READ ON
Reading is one of the best things you can do with your time, and Murray has some suggestions for your summer break.
Due diligence
Make a conditional offer. It can be conditional on a lot of things, almost always on finance, even if your bank has preapproved you.
It’s worth spending some more money on due diligence:
talk to the neighbours – find out its history and any quirks.
are your potential new neighbours people you could get on with?
visit at different times of the day, and during the week – what activities are going on, that may not be going on during weekend open homes?
Go to your local council and look up the records for that property. This is free, usually on a computer database, and holds records such as permits and drainage plans.
Check each building is up to scratch and the plans match what you have seen.
Does it have a building permit for the fireplace/s (required for insurance)?
Are there ‘paper’ roads on or running alongside the property? These are still legal roads, open to the public, meaning people and vehicles can use them, even if they are unformed. You can’t build close to one without resource consent.
A LIM (Land Information Memorandum) from the local council costs $200+. These include the information you can access for free, but also things like the presence of hazardous substances, flood zones, consents issued for neighbouring properties, and restrictions on the use of land or buildings.
Is the property of interest to local Māori? Does it contain a wahi tapu (sacred) site, which may or may not be registered with your council? In my area, there have been instances of huge costs and delays caused by inconsistent information.
Reports
Banks will insist on checks and reports, to protect their security.
If you do need reports, take the time to shop around as prices and quality can vary considerably.
Some lenders still request a test for methamphetamine (P) contamination. This is despite a recent government report that shows P residue does not pose a health risk. Neighbours or a call to the local police station will tell you if the property has been suspected of being used for criminal activities. I would suggest you argue that the $200-$400 cost of a P contamination report is a waste of money.
A building report is a common requirement. When we buy a property, we check: the piles insulation (or not) in the ceiling roof gutters bearers windowsills taps light switches oven cupboards doors
Look for signs of water damage, particularly in the ceiling or under baths. Rot is insidious and expensive to repair.
Check the age of the hot water cylinder, oven, dishwasher, and other chattels. Look hard at new repairs or paint. Poke anything that looks soft to see if it is rotten.
If you don’t feel confident assessing a building’s quality, shop around for a builder’s report. Ensure you get one from a reputable organisation in case you need to challenge it later on.
The failure rate of septic tank systems is estimated at 15-50 percent around NZ. To replace one can be $10,000+.
One of the frustrations of writing only a page at a time is the inability to paint a single topic into the big picture. If there is a fatal flaw in professional journalism, it can in part be traced to this only-space-for-one-topic problem. Even writing a condensed version of the condensed version, I can never fit life, the universe and everything into much less than 3000 words.
A full explanation of the truths we live, the incorrect ideas we are told (and hold), and what to do about it, could easily run to a million words without padding or repetition. I know because over the last two years I’ve read those words, and more.
These books and websites are the ones I recommend you read. The best ones. Turning one page into a million words, as it were.
Then
For a light, easily-read introduction and historical background, you can’t beat A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright (House of Anasazia Press).
If that whets your appetite, try Jared Diamond’s Collapse ( Viking Press) and Guns, Germs and Steel (Norton).
Slightly more technical is Joseph Tainter’s Collapse of Complex Societies (Cambridge University Press).
Now
I’d start with Will Catton’s magisterial Overshoot (University of Illinois Press). Catton taught at Canterbury University prior to writing it. If you want to delve further, The
Limits to Growth (Meadows et al, Potomac Associates/universe Books), whether it be the original or any of the subsequent 10-year updates, will keep you going. A synopsis of the most recent update can be read for free on the author’s website: donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsislimits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/
By this stage, your thinking may be at odds with almost everything you hear from mainstream media. You may be seeing the flaws in their assumptions more often. As I write this, I’m listening to an RNZ discussion about plant-based, artificial meat. There’s no mention of acres saved, of fossil fuel saved, or the overshot population that needs feeding.
Economics
You’ll know you’re changing when you realise you can pick holes or discard almost every mainstream economic work. They simply don’t fit the facts.
Herman Daly, ex-world Bank and cofounder of the CSSA, contributes a standout book to this list. For the Common Good, co-written with John Cobb (Beacon Press), looks at how conventional economics have led us to the brink of environmental disaster.
We have a problem, debt-wise, but many writers don’t articulate the ‘why’ well enough, in my opinion. One that does is Noreena Hertz’s IOU, The Debt Threat (Harper Perennial).
If geo/macro politics tickle your fancy, these next books are a powerful (if somewhat uncomfortable) read for a FirstWorld person. Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival (Metropolitan Books) tops my list, followed by Jason Hickel’s Divide (Penguin), and The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (Penguin).
The collapse & beyond
Recently, I enjoyed the quirky collection of comments in The Moron’s Guide to Global Collapse (Jenna Orkin, self-published). However, the standout classic is still The Long Emergency by James Kunstler (Grove Press).
Websites
cluborlov.blogspot.com If you’re made of tough stuff, almost anything by Dmitry Orlov on his blog (and in his books) will have you thinking hard. resilience.org Contributors range from touchy-feely spiritual (not my thing!) to permaculture, Transition Towns, energy, political, protest, economics, guerilla gardening, and self-sufficiency. theautomaticearth.com This site collates some interesting writing on finance, energy, the environment and population.