| 97 Templeton Construction Firm reaches century of new homes Twizel-based residential home builder Templeton Construction has just completed its hundredth new home in the Mackenzie Country. T T Richard Loader After almost seventeen years helping its clients transform their dream home into reality, Twizel based residential home builder Templeton Construction has just completed its hundredth new home in the Mackenzie Country. The design and build company was founded by Ben Templeton in 2007 when as a 22 year old he relocated from Te Anau to Twizel after completing his building apprenticeship and saw the potential for brand new homes in an untapped but beautiful part of the world. “I took on an apprentice and we started doing renovation work of old Ministry houses, and progressively built our reputation,” says Ben. “There wasn’t a lot of new housing here at that time, but it picked up and we’ve gradually built up to what we are now, which is predominantly design and build homes, along with a few house and land packages,” he says. “We have our own suite of house plans that clients can choose from or use as a starting point, and we have our own in-house draughtsperson. “Our niche market is that mid-high range area of housing that averages around $3500sqm, and a sweet spot of about $700,000. Our success really has come down to finding that niche market and concentrating on doing what we’re good at. “We know what we’re doing, have a pretty good system with our team, our subbies and suppliers.” Ben also acknowledged his team as being a large factor in the success of the business, which includes in-house draughting, administration/PA and accounts. Three experienced foremen, along with a team of four qualified builders and apprentices make up the on-site crew that keep the residential projects in motion and heading towards completion. “I’m mainly involved in project management and maintaining the client relationship these days,” says Ben. “We normally have about four projects on the go at any one time and I’m usually on site each day, so you get quite a personal bond with the clients. “We try to be pretty self-sufficient and do a lot of work in-house. We have our own digger for earthworks, and a roofer contracts to us eighty percent of the time for roofing and iron cladding. So, we’re quite efficient and we have a group of local subcontractors that we have used for years.” Being the beautiful spot that Twizel is, many of the homes being built by Templeton Construction are holiday homes, investment homes or homes for semi-retired people looking to move into the area in the next few years. “This year has been challenging, mainly with increased interest rates and banks not lending as much. When we started discussions with clients their budget might have been $700,000 to $800,000 and all of a sudden it has dropped to $500,000 - $600,000. “We have had to adapt the design, but we have still made it work, typically cutting back in size while not losing a lot of features. We still have a steady lead of houses for the next 12 months. “We also build for the occasional first home buyer, and I quite like seeing people get into their first home. We have two lined up at the moment, with house and land packages around $650,000. They are smaller 120sqm houses with en-suite, but it gets them on the property ladder, and for less than they would be paying for a smaller and older home.” While Templeton Construction still operates predominantly throughout the Mackenzie Country, an opportunity recently presented itself to expand operations into Central Otago. “We have now completed projects in Wanaka and we have just started a massive build in Cromwell, with another one scheduled to start in Wanaka at the end of the year.” BUILDING PH. [03] 435 3200 admin@altitudeelectrical.co.nz www.altitudeelectrical.co.nz YOUR ELECTRICAL SORTED Supporting Ben Templeton Construction We are Registered Electrical Inspectors, members of ECANZ Master Electricians. INDUSTRIAL | COMMERCIAL | DOMESTIC | HEAT PUMPS TV & AUDIO | INSPECTIONS | SOLAR | NEW BUILDS visit us online www.nooneplus.nz Call us on 03 688 66 44 Xero & Cloud Solutions Experts Noone Plus is proud to support Templeton Construction Freeman Roofing Timaru combines extensive local expertise and exceptional service with a broad and innovative product range, enabling you to enjoy the benefits of best practical solutions and purchasing power. The team is predominantly a manufacturing supplier for new roofs, reroofs, sheds, factories, fencing etc but also offer free measure/quotes, take offs & professional advice services. Freeman Roofing Timaru has your roofing/cladding completely covered – from ‘top to bottom’.
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