Everything you need to know about debt
Date Published: 29 April 2021
Debt can be a bit of a scary word, but don’t worry, this is a safe space! This article covers what it is, how it affects your mortgage application and…
How the 2020/2021 LVR Changes Affects You
Date Published: 16 February 2021
Updated 16th February 2021 It might feel like decades ago, but on 30th April 2020, the Reserve Bank announced the removal of LVR restrictions on banks in New Zealand. In…
Apartments: The Low-Down On High Rises
Date Published: 10 December 2020
Apartments are a very tempting purchase, especially for first-home buyers. They tend to cost less and therefore be much more within reach. And you can pretend you’re living in Manhattan,…
How to Move Cities When You Have a Mortgage
Date Published: 23 November 2020
With more employers than ever allowing staff to work remotely, you may be thinking of buying outside the city limits. Without the long commute to work limiting your thinking, suddenly…
Renovate your home or pay down your mortgage?
Date Published: 27 October 2020
The question of whether to renovate or pay down your mortgage is not an easy one to answer. It depends on your situation, the state of the property, and what…
Weekly Mortgage Payments Vs Monthly Payments
Date Published: 7 October 2020
The thinking behind weekly payments saving you money is this; If you pay $2,000 in monthly payments there are 30/31 days of interest charged before your next payment reduces your…
A glossary of common mortgage terms
Date Published: 7 October 2020
Below is a list of standard mortgage terms to help buyers and investors understand the finance journey. This list is taken from “The Successful First Home Buyer” book. Asking price…
What is an offset account?
Date Published: 2 October 2020
An offset mortgage is when you have one or multiple bank accounts allocated to your mortgage The money in these accounts lower the amount owed. Instead of earning interest on…
什么是对冲账户(offset mortgage account)?
Date Published: 2 October 2020
对冲账户（Offset Account）是与房屋贷款账户相关联的日常交易账户。顾名思义，它的功能就是对冲您房屋贷款帐户中的本金，因而降低您所需要支付本金所产生的利息。
Preparing For Your Mortgage – Documentation
Date Published: 3 August 2020
This article is current as at September 2021 Being prepared isn’t just for Scouts. When applying for a mortgage you can significantly reduce wait time by providing all required documentation…
Revolving Credit vs Floating Mortgage Account: What’s the difference?
Date Published: 20 July 2020
Most homeowners are familiar with fixed-term mortgages. Over 80% of NZ mortgages are on some sort of fixed-term; the majority are currently for 1 to 2 years. But it’s easy…
Bank Relief Packages and Mortgage Holidays
Date Published: 26 March 2020
Article current as of 1st April 2020 (no April Fools jokes are contained – all information accurate) With the recent announcements with bank relief packages and mortgage holidays, we are…
OCR Announcement – 16th March 2020
Date Published: 16 March 2020
The Reserve Bank today announced that the OCR would be reduced by 0.75% to a new level of 0.25%. International markets around the world have been severely affected by the…
How much does a Credit Card affect your lending?
Date Published: 1 March 2020
Kiwis 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.…
NZ Interest Rates Prediction 2020
Date Published: 25 February 2020
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…
If you quit smoking, how fast could you pay down your mortgage?
Date Published: 3 February 2020
Smoking is a difficult habit to quit but there are some powerful motivators to do so. For some, it’s the wish to live a healthier, longer life. For others, it’s…
City Focus – Tauranga
Date Published: 12 June 2018
This 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…