A simpler life not living in a yurt

Jeremy Gray lived the off-grid dream, but with a baby on the way, decided to return to Christchurch to pursue an easier lifestyle. He tells Joanna Davis about it.

Jeremy Gray knows about homes: He is the head of marketing at builderscrack.co.nz, a site that connects homeowners with tradespeople.

Here he shares property industry knowledge that he has picked up over the years, and his own experiences from owning a home, which includes six years living in a yurt, and more recently doing a full house renovation.

‘‘I really enjoy the challenges working at the meeting point between the construction industry, clients, and tech; and my plan is to continue working on growing Builderscrack into the foreseeable future,’’ says Gray.

Tell us about your own home

My partner Alana Shinn and I live in a three-bedroom Summerfield Stone Home with our young family. The house is of a typical style of the 1960s – when it was built. We bought it in its near-original state and fully renovated it.

It’s around 100m2, so not large. We also have a shed of almost the same size in the backyard, of which about 50m2 has two offices and a rumpus room, which my partner works from, and I work from some of the time.

Having the shed makes living here really comfortable: There is plenty of space and somewhere quiet to work.

We’ve extensively planted veges and natives, and have built a large deck. The living area of the home is north-facing, and the insulation and double glazing upgrades we did when we renovated keep it comfortable year-round.

Where do you live now, and what keeps you there?

We live in Hoon Hay, Christchurch. We love mountainbiking as a family, and it’s close to the hills. In this particular area, there are lots of open spaces and still a number of paddocks dotted around – it has a rural feel. It’s a quiet area, with lots of families around, so there is a nice community feel too.

Where and when did you buy your first home?

I bought my first home around 2005. It was a 1940s two-bedroom home in Heathcote, Christchurch. At about 60m2 it was small, but had a quarteracre (0.4-hectare), elevated section and garage. I paid $303,000 for it at the time, which was probably a bit much in hindsight. But I had a ball living there, and have many good memories.

I’ve lived in roughly four homes since selling Heathcote around 2012. My partner and I

travelled for a year, and then returned to New Zealand and bought a 6ha block on a coastal site in North Canterbury.

We built a modernised yurt – around 25m2 – on the block and lived off-grid for nearly seven years. It was a tough lifestyle, to be honest.

We both worked in tech from home, but there was an almost equal amount of work that needed to be done around the property, towards building a dream home on the property at a later point. We did the ‘‘off-grid dream’’, but once my partner fell pregnant we made the decision to return to Christchurch to pursue an easier lifestyle. We appreciate the irony in that.

Through that time the housing market was fairly stagnant, and we were able to make a modest return on our time investment into this property. Our lifestyle was also fairly low-expense, so we were able to build healthy savings for the house build, which instead became the house purchase in Hoon Hay.

What other advice do you have based on your experience in the industry?

At Builderscrack, we get a deep insight into the nature of homeowner/tradesperson projects.

For anyone contracting a tradesperson to work on their home, my advice is simply to emphasise the importance of clear communication.

While more than 99% of jobs happen without a hitch, communication problems is a common factor in those that don’t.

Getting or putting things in writing is really important to create clarity, even on smaller jobs.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you’re unsure, even though it can feel overwhelming at times.

The other piece of advice is, be wary of paying a big deposit. For jobs that require custom fabrication, deposits are standard, but for others, ask about progress payments and demonstrate proof of funds.

Be aware of the risk a contractor takes on when buying materials for your job, and find ground where you’re both comfortable.

Jeremy Gray and his partner, Alana Shinn, lived the offgrid dream in a modern yurt for nearly seven years.

The yurt was only about 25m2 but had many comforts. The property, however, required a lot of work.

Gray and Shinn thoroughly modernised their 1960s home.

Before and after photos of the kitchen at their Hoon Hay home.

Gray and Shinn, mid-renovation on their Hoon Hay home.