Deposits: How much do you need to buy your first home?
Date Published: 19 April 2024
If 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…
Pay Down Your Mortgage Or Save Into Your KiwiSaver?
Date Published: 27 March 2024
It’s a question we get asked a lot. If we have an extra amount of money in our salary, should we use the money to pay down our mortgage or…
4 tips to making an offer by Tender
Date Published: 10 January 2024
Recently 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…
Purchasing at Auction – A Step by Step Guide
Date Published: 9 January 2024
Buying at auction can be exciting but also intimidating. Much like your year 5 school production, knowing what to do and when to do it will help you feel more…
5 Things To Know About Your Mortgage Pre-Approval Letter of Offer
Date Published: 4 January 2024
Good news! You’ve completed your application, handed over a mountain of paperwork (just kidding, our system is paperless) and now you’re pre-approved for your mortgage! After a phone call from…
Where Am I Going To Find My Mortgage Deposit?
Date Published: 3 January 2024
One of the simplest ways to grow your deposit is KiwiSaver. Below, we take a quick look at how quickly your deposit could grow and the numbers around this. Let’s…
3 Things You Can Do to Get Ready for Your Mortgage (No Matter When You’re Buying)
Date Published: 2 January 2024
Whether you’re getting serious about buying a house or are thinking you’d like to buy sometime in the future, doing these three things today will help you get ready for…
How Do I Calculate Yield on an Investment Property?
Date Published: 2 November 2023
When buying your own home, you need to be good at negotiating with your partner over issues such as whether an outdoor pizza oven is a must-have or a nice-to-have.…
What does LVR mean?
Date Published: 26 October 2023
Think 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 the bank…
The Mindset You Need to Get into Your First Home
Date Published: 25 October 2023
When you start thinking of owning your first home and considering the steps and challenges involved, it can feel like an impossible goal. There’s no getting around the fact that…
What is Price By Negotiation?
Date Published: 13 July 2023
Until 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…
App of the month – Sun Seeker
Date Published: 13 July 2023
This 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…
Small Steps – Credit Report
Date Published: 13 July 2023
In today’s world, having a strong credit report is essential for achieving financial success. Your credit report not only determines your eligibility for loans and credit cards, but it also…
6 Tips for Bidding at Auction
Date Published: 17 March 2023
Auctions can be an exciting and competitive way to purchase a property. However, the auction process can also be intimidating and stressful for unprepared people. To increase your chances of…
Can I Buy A Home With Friends
Date Published: 15 March 2023
While house prices have eased, getting the deposit together for a first home is still a big ask. Kiwis are asking whether it is worth buying with friends instead of…
Mortgagee Sales – What To Look Out For
Date Published: 16 August 2022
Property prices have increased significantly over the past few years but so have interest rates and with recent changes to the CCCFA, lending has gotten more difficult. It can be…
Can I Buy an Investment Property?
Date Published: 1 August 2022
Our childhoods have betrayed us. Property investment is not as easy as rolling a four to land on Mayfair, paying ￡400 then sitting back to wait for someone to land…
How Do Banks Calculate if I Can Afford an Investment Property?
Date Published: 29 May 2022
This article is available in Chinese here. If you’re looking into whether you can afford an investment property, you’re not alone. Owning rental properties is a common kiwi dream. Many…