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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...

How Healthy is your Home Loan?

It always amazes us how the quality of loan structure and interest rates on a Home Loan can deteriorate over time. Your Home loan is like anything, it needs a little bit of love and attention occasionally for it to thrive. Earlier this week we were doing a review for a client who had 4 separate loans. One for a rental property they were just purchasing and the other four had been for the purchase of their home and subsequent renovations and consolidation of other debt. Their bank had not given t...

Time to think (fix) long term

This is fraught with danger given the variability in world money markets over the last 10 years. When making predictions I think back to a conference I attended in 2009 where Cameron Bagrie spoke.. He proudly addressed the crowd and told us that he had predict 16 of the last 28 Official Cash Rate changes correctly, better than average but nowhere near perfect. I thought to myself that if the Chief Economist of Australasia's largest bank can't confidently predict interest rates then what chance d...

How do you finance a Transportable Home?

Getting a home loan for a transportable home is not as straightforward as it is for standard property or even a construction loan for that matter.We've been fielding a lot of enquiry on this topic lately, especially since Lee Turner from local Cambridge firm Turner Road Architecture built this beauty of a transportable home. Check out the link to see for yourself.  Or you can contact Lee and the team to find out more.You can also get excellent value by relocating an existing home but that p...

You can now withdraw more from Kiwisaver for your first home

Recently confirmed changes to Kiwisaver which kick in on the 1st April 2015 will allow First Home Buyers to withdraw more money from their Kiwisaver funds than they were previously allowed to. There are three changes which we think will most effect our clients....

Should service change because of how rich you are?

One of the things that has stood out to us in the years of being in this industry is how many people come to me after being provided sub standard service elsewhere.This article caught our eye over the holiday period. It shows how the big banks treat their most important customers. We're sure a lot of people reading this will appreciate the fact that this level of service is not generally afforded to the average customer.However we like to think we provide a point of difference here. Regardless o...

Making extra payments on your home loan

The question of making extra payments on your Home Loan is one that I don't get nearly enough.  You can make huge gains in the time it takes to pay off your mortgage by contributing some surplus funds to your mortgage every now and then.  Most people are focused on getting the best interest rate or cash back when they're getting a mortgage and yes we can make sure you get the best deal there.  But the real advantage of having a Mortgage Broker on your side is the specialist advice...

Spring is here and the election is over

"Let's get on with it" has been the sentiment from lots of people I've talked to in the last couple of weeks.  With the election result we have stability with interest rates and lending policy and now that spring is well and truly here we're starting to see more properties on the market and more selling.The good news is that interest rates are holding steady and the Reserve Bank has indicated that we are unlikely to see a rise in the Official Cash Rate until the second quarter of 2015.This ...

Buying at Auction

I read an interesting article on Properazzi this week that over 50% of new listings in Auckland are for properties to be sold at auction.Vendors can choose to sell at auction for a number of reasons.  Generally if they're unsure of the market value of if there is high demand and they want to make sure they get the best price, from a number of interested parties.Now buying at auction has some different finance requirements compared to the normal process of making an offer and negotiating to ...

We examine how the election will effect Housing Affordability

With the election less than a week away I thought it would bea good idea to cover off some of the housing policies of the differentpolitical parties so that you could see what effect each might have on Interest Rates and also how affordable homes may be with different incentives.Below is a brief summary.  Further detail on policies are available on the websites of the particular parties.  Overall there seems to be a move toward building more houses and helping make purchasing easier fo...

Strange time for interest rates

It has now been a month since Reserve Bank Governor, Graeme Wheeler, increased the Official Cash Rate by a further .25% (now 1% higher than it was 12 months ago) but we haven't seen any major shifts in interest rates since then.Naturally all of the major lenders increased their Floating/Variable rates by the same as the increase in the OCR, which has now become standard practice. However fixed rates haven't moved and we're starting to see some good discounts on the shorter term rates.The reason ...

New Mortgage Repayment Calculator

We're always keen to improve the service we offer our clients and we've just added a "Repayment Calculator" to our website as this was the number one thing requested by our clients. For those of you who are regular visitors to the site for updates on Home Loans you will have noticed a slight change to navigation bar of our website. On the top right hand side we now have a link that says "calculator". The calculator is simple to use just follow these easy steps... Enter the amount you wish to b...

Good news for landlords

It didn't make the headlines but there was some good news for property investors last week. The Reserve Bank have "delayed" the introduction of a new rule which would force banks to charge property investors with 5 or more rental properties a higher interest rate. For most the mere suggestion of this may come as a surprise since it went largely unnoticed when it was first reported earlier in the year.   As with many ideas that have been suggested to reduce the risk of a housing bubble the d...

What other costs are there to buying a home?

Aside from the major expense of actually paying for the house and land you're buying there are a number of other costs associated with buying a home. We have outlined the most common costs below. Before we get in to the list I'd just like to remind you that my service is free. The banks pay me to provide advice on their products and to arrange for the lending of their funds. I'll find you the best option from a range of NZ's best lenders.It's also worth noting that I will negotiate the best poss...

A brand new house for 5% deposit?

With the Reserve Bank imposing restrictions on borrowers with less than 20% deposit, in October last year, I have been working hard to find ways that people in these situations can still buy a house.Some borrowers can still get a home loan with less than 20% deposit but the amount that a bank can lend with this LVR has been limited.  Making it much more difficult.But this is where the exception for a brand new house comes in....Earlier this year the Reserve Bank decided to make brand new ho...

Official Cash Rate Increase - Interest rates on the rise?

Those of you with Floating Home Loan's will be feeling a little bit of extra pain with the increase in the Official Cash Rate today by .25% to 3.25%. We're already getting notifications that the floating rate will be increasing at almost all lenders by .25% which will see the advertised variable rate at around 6.50%.(If that is the rate you're paying, get in touch with us. You should be getting a discount and we can arrange this with you very easily to save some money)That increase will see you ...

Interest rate update - May 2014

Nothing ever stands still when it comes to interest rates and the last couple of weeks have been no different with minor tweaks from most banks.With the Official Cash Rate increasing last month the banks were tipped to increase fixed interest rates again but these have remained steady and we have even seen decreases in some places. The reason for this is that the trading banks have already increased their fixed rates considerably since the end of 2013, because of predicted rises in the OCR this ...

Guarantees & deposit assistance from family

With the Reserve Bank changes in late 2013 forcing most borrowers to have over 20% deposit there has been a much higher incidence of family assisting home buyers with funds towards their deposit for a home. There are a number of ways that this can be done and all have the pros and cons. Below we have covered some of the more popular options....

0% Home Loan!! Is this April Fool's?

Some of you may have noticed ASB advertising a home loan for 0% interest for the first month, that's no April Fools joke, they're really offering an interest free home loan. However this loan is likely to make fools out of a number of people who don't consider the true cost of the lending when taking up the promo.Much like in 2013 when the banks were offering free TV's and iPad's, people can be bought by the banks with these gimmicks which seem to be an amazing deal on the face of things. Some o...

What better gift to give on Valentines Day

Adam - "I know this is going to get me in trouble with my Fiance but as a lawyer, she is pragmatic and will appreciate the commonsense of this post, even if it is not romantic!"With Valentines Day coming along tomorrow, there is no better gift for the loved one in your life than to save them money on their home loan. Perhaps it's the mortgage you share with a husband or wife or you happen to have a crush on someone at work. Home loan savings keep putting money in your pocket for years, long afte...