me know."
He believed financial literacy had a lot to do with Nakura's success at saving.
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