It’s the time of the year when the Mortgage Lab buffs up our Crystal Ball, gazes into the infinitely complicated world of economics, and comes up with sufficiently generic interest…
What is the Official Cash Rate? The Official Cash Rate (OCR) is an interest rate set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. To be specific, it is the interest rate…
You’ve got a fixed-term account maturing soon and the bank or your broker has sent you some interest rates. Maybe your current bank is offering 0.1% higher than another bank…
When you’re buying a house, there are a lot of things to think about. One of the steps that is often a mystery for homebuyers is what happens with their…
Getting a flatmate to help pay the mortgage is a big decision. You have to share your home, and you wanted to keep the spare room for guests. But look…
Typically, when you use a mortgage calculator, you want to know what your mortgage payments will be (obviously). A couple borrowing, say, $800,000 for an investment property might want to know…
The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) came into force on the 1st December 2021 and was largely meant to protect consumers from high-interest loan sharks. Unintended effects of…
If you’ve ever watched one of the Mortgage Lab’s webinars or Facebook livestreams, you will most likely have heard us rave about this app. It’s one of our favourites –…
If you’re interested in property investment in New Zealand, you’re likely no stranger to the increased lending restrictions put in place this year. These restrictions were intended to discourage small…
There are many valid reasons why you might be looking to pull some equity out of your property to use elsewhere. This is commonly called a ‘top-up’ on your mortgage. …
This article is current as of 1 September 2021 It’s Covid-19 lockdown déjà vu for New Zealand. While most of the country is now at level 3 Auckland will remain…
This article is current as at 1 September 2021. Interest-only mortgages can be the right strategy in certain circumstances. Unfortunately freeing up money in order to go on holiday isn’t…
Surrounding yourself with property experts is not just a good idea; it’s absolutely necessary. And while it sounds expensive, you don’t need to be rolling in cash. In fact, in…
When you think about mortgage broking (okay, you probably don’t think about mortgage broking but stay with us) you probably think about it in the context of buying a house.…
Heat pumps are great. They are efficient and quick to work. In fact, GenLess says that a heat pump is the most energy-efficient way of using electricity to heat your home.…
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…