About
Our Story
Founded in 2007, HOBANZ (Home Owners and Buyers Association Inc.) evolved out of the experiences of its founding members and the realisation that the interests of home owners and residents are not being well served.
John Gray and Roger Levie who have experienced the ordeal of owning leaky homes have been the driving force behind this organisation since its inception. They were body corporate chairmen of their respective multi-unit complexes at the time that their homes were found to be suffering from major building defects. John and Roger each went on to manage the repair and claims processes on behalf of their owners. Once they had dusted themselves off from that experience, they set out to assist others and advocate for change in an effort to prevent the recurrence of this problem in the future.
As John’s profile grew as a spokesman for leaky home owners, so too did the number of owners approaching him for help in all sorts of unrelated areas. This highlighted the difficulties faced by New Zealanders and the immediate need for an organisation that could understand people’s concerns and represent their collective interests.
In 2006 John and Roger started Lighthouse NZ Limited to provide leaky home owners with guidance and support. At the same time they set about creating HOBANZ, a not-for-profit membership organisation focused on the education, support and protection of New Zealand’s home owners and residents.
HOBANZ was incorporated in 2007 and since then the team has worked hard to establish the relationships and infrastructure required to create a movement in the housing environment. Lighthouse NZ Limited continued to operate and provide a source of funds to assist in the establishment of HOBANZ until 2013 when it merged to become the service arm of HOBANZ as it develops into a leading social enterprise.
Independence from industry, government or private gain gives us the unique freedom to always act in the best interest of those we represent, and work for the common good of all citizens.
Since our inception, we have guided and supported hundreds of owners to restore the value and quality of homes affected by weathertightness problems. We are now building on these experiences to improve consumer knowledge and protection, raise standards throughout the building industry and to develop relationships and services that will benefit all New Zealanders.
At HOBANZ we recognise that ensuring better quality homes for the future requires a holistic approach; one that tackles the many aspects of home ownership and educates New Zealanders about best practice. We are building an ecosystem which connects individuals and organisations; enabling them to work together and create homes that are good for us, good for the environment and good for our communities.
Our Vision
We see a world where every New Zealander is better informed, more fairly treated and feels safe living in a well-built home.
The values that guide our behaviour are also core to the new environment we are part of creating:
Be Compassionate: demonstrate care for those around us by being generous with our time and our listening.
Act with Integrity: conduct our activities with integrity towards all stakeholders as it relates to independence, professionalism, transparency and ethics and also in terms of facilitating whole solutions.
Create Positive Impact: make a positive impact in the lives of New Zealanders through our actions.
Encourage Participation: ensure active engagement of our people, members, partners and the community.
Engage in Intelligent Practice: get actively involved and make things happen in a way that will achieve the best results.
To build a sustainable and ethical housing environment to enable every New Zealand family to have access to a safe and healthy home.
To provide sound independent information and guidance to educate and protect all those owning, buying and living in New Zealand homes.
To represent the interests of all New Zealanders in matters relating to the homes in which we live.
To initiate and participate in housing and community projects that aim to deliver healthy, sustainable and affordable living environments.
To promote the importance of a good home in the overall wellbeing of individuals, families and the wider community.
Provide value added services which generate surplus revenue that can be injected back into the community and the wider ecosystem.
Initiate and facilitate change through the creation of new frameworks that increase efficiency, reduce waste and improve standards and quality of outputs.
Collaborate with others to achieve our objectives based on an inclusive model.
Meet The Team
John Gray
As President and Co-founder, John takes pride in being part of an organisation that is seeking to set higher standards in all aspects related to home ownership.
In delving into the building industry through the failure of his own home, John was disturbed to find the lack of qualified, competent and caring people across a range of building related trades. He discovered the impact of this problem on New Zealanders through his involvement with the Leaky Homes Action Group (LHAG) which exposed the absence of an organisation dedicated to the protection of consumers in the housing market. This motivated John to partner with Roger Levie and develop HOBANZ in an effort to improve standards and provide home owners with cost effective, sound and independent advice.
John spends most of his days as an Airline Pilot, and invests his spare time working closely with Roger looking after the HOBANZ operation. His focus borne out of his knowledge and experience in the aviation industry is to build a system that celebrates all that is good within the housing industry and trains, supports and rewards individuals that work in them.
John brings a unique perspective to the development and resolution of claims. He was first exposed to the building industry and the pride and commitment of those men and women working in it through his father who was a registered electrician. The 20 years spent Chairing his own body corporate and the time spent working with home owners through HOBANZ has allowed him to amass significant knowledge in bodies corporate and dispute resolution.
John is passionate about improving the quality of New Zealand housing by generating trust and creating a greater sense of community. He enjoys being able to make a difference in people’s lives and is excited by the opportunity to build a significant social enterprise that will have a positive impact on all citizens.
When time permits, John enjoys cooking and entertaining at home or indulging in his hobbies of fishing, hunting, snow skiing, movies, motorsports and recreational flying. Most of all, John loves being with his family and supporting his little boys as they grow up.
John’s big vision for housing in New Zealand: “That home ownership is within the reach of the average New Zealander, and that the quality of the homes in which New Zealanders live are durable, safe and built sustainably, and that the lived in environment is healthy.”
Roger Levie
As a founding member and resident Chief Executive, Roger found his calling in HOBANZ. With a background in marketing and management as well as his own leaky home story, Roger brings rich experience to his role. Before HOBANZ, he spent 15 years in sales and marketing in the computer industry both in New Zealand and overseas, after which he set up a nutritional supplement business which he later sold.
Roger met John Gray when he was chairman of a body corporate with leaky building problems, and together they set about creating HOBANZ to protect and advise home owners and challenge the building industry to improve service and standards.
Roger has invested a huge amount of time to get HOBANZ to where it is today and to develop ideas, build relationships and understand systems so the organisation can grow in size and strength. Roger is a generalist and practical thinker; he likes dealing with strategy but is just as comfortable in the detail getting his hands dirty. His vision is to create an organisation that does good and is there to support people when they need it. But he does not want to do it alone – the model for HOBANZ is strongly focused on partnerships with like minded individuals and organisations working together in what he refers to as a ‘social enterprise consortium’.
His inspiration: his father who escaped persecution in Europe during the Second World War and worked hard to provide for his family and ensure that they had a safe place to call home. This fuels Roger’s passion to fight for the underdog and to ensure Kiwis and their families feel safe and secure in their homes.
When not at HOBANZ, Roger loves to sail, run in the forest or enjoy the surrounds of a good café with friends. In addition to running an organisation that challenges and rewards him, Roger has coached triathletes; completed 14 Ironmans including races in Hawaii, France, Canada and Australia; done more marathons than he cares to remember and stretched out to a few ultra-marathons.
Roger’s big vision for housing in New Zealand: “Healthy and secure homes for all.”
Governance
John Hagen
