We went along to the course and basically we learnt everything that we needed to know.
Levi Wrathall
“We went along to the course and basically we learnt everything that we needed to know.”
After noticing a Welcome Home First Steps advertisement in a local newspaper, Levi Wrathall and his partner decided to attend a first-steps home buyer's workshop. Levi admits that he learned a lot from the workshops. In particular, he felt the best lesson was budgeting. Levi rigidly stuck to his budget after he realised he had been paying money to landlords for so long. “If I think about exactly how much I have spent on rent, it’s been such a waste of money. So I’m happy now [owning my own home] that each week that money is now coming into my back pocket.”
Since buying his house, Levi is seeing even more positives. He has been most impressed by the fact he can now alter and improve his house, painting and adding fencing, without having to ask anybody’s approval. As he states, when owning your own home as opposed to renting, “You don’t have a landlord standing over your shoulder.” Levi thinks that owning a home is a great dream for New Zealanders, and is something that is achievable for everyone. His advice to prospective first-home buyers is to take the Welcome Home First Steps course to find out the information you need to know, and not to be afraid. “You can do it! Put your mind to it, you can do it.”
“I couldn’t be happier. It’s definitely a great step, owning a home.”
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