Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? We’re here to answer! If you don’t see your question below feel free to contact us.
AirHomes are built in one of our three specialised factories across the country, Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch. This means that we deliver anywhere across the country.
High level check by in house experts. Confirm planning rules allow for extra dwelling, physically fits on the site and initial view on whether it can be delivered. Provide you with high level, estimated total project costs.
Carry out due diligence investigations, confirm you are satisfied with the terms of the contract and that you wish to proceed and pay at 10% deposit. During this time we will work with you to help you understand whether or not you require a building consent the AirHome (based on the relevant zoning and planning rules at the time)
Local subtrades (builder, electrician, plumber) would come to your site to gives quotes and for the on site and installation works. Delivery costs to be confirmed and on site visit if required.
Once building consent is issued (if applicable), AirHome build starts. 40% payment due before construction starts. Build time is approx. 2 months.
Site is prepped by local sub trades during construction period.
Final 50% payment is due once home is complete. Airhome is delivered, connected to services and any final inspections passed.
Need to know more? Contact us to have a chat.
Got a question? We’re here to answer! If you don’t see your question below feel free to contact us.
A transportable, prefabricated home is a home built entirely in an indoor, specialised manufacturing facility. Once the home is complete, it's transported to your chosen location and installed on a foundation. These might also be referred to as “tiny homes”, “granny flats”, “prefab homes”.
What are the benefits of an AirHome vs an on-site build?
There are 3 main things that make AirHomes different other transportable home builders:
Local zoning regulations / district plans will determine where you can place your home. As the first step we always recommend getting in touch with us and we can do a FREE high level feasibility check of your site.
Our team of in-house experts look at your local zoning rules, setbacks from boundaries, site size etc. The output of this would tell us how many homes you can fit on site and where you can place them.
If your home doesn’t quite meet any of these requirements, you can also consider applying for a resource consent.
Yes you would need a building consent.
Any homes with plumbing (kitchen or bathroom) requires a building consent. AirHome can manage this entire consenting process for you, or you would work with our local partners to manage for you.
Your site will also need to be included in the building consent. This on site building consent looks at everything from the subfloor down e.g. foundations, septic and drainage plan, survey plan etc.
Once the AirHome is delivered, council would come to inspect the final home on its foundations and provides a final CCC for your new home.
These are built in our build partners’ specialised manufacturing facilities in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch. This means we are one of the few transportable home builders that can truly offer nationwide deliveries.
All of our AirHomes come with:
Whether buying an AirHome or any other prefabricated home, there will be always be the “home price” and “on site and installation costs”.
Home price – this is the cost to build the homes. The prices are clearly shown on each of our home sizes. These prices include GST.
On site and installation costs – these are the other costs needed to get your home delivered to anywhere in NZ, fixed on site, connected to services (power, wastewater, stormwater etc) and approved by your local council.
Because each site is different, each council have different fees and distance to site is different, we can give estimated price bands at the initial stage. You can find these price bands in the specific pages of each of our home sizes.
Once you get in touch and give us your exact site address, our team on in-house experts can give you a more accurate indication of your expected costs.
You can choose different exterior cladding colours within the range we use.
However for internal layout, we apply a standardised approach to manufacturing which helps us build the units efficiently, at an affordable price.
Small changes may be possible, get in touch and ask.
While our build time is only 2 months, the entire process takes between 3 – 6 months if you want the AirHome to be consented.
The first 1 – 2 months are gathering land information, applying for building consent and then time spent in the council waiting for them to process the consent and then issue the building consent.
Then our build time is only 2 months.
Then we would allow 1 week for delivery, on site connections and testing once home is on site.
Homes are typically transported on specialised trucks then a local Hiab or crane company would meet our trucks on site to lift off the truck on to foundation.
Or if there is sufficient room and access, these can be delivered by a home transporting truck and lowered directly on the foundations.
The cost of transport depends on how far the site is from one of our manufacturing facilities across the country. These are built in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch.
However as a ball park figure, the cost to transport is approx. $1,000 - 1,500 for every hour from these sites.
Then the cost of the large Hiab / small crane on the other end to lift off the truck on to foundations. The cost of this could is approx. $250 – $600 per hour depending on the lift required.
As a working example, the cost to deliver a Studio home to Invercargill from our Christchurch facility would be approx. $10,000. This assumes the lift from truck to foundations isn’t complex.
We always recommend getting in touch with us to get a proper estimate as we would look at your exact site requirements
Our homes are built on 2 timber bearers, so two rows of piles are required.
This could be traditional timber piles with concrete base or screwpiles (concrete free alternatives).
Installing a home on a sloping section is no issue as long as the foundations are designed to take any slope in to consideration.
Yes we can. In Auckland, Whanganui and Christchurch where we have boots on the ground. In other areas, we would connect you with local subtrade partners to do this work on your behalf.
The connection process is similar to a traditional home. Licensed plumbers and electricians will connect the home to services on your property.
Yes, our AirHomes can be built to be lived in off-grid. This would include gas cooking and califont instead of hot water cylinder.
For solar power, wind turbines or anything not connected to the home, we would work alongside those third party experts to install once on site.
If you don’t have the cash then there are several ways to afford this investment.
Equity from another property: You can leverage any equity you have in your land or another property. As home loan interest rates are significantly lower than other options, the loan will cost you less in the long term.
Bank loan with AirHome as security:
Westpac has a great prebuilt home lending product here
If not with Westpac, then most other banks will recognise the AirHome as a home once it is on site, connected to foundations and with a CCC. You can then use that AirHome as security and get a mortgage against it. However you might not have enough to fund the whole build, so with that in mind…
Williams Corporation Bridging Loan: Williams Corporation (AirHome’s parent company) can offer a bridging loan for the final 50% of the AirHome build (with no interest). If you fund the initial 50% of the build, and have a pre agreed arrangement with a bank to take over the loan once the AirHome is on site, then Williams Corporation can supply a short term bridging loan. Once the AirHome is on site with a CCC and your bank releases the funds for that mortgage, you would pay Williams Corporation bridging loan back.
Non-bank lenders: You can work with third party financing companies like Squirrel who can lend up to $100,000, or TMFNZ who specialise in Tiny Home financing.
Yes, you can use your KiwiSaver funds to purchase a prefabricated home that is built off-site and then delivered and permanently fixed to foundations on your land, as long as it meets certain criteria:
So in summary, prefabricated qualify for KiwiSaver first home withdrawal if they are designed and installed as permanent, immovable dwellings compliant with building codes, even though they were initially constructed off-site. The key factor is that they cannot retain any ability to be re-located or transported once installed on foundations at the property.
However we recommend talking with your specific KiwiSaver provider first for personalised information.
No we don’t. Our homes are built in specialised manufacturing facilities, under cover, out of the weather.
Once built they are delivered to your property fully finished.
AirHome can manage the full end to process in Auckland and Christchurch where we have boots on the ground. This covers all site works and installation, as well as managing the full consent process.
In other areas where we don’t have boots on the ground, we physically can’t manage the process. But AirHome would guide you on every step of the way, can help you brief teams and find appropriate subtrades in your area. We will ensure are looked after and comfortable about the process.
Ideally there’d be at least 5 metres width of clear space from the road to the site location. Our homes are 4m wide with 400mm eaves either side, so max width is up to 4.8m.
However driveway / access width of 3m could still work as homes can be elevated above fence lines assuming there are no solid obstacles.
The other option is a crane to lift over main dwelling or other obstacles. Cranes sound daunting, but they are very common in this industry.
If you’re unsure about your access, get in touch and will be able to tell what is possible or not.
No these are not container homes or built on wheels / trailer. These are built like any other home, with timber framing, insulated cavities and lined on both sides.
They are designed to be fixed on site on foundations.
These are built like 99% of other new homes out there that we know and trust:
Yes we can. There will be an additional cost depending on exact requirements. Get in touch and we can give you a price.
If you're looking to buy a transportable home, tiny home, minor dwelling or granny flat, AirHome has a range of homes to suit your needs.
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