Designer Feature Series: Nixon Homes

Nixon Homes is a family-owned building company run by brothers Mike & Cameron Holmes, co-founded in 2018. Having grown up in Hamilton, the brothers spent a lot of time in Raglan, enjoying the water-based lifestyle of our coastal village. Now having come full circle, they have a new build underway and a house and land package available in Rangitahi. We thought it was a great time to catch up with Mike from Nixon Homes to see what the brothers have been up to in Rangitahi.

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Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and Nixon Homes.

Michael Holmes; Being born in Hamilton, I love Raglan - I spent a lot of time out there surfing during my university studies. It has such an amazing vibe, the best time is late summer/autumn. I studied engineering and worked as a project manager for seven years in the Netherlands. Now I am the co-owner of Nixon Homes with my brother Cameron, my role at Nixon Homes is sales, marketing and finance.

‍Cameron Holmes; Is a builder who has been building for over 15 years since leaving school and was taught by our dad, who is a details person passing on his trade; he always taught Cam to do the best job and focus on the details. Cam manages all the site work, overseeing and upholding of quality and running the three crews we have.

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‍How long have Nixon Homes been operating, and what makes Nixon homes a great company to work with?

‍We officially opened our show-home in Flagstaff in July 2019, so three years now. What makes us different is two things; high quality and personalised service. Cam has a huge focus on the finished product and is always striving for the highest quality on every home. We use our own building crews so they can all be managed to ensure the quality is upheld. Being a small company, we can really tailor the experience to each client.

Either Cameron or I am the contact from the beginning to the end; this ensures we don't miss anything during the build, and we continue that relationship from start to finish.

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As a builder and a soon-to-be Rangitahi resident, why is Rangitahi such a great place to build your new home?

‍I've always wanted to base myself in Raglan and the Rangitahi development has just opened up the possibility for many new people to build their dream homes on blank pieces of soil. The town is pretty trendy and has a great vibe. And the beaches/points have always been a great way to destress and slow down to enjoy life.

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‍You have some great projects coming up in Rangitahi. Can you tell us a bit about them?

‍We are really excited about our project at lot 38. The client has spent a lot of time dreaming and designing his home, so we are really stoked to be apart of that journey with him. It's a great design and has an amazing view overlooking the harbour towards Mt Karioi.

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We also have a house and land package in stage 4, The Sanctuary. This is also a really stylish design; we have tried to create something that caters for the Raglan lifestyle, the future owner can potentially use the master bedroom as a 'sleep out' or Airbnb. We all know people love to spend the weekend out in Raglan so it could be something to help with the mortgage payments. We're using NZ-grown Macrocarpa instead of cedar as the timber cladding.

The design has a north-facing outdoor living area for the summer months but also has a north east facing courtyard to give a bit of shelter from the westerlies!

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We're also working on a client's design in Stage 5 and potentially another H&L package. So looking forward to a lot more work in Rangitahi.

‍Have you got any words of wisdom for those thinking about building a new home?

‍House building is an exciting journey, and it's something you will be very happy and proud of when it's finished! One piece of advice would be; to keep your house a bit smaller so you can afford a few nicer features throughout the home.

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‍What kind of guarantees do you offer your clients with the ever-changing landscape of building it?

‍Almost all our contracts are fixed price, this is usually a requirement from the bank. The only part of the contract that is not fixed price is the excavations; this is always a PC sum.To ensure we don't go over budget we spend more time with our clients in the beginning, locking in the selections for the whole house. The client can still make changes, but it just prevents any surprises during the build.

‍Where can we find out more about your business and see your work?

‍Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or visit our website - nixonhomes.co.nz

‍Or come visit us at our show-home; 19 The Meadows Drive, Flagstaff, Hamilton, 3210, New Zealand.

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