Kicking off retirement mortgage-free

Dan and Bronwyn Mangan bought a block of land in Cowra six years ago, never intending on living there. Until the opportunity came up to sell their butcher shop business in Jervis Bay. “When we lived down the coast we were only renting,” says Dan. “We owned this land, so we thought we’d buy a kit home and build it ourselves – and haven’t looked back.”

The couple researched kit homes online and Paal stood out from the rest. “You just knew how much it was going to cost and what you were going to get,” says Dan. So, the couple met with Michael Christie at Paal’s Canberra office and chose the Tasman design. “Because we had 2.5 acres, we wanted to build something that didn’t look tiny and had re-sale value if we wanted to downsize in ten years’ time,” says Dan

The couple made some modifications, in particular bricking the exterior. “It was definitely worth it,” says Dan. “We just said to Michael we wanted to brick it, so he changed everything to fit.” They also increased each end by 1.8m. “We wanted a bit of extra space each end of the house, which gave us bigger spare rooms,” says Bronwyn.

The couple completed the build themselves in 18 months, living between a shed and caravan, and engaging trades when needed – a huge achievement considering they’d run a butcher shop with zero building experience. Fortunately, help was only a phone call away. “The support you get from Paal is unbelievable,” says Dan. “I would talk to Liz once a week at one point.”

“In the planning stage, there was a bit of juggling,” says Bronwyn. “Michael was fantastic, we’d talk on the phone or email, and he’d always get back to me.”

Overall, the couple were extremely happy with Paal and has already recommended them to others. “You can be a builder or someone like us and if you follow the instructions, you really can’t go wrong,” says Dan. In fact, another Paal homebuilder nearby came to have a look at the couple’s house and now Dan has another job. “Me and my mate who is a carpenter are building their kit home!” he says.

So, while retirement has been busy, the move was the best decision. “It’s an absolutely incredible feeling when you finally move in,” says Dan. “We’d never be able to buy a home of this quality and size without having a mortgage.”