Our Latest Articles

The bank said no to your investment property (Income Hurdle)Tags: Banks, Building, Deposit, Income, Investment Property, MortgageIt happens to almost everyone eventually. You walk into the bank, ask for an amount of money, either to buy a car, house or business and the bank declines you. . Read more...

The bank said no to your investment property (Equity Hurdle)Tags: Banks, Building, Deposit, Equity, Investment Property, MortgageIt happens to almost everyone eventually. You walk into the bank, ask for an amount of money, either to buy a car, house or business and the bank declines you. . Read more...

Small Steps – Update Your KiwiSaver Contact DetailsTags: Budgets, KiwiSaver, SavingsIf you have ever tried to tidy up your financial affairs, it can be overwhelming to try and do everything at once. Like most big projects, the best way to. Read more...

Investment Mortgages and Interest OnlyTags: Buyers, Interest Only, Investment Property, MortgageIn recent years, the Reserve Bank has been working on reducing the amount of Interest Only mortgages in New Zealand. In the article below, we look at how it affects. Read more...

How much does a Credit Card affect your lending?Tags: Budgeting, Buyers, Credit Card, Credit Report, Mortgage, New HomeKiwis like Credit Cards… a lot. If you’ve got 10 minutes, you could get one online right now (don’t). And the price for easily-acquired, unsecured debt is usually ~20% p.a.. Read more...

How Do I Calculate Yield?Tags: Budgeting, Buyers, Economics, First Home, MortgageWhen you’re looking for an investment property, you are often either looking for capital growth or yield (ideally a positive cash return). There’s a quick and easy trick that we,. Read more...

6 tips for bidding at an auctionTags: Auction, Buyers, MortgageAuctions can be a little bit overwhelming. They’re meant to be. It’s why they result in higher prices for the Vendors. To help ease the stress, here are 6 quick. Read more...

Better Budget – The Spindel Laundry DryerTags: Budgeting, Budgets, SavingsAt least once a month, we try to bring you an unusual outside-the-box method to save money. Recently we’ve introduced you to Pocketsmith.com and shown you how cleaning your heat. Read more...

How much could I save by quitting smoking?Smoking is a difficult habit to quit. There are many services that can help you, the most commonly known is Quitline, and each person will quit for different reasons. For. Read more...

The Rule of 72Whenever you’re dealing with complex numbers, it helps to have a few tricks to make quick calculations easy. This month’s blog is an easy way to calculate how long an. Read more...

Preparing For Your Mortgage – DocumentationGetting a mortgage can be stressful and a lot of that is caused by waiting for the bank to make their offer. You can significantly reduce wait time by providing. Read more...

What is a Reverse Mortgage?Retirees often find themselves in a difficult financial position. Short on income but lots of equity, usually stored in their homes. A typical mortgage top-up won’t work in this scenario. . Read more...

Case Study – August 2018This month’s case study looks at a client that found themselves almost at the magical 20% deposit. Almost… but not quite. Let’s call the couple Bill and Hillary (obviously not. Read more...

Better Budget – All about your heat pumpTags: Budgeting, Budgets, SavingsHi Heat pumps are great. They are efficient and quick to work. In fact, Energywise says that a heat pump is the most energy efficient way of using electricity to heat. Read more...

What is KiwiBuild?Tags: Construction, First Home, KiwiBuild, MortgageArticle updated: 16th July 2018 Have you heard about KiwiBuild? Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government is promoting it’s programme to build 100,000 affordable homes and apartments over the next 10 years. Here’s what. Read more...

Couples Should Use Different BanksTags: Banks, Budgeting, Buyers, First Home, Mortgage, Reserve BankIn recent years, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has implemented a host of rules on the banks, particularly around mortgages. These rules have several purposes. Some of them, like. Read more...

What is the eligibility criteria for KiwiBuild?Tags: Buyers, First Home, KiwiBuild, KiwiSaver, MortgageWell, the news is in and we now know a lot more about the eligibility for KiwiBuild. Income Caps The maximum income one person can earn is $120,000. For a. Read more...

The Low-Down on a High Rise ApartmentTags: apartment, apartments, Buyers, Investment Property, MortgageApartments are a very tempting purchase, especially for first home buyers. They tend to be lower cost and therefore much more within reach. But there are a few things to. Read more...

What is bad debt?You may have heard the term “bad debt”. But what is it? Is all debt bad? Can bad debt become good debt? Order your bad debts In “The Successful First. Read more...

City Focus – TaurangaThis month our Mortgage Advisers take a good look at the property sector in the beautiful city of Tauranga. Tauranga Property Prices It would be fair to say that property. Read more...

App of the month – Mortgage CalculatorWe are very proud to announce the release of our Mortgage Lab Calculator on the iPhone App Store! With the focus on being simple to use, it has everything you. Read more...

Predictions for 2018 – June updateOur 2018 predictions article is always our most popular on the website. Well, we’re halfway through the year so it’s time to see how we’re tracking so far. As a. Read more...

3 things you can do to get ready for your mortgage (no matter when you’re buying)Tags: Buyers, Credit Report, Income, KiwiSaver, MortgageOrder your Credit Report It’s free to order your own Credit Report and is a great insight into what the bank will know about you. See what loans are recorded. Read more...

Opinion: Time for banks to rethink their Interest Only policy?Tags: Investment Property, Mortgage, Reserve BankIt’s that time of the year when the Reserve Bank releases all it’s statistics on current and new mortgages. The statistics are broken down into new lending, existing lending, interest. Read more...

Your mortgage rate is 8%Tags: Budgeting, IncomeRepeat after me. “The interest rate I pay on my mortgage is 8%…” “The interest rate I pay on my mortgage is 8%…” No it’s not You’re right, it probably. Read more...

What does a million dollars buy you in the major cities?Tags: Buyers, Economics, Mortgage, New HomeMaybe you’re in Auckland with your deposit ready to go for a house. Or maybe you’re looking to purchase your next investment property. For fun, we scoped out TradeMe to. Read more...

What is Price By Negotiation?Tags: Buyers, MortgageUntil recently, selling a house by Auction has been the most popular method of selling in Auckland. It takes advantage of the excitement in the market and pits buyers directly. Read more...

Pocket money into KiwiSaverTags: Budgeting, KiwiSaver, SavingsCould parents use KiwiSaver as a method for rewarding children in the form of pocket money? Read on to see how one of our clients is not only successfully doing. Read more...

When to get your Accounts doneIf you happen to be a salary earner, proving your income is relatively easy. As long as your Employer issues decent quality Payslips, you can provide the 3 most recent. Read more...

March 2018 – Economic UpdateDespite the lower than expected soft landing of NZ 4Q Gross Domestic Product at 2.9% versus the 3.1% consensus, it is almost a certainty that NZ’s robust economic growth will. Read more...

Reserve Bank OCR Announcement – 22nd March 2018Tags: Economics, OCR, Reserve BankToday, the Reserve Bank kept the official cash rate unchanged at 1.75%. Reserve Bank of New Zealand OCR Statement The Reserve Bank today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged. Read more...

It’s ok if you don’t understand the KiwiSaver Member Tax Credit…Tags: KiwiSaver, MTC, Savingsjust don’t miss out on it. With all your savings, you have to pay tax to earn that money. So you might earn $4,500 in a pay period but once the. Read more...

The Official Cash Rate (OCR) explainedTags: Banks, Economics, Reserve BankWhat is the OCR? The OCR is an interest rate set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand which defines the wholesale price of borrowed money. This directly affects the. Read more...

All About ConveyancingTags: Buyers, Conveyancing, Legal, MortgageWhen you’re buying a house, there are a lot of things to think about. One of the steps that is often a mystery for our clients is conveyancing; ie; what. Read more...

Ready To Buy: 3 Things First Home Buyers Can Do TodayTags: Budgeting, Budgets, Buyers, First Home, Mortgage, New HomePurchasing your first home can be confusing. The key to being ready to buy is to be organised. Here are 3 things that first home buyers can do today to. Read more...

Predictions for 2018It’s the time of the year when we buff up our Crystal Ball, gaze into the complicated world of economics and finance and come up with sufficiently generic forecasts/predictions to. Read more...

LVR Changes Are Being ImplementedTags: Banks, LVR, Mortgage, Reserve BankMainstream banks have started to respond to the LVR (Loan to Value Ratio) restrictions following the Reserve Bank’s announcement on November 29th 2017. LVR on Investment properties Most major banks. Read more...

Purchasing at Auction – A Step By Step GuideTags: Auction, Buyers, First HomeIt often feels like you’re stumbling in the dark when you’re buying your first home. So we’ve compiled a list of steps you are likely to go through in your. Read more...

Mortgage Deposit: How Much Do You Need To Buy Your First Home?Tags: Buyers, Deposit, First Home, HomeStart Grant, MortgageIf you have less than 20% deposit, you are referred to (by the banks) as a Low Equity (or Deposit) Borrower. You are required to meet a different set of. Read more...

Welcome Home Loan vs HomeStart GrantTags: Deposit, First Home, HomeStart Grant, Housing NZ, KiwiSaver, Welcome Home LoanPreviously, we’ve looked at the difference between HomeStart Grants and KiwiSaver. Another, often confused, pairing is the Welcome Home Loan facility and the HomeStart Grant. They are both run by. Read more...

Calculating The Interest On Your Progress-Payment ConstructionTags: Construction, Mortgage, New HomeCalculating the amount of interest expected in a progress-payment contract on a newly built house can sometimes seem daunting. In this article, we walk you through some easy calculations. Recently. Read more...

Your Student Loan and How It Affects Your MortgageTags: First Home, Mortgage, Student LoanFirst home buyers are often nervous about the size of their Student Loan and how it will affect their chance of getting a mortgage. But how much does it really. Read more...

App of the month – PocketsmithIf you’ve ever been to one of The Mortgage Lab’s seminars, you will most likely have heard us rave about the app of the month. It’s one of our favourites. Read more...

Construction Mortgages – Turn-Key vs Progress PaymentTags: Construction, New HomeWhile the Reserve Bank has tried to make finance more difficult in the past 6 months, they have also tried to encourage mortgage lending on newly constructed properties. In other. Read more...

Mortgagee Sales – What To Look Out ForTags: Buyers, First Home, MortgageeProperty prices have increased significantly over the past few years. It can be tempting for buyers to be on the hunt for a bargain. For most buyers, nothing says “desperate. Read more...

The War Against ScamsSuccessfully getting a mortgage involves 2 key components: Income and Deposit. The desire to increase your deposit can be overwhelming and can lead to decisions we wouldn’t normally make. Decisions. Read more...

HomeStart Grants and KiwiSaverTags: HomeStart Grant, Housing NZ, KiwiSaver, MortgageFirst home buyers can often get tangled up in the pile of new concepts to learn. In this article, we explore the basics of withdrawing your KiwiSaver and meeting the. Read more...

App of the month – Sun SeekerThis month’s app that we love is called Sun Seeker. It is immensely useful and a very simple concept. With the world just waking up to Augmented Reality, this app. Read more...

The One Bank Trap and The Several Bank NightmareTags: Banks, Investment Property, MortgageA common phrase in mortgage world is the “one bank trap”. It’s when you have all your lending with one bank which gives the policy makers at the bank all. Read more...

Small Steps – Credit ReportTags: Buyers, Credit ReportIf you have ever tried to tidy up your financial affairs, it can be overwhelming to try and do everything at once. Like most big projects, the best way to. Read more...

Transfer Your Aussie Super to KiwiSaverIt’s estimated that there is ~$5 billion of Kiwi’s funds ‘lost’ in Aussie Super funds. This is usually because that NZer was working in Australia, contributing to a Super Fund. Read more...

10 Things Homeowners Should Do Annually, But Don’tThe best thing about owning your own home is that you can decorate it however you choose. Unfortunately there are some less exciting things that every homeowner needs to do. Read more...

Fixing Your Mortgage: 3 Questions To AskTags: Banks, Fixing, MortgageAbout 3 years ago, 80% of all mortgages were sitting on a floating rate. And with good reason. The interest rates were falling off a cliff. In a couple of. Read more...

App of the Month – GaspyTags: Budgeting, BudgetsWe all enjoy saving a bit of money, especially if you’re looking to buy your first home or if you’ve just got your first mortgage. There are all sorts of. Read more...

The Income HurdleTags: Income, MortgageThere are generally 2 things that stop a mortgage applicant from borrowing more money. Not enough income OR not enough deposit. Today we’re going to talk about the first hurdle. Read more...

Meth and investment properties – it’s worse than you thinkTags: Investment Property, Legal, MethIf you’re looking in the property market at the moment, you’ve no doubt come across the dire warnings surrounding methamphetamine, meth or “P”. The chemical process for making P is incredibly. Read more...

Deposits: How much do you need to buy your first home?Tags: Buyers, Deposit, First Home, HomeStart Grant, MortgageIf you have less than 20% deposit, you are referred to (by the banks) as a Low Equity (or Deposit) Borrower. You are required to meet a different set of. Read more...

What does LVR mean?Tags: Buyers, LVR, MortgageThink of the Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) like this: What percentage of the house is covered by the mortgage… Or, in other words, what percentage of the house does. Read more...

4 tips to making an offer by TenderTags: Buyers, Mortgage, tenderRecently we looked at some tips for bidding at an auction. But what if the house you love is for sale by tender? Tenders are much less time-pressured than auctions.. Read more...