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What's up with deposits for Rental Properties?

We're sure this question will be on the lips of current property investors and those looking to get in to owning rental properties, all over the country, following the recent announcement by the Reserve bank of a planned change in deposit requirements for investment properties.The proposed changes are to come in to effect on the 1st of September 2016 but it's important to note that all of the major banks have changed their internal policies to reflect the proposed changes to be enforced by the R...

Bridging Finance... What is it? How does it work?

With the market as crazy as it is you need to be sure that you can secure your next property when you sell yours, for a lot of people this can lead to uncertainty around the buying power for the next property or around making the timeline work... with the worst case scenario seeing people having sold their houses and not being able to find something suitable to move to or making the wrong choice about their next house..This is where Bridging Finance comes in. Bridging finance essentially le...

Meet the team Monday... Claire!

As much as we love the personal touch here at My Mortgage, with technology being the way it is these days (and in the new Covid-19 scenario of course!) we have a lot of our conversations with clients over the phone or email. Most of you will have met Adam but we've got a small team here dedicated to making great things happen and often they're beavering away behind the scenes. Over the next month or so we're going to get some profiles up so you can learn some more about the amazing little team w...

"Free Money"? you say? Tell Me More!

There's been a lot of talk in the media recently about the "crazy" housing market, and with the increase in prices has come an increase in the funds required for a deposit.But it's not all doom and gloom, in fact, it's just the opposite, and the news gets better for those who may have owned property before, but are now looking to start again.The Government is coming to the rescue in the form of the Home Start Grant, which we've briefly mentioned before, but would like to address in some more det...

Why are we your best mate?

After being in the industry for almost 10 years now, we've found there are still quite a few misconceptions out there as to what we actually do. So we decided to put together a list of the most common misconceptions and little known facts about Mortgage Advisers....

Lending for borrowers overseas - What you need to know

The change in policy for the banks lending to overseas borrowers has been big news in the past few weeks. In this post we're going to clear up a few misconceptions and give an indication of how the bank's policies have changed in reaction to recent events.If you'd like some background on why these changes have been made, stuff.co.nz has a great article which you can read here.The good news is that if you're a Kiwi living offshore you can still buy property in New Zealand. There are just a few ex...

How do I use Kiwisaver to buy a house?

A lot of first home buyers ask us – can I use my Kiwisaver to purchase my first home.The answer is generally yes, but there are a few hoops to jump through to make sure all your ducks are in a row, and we can help make this process nice and easy for you.The great thing about Kiwisaver is that you can only request to withdraw the funds for two reasons; on your retirement, or to purchase your first home. In this way it functions very well as a strict savings account, and there are many benefits ...

June update

The Official Cash Rate remained unchanged this morning but there are still talks of a potential drop in this later in the year. Because banks may already be counting on a drop in the OCR there is no guarantee that interest rates will drop if the OCR does move down a gain. Conversely if the OCR did not drop then we may see an increase in short term interest rates. At the moment the bank economists that we get our information from are suggesting equal chances of a decrease or increase later i...

Make Auctions Easy

As the property market has fired up over the last 12 months we are seeing more and more properties going to auction and at the same time we're encountering more and more people frustrated by the process of buying at auction... But it shouldn't be frustrating. We show below how to make things as easy as possible for you to buy at auction....

Higher interest rates for Rentals? No way!

There has been some proposed restrictions in the media lately about tools to slow down the housing market. Most have been hypothetical ideas such as the income to debt ratio but one change has been put in place by a bank this week that we think will catch out a lot of unsuspecting borrowers. A major bank has changed their interest rate policy to exclude those purchasing rental properties from getting their special rates. We are yet to see whether others banks will follow suit but this change has...

Get the most out of your Revolving Credit

Revolving Credit Facilities are becoming more and more popular but we're constantly seeing them not being used to their full potential or being set up wrong and costing people more money than they should.Following on from our recent blog about the benefits of compounding interest we'll give you some tips below on how you can use a Revolving Credit to manage your money better and get debt free faster....

Compound interest is your friend

I first learned about compounding interest from my 5th form Economics teacher and it seemed to make sense if you were investing money. It didn't make a lot of sense if you were borrowing money but in this blog I'm going to show how you can turn the tables and use savings on interest to save you more on interest which, if you're as nerdy about saving money on your home loan as I am, will make you about as happy as this guy above!I'll explain the details of how this works below but if you'd like u...

How many beers can you save?

It's 4pm on Friday afternoon and as we occasionally do, we are enjoying a drink as we wind down toward the weekend. Naturally (in an office like ours at least) the conversation turned to money and the ever increasing cost of a weekly supermarket shop and how making a small saving on your home loan could make a big difference to your surplus in your weekly budget. Although not a staple by any stretch, it seemed topical to use a beer as an example. This one sitting on Claire's desk retails for aro...

What does a Mortgage Broker cost you?

The simple answer to this question is when you've got My Mortgage on your team, we cost you nothing at all. It's been a hectic start to the year with the property market still very strong, especially across the Waikato. We've also had two new additions to our team to kick of 2016, but we'll cover over these two superstars in more detail in a later update. A regular question that has come up again recently is to ask what our service costs so I thought it would be worthwhile explaining how we're r...

The first interest rate rise

We received some slightly disturbing news in our inbox today. It was the first time we had had an email all year advising of an increase in an interest rate with ASB putting up their 1 year special from 4.35% to 4.39%.Now we're not saying the sky is falling or that it is time to panic but along with the Reserve Bank deciding to keep the Official Cash Rate on hold last week, the signs are definitely pointing toward a flattening off in interest rates and this will no doubt lead to increases on the...

Better than a tropical island giveaway!

Like many of you, our Facebook newsfeeds have been inundated with advertising for the Kiwibank "free trip to Rarotonga" giveaway with one of its new home loan products. Of course we can negotiate you a great deal on your home loan along with structure and advice that will surely beat their offer.It may seem boring by comparison but the lessons here and personal advice from us could see you sitting on a tropical island celebrating being debt free years ahead of when you thought you would be and w...

Want to buy a property in NZ but live overseas?

With the property marketing booming in parts of New Zealand and interest rates at all time lows, there has been a lot of interest from people wanting to buy property to rent as an investment. We're fielding a lot of inquiry from ex pats who are living overseas, earning good money and want to buy a property back home so that they're in the market and can take advantages of the gains to be had whilst reducing their home loan as much as possible through rental income and good earnings.Much like the...

Why budgeting is cool

Most of us will know that setting goals and working to a plan is a sure fire way to achieve success in our lives. However, from our experience we do not see enough people setting financial goals and having a budget and home loan structure to get them debt free as fast as possible. The right loan structure and budget It's important to have a loan structure that fits your financial goals and the way you earn your money. That's the first place to start so that you can reduce your mortgage as qu...

What should I do with my fixed rate?

This seems to be the number one question I'm being asked by clients at the moment... and with good reason as there are a number of factors to consider. The trust is that there is no single right option as we don't have a crystal ball but I've outlined the factors pushing and pulling interest rates below and how you can assess what's best for you depending on how much risk you're willing to take....

Stop DIY Disasters!

We must admit we do love the Kiwi culture where we just love get stuck in and get things sorted ourselves. We're all guilty of it from time to time... Adam's wife can point out a shonky BBQ table and woodshed at the back of thier house which are prime examples of why it's best to leave some things to the experts.It can be the same way with your home loan. Although unlike the shonky timber objects in Adam's backyard, it's not quite so obvious when the DIY attitude has delivered a result that is f...

Is now the time break your fixed rate?

The Official Cash Rate is widely predicted to drop this Thursday, some experts are predicting by up to .50%.If you've got an existing fixed rate loan then this poses the question of whether you should be looking to break your current loan and look to re-fix at the lower interest rates which could head even lower if the OCR continues to drop.The key thing you need to know is whether you are going to save money by breaking your fixed loan. You will likely have to pay a "break fee" for breaking you...

What to do with a loan up for review

Reviewing your mortgage when your fixed rate expires, or "refinancing" as some people refer to it as, is a really important part of ensuring you keep the overall cost of your home loan down. For most people you've been enjoying a fixed interest rate for a couple of years or more and a letter from the bank comes in the mail saying your fixed rate is about to expire and they'll just roll you over on to another fixed rate for a term and a price that they suggest, or leave you to go floating. You do...

OCR Cut... What next?

Since the Reserve Bank dropped the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 3.25% on the 11th of June there has been a flurry of activity with dropping interest rates and talk of what might happen next. The information below should provide some clarity on what the drop means and what may happen in the future. We do love it when interest rates drop... As the cost of your home loan reduces you've got the chance to pay it off faster or use the extra available cash elsewhere. However, with most people on fixed i...

What is going on with interest rates?!

It has been a crazy few months when it comes to interest rate movements. Below we try to make a little sense of the madness and where we might go from here.So far this year we have seen some rates drop and some excellent special rates offered by a number of lenders. The current best specials available with the major banks are below.1 year - 5.10%2 years - 5.39%3 years - 5.39%5 years - 5.65%The key thing to know about these specials is that not everyone is eligible for them and that we might stil...

Great news for first home buyers outside of Auckland!

There were two major announcements from the Reserve Bank this morning. The first was to restrict investors in Auckland by requiring a higher deposit, we'll cover that in more detail at a later date. The great news is that they have moved to allow the banks to lend more to people with low deposits who are buying properties outside of Auckland.If you're a first home buyer or someone with less than 20% deposit and you weren't sure if you would be able to buy a property then this is great news for y...