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Parental guarantees, The Springboard Loan, Joint ownership, gifting & loans for deposit

This episode is all about how family can help you with your first home purchase. We discuss:Parental guarantees - The likelihood of success with a parental guarantee, potential restrictions on the parents, and whether banks are keen to accept it.The Springboard loan - Which banks are involved, how it works, and who it’s for.The positives and negatives of joint ownership, including a quick chat about bright-line property rule.Getting a loan from parents to make up your deposit - some scenarios ...

First Home Loan, First Home Grants, & KiwiSaver for buying your first home

Welcome to the first episode of the My Mortgage Podcast! This episode is all about the government-backed first home-buying assistance schemes.We discuss:The first home loan - the banks that offer it, the deposit you need, the benefits and criteria, income caps, your debt, and the change in property caps.We also talk about low equity fees and lender's mortgage insurance, or LMI.The first home grant - how you can access it, the amount you can get, and the low down on price caps. We also talk about...

Home Loan Cash Backs - What are they and when can I get them?

Cash Contributions (or cash backs as most people call them) are essentially  money that the lender gives to the borrower as a way to say thanks for doing business with them. It is a little carrot at the end of the process  of getting a loan sorted. They can range anywhere from 0.5% to 1% of the value of your lending and sometimes as high as $20,000 depending on the loan , the loan product and the lender....

There's never been a better time to buy your First Home

While plenty of people are lamenting big changes to tax legislation, the rise of interest rates and the crunching of credit criteria, the current conditions have opened up opportunity - and for many first home buyers, it's their time to shine!Why is this? Let's have a look at some of the factors contributing to what we think is a great time for you to get on the property ladder in 2022....

Did your bank say "No"? We can help

In recent times we're hearing more and more stories about banks turning borrowers down and in many cases, there are things we can do to improve your situation.I'd like to shed some light on recent changes in the mortgage landscape and share how we've been helping clients navigate these challenges successfully....

Going your separate ways? Let us make it easy

It's something we're seeing more and more.People who have jointly purchased properties over the past few years are now seeking to part ways.Sometimes this is friends, siblings or family members. Other times it's relationship break ups and can be a bit more complex.In all situations, this can be managed really positively and efficiently with the right appraoch....

How to make the most of your income when applying for a Mortgage

Banks are tightening their belts. We're witnessing increased interest rates, stricter serviceability rates, and in some cases, banks are less accepting of certain income components than they used to be. For instance, if a significant part of your earnings comes from bonuses, dividends, or profit shares, you might find it challenging to get the nod from your bank.So today I thought it would be worth exploring how to optimize your income to enhance your mortgage application, especially in the curr...

Having options - what does it mean?

Options.Something we've harped on about for years, and is a base for what we've built our business on. Having multiple mortgage options coupled with advice is an unbeatable combination in long term success in paying off your lending, as well as setting you up for success.So why is it so important?...

Making a move before Christmas? All you need to know

We're a few days away from Spring and that means most people are looking forward to warmer days, sunshine and an upcoming Summer!What does that mean for homeowners? Often it's a move to a new home for Christmas, and to avoid getting caught out later in the year, we're recommending you get pre-approved early.Whether you're buying your first home, upgrading or considering a build, we're here to help, and we always recommend good planning for great results!...

Why is my loan approval a bit different if I'm building?

We often have clients come to us with a range of options. They might be looking to buy their first home, second home or forever home, but in many situations, there are a couple of choices to make, and a big one is "should I buy existing or should I build"?Market conditions aside, there are plenty of considerations on both sides of the coin, so firstly let's look at these in a bit more detail.Building a new homeBuilds take time - from purchasing a section to choosing a builder, deciding on your n...

A House & Land Package or Turnkey - What's the difference?

Building a new home is a pretty exciting process, and it's no surprise that so many of our clients are now turning to builds to get the type of house they want!There are plenty of different options when it comes to building, but two of the most common ones are "House & Land Packages" and "Turnkey" properties.Let's have a look at what they are, and how they're different......

Can I have less than 20% deposit for my build?

With house prices rising above what they were a few years ago, and construction costs impacted by a shortage of materials and labour, more and more clients are asking us whether they can have less than a 20% deposit for their new build property.The answer is - yes, it's easier to get a build loan approved with less than 20% deposit, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind... let's work through these.Reserve Bank Guidelines:In 2020 and 2021, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reinsta...

Buying a Townhouse? What you need to know

In recent times, we've seen an increase in the prevalence of "Townhouses" for sale, particularly as new builds and for first home buyers and investors. Put simply, a townhouse is kind of a cross between an apartment and a house - it usually shares its walls with its neighbours, but doesn't have other properties below or above them like apartments do.  Many townhouses in the Waikato are built with 2-3 levels to make the most of land space.This gives the occupiers of a townhouse a little...

Changes to First Home Loan and First Home Grant

Some great news today for people looking to buy their first home. In the 2022 budget, the government announced some large changes to their First Home Loan and First Home Grant programme. The main aspect is the removal of the property price caps for the First Home Loan and a large increase in price caps for the First Home Grant. See the First Home Grant price caps on the Kāinga Ora website here....

The Bank of Mum & Dad!

News broke earlier in the week that revealed New Zealand has a new a bank on the scene! A bank you may not have heard of before and one bigger than Kiwibank and TSB combined – Yep, it’s ‘The Bank of Mum & Dad’, or ‘BoMD’ as it’s being referred to. Good old Kiwi parents across the nation have dished out funds in excess of $22 billion dollars to their kids to help them into buying homes. Of this, three out of five parents didn’t even want their money back! It’s no surprise really...

Should I accept new home loan interest rates through my online banking?

If you have a fixed rate expiring in the next 6 to 8 weeks, your bank should have provided you with rates in your internet banking. These are the best rates that are available and we’re happy to give you some advice around your situation before you decide which rate is best for you. The actual interest rate itself is sometimes a lot less important than the advice around what to do with the length of time to fix for, repayments and how to structure your loans....

Why does the bank want me to lower my Credit Card limit & close my buy now pay later?

Ever wondered why the bank is asking you to lower your credit card limit and close your buy now, pay later schemes (BNPL), such as Afterpay and Laybuy? Check out Greg’s video below, or read on for more info…...

Case Study - Top up decline turned around

In the video below, Greg explains a client example where:Client went directly to the bank to get a $25K top up for some family travelClient can access their KiwiSaver in 4 years so wants to pay off the loan thenThe bank declined the application initially when the client went directly to the bank as the repayments over 4 years were going to be too high for the client to serviceThe client came to My MortgageWe reworked things for the client, extended the loan term for servicing to work and still s...

Is this the worst mortgage advisors car in NZ? It's all about options

So this is Greg's 2008 Suzuki SX4. Pretty awful aye!! We're often giving Greg stick about it and telling him to buy something new but then it struck us. Why does it matter and Greg might have a reason for wanting to keep it. Greg is a really, really good mortgage advisor and he and his wife together make a good living from it so he could easily afford to buy something new either with savings, a home loan top up or even car finance so why doesn't he?Currently Greg and his wife are worki...

Case Study - When getting great advice means more options

In the video below, Greg outlines a case study were some first home buyer clients: Initially went to another mortgage advisor and were told they didn't have a large enough depositThey were then referred through to My Mortgage by an existing client After some initial chats, there was definitely some options and so an application was submitted to 3 lenders. The clients got back 3 offers to do 3 different things Buy an existing family home with some gifted equityBuy existing pro...

Property Valuations - Why do I need one and what are they?

Determining the value of a property can be a fairly difficult calculation as there is a lot to take into consideration. The type of property, quality of the dwelling on the property, recent sales and where the property is located. With the market moving so quickly as it has been in the last few years, getting a good read on property values has been fairly difficult. ...

Budgeting and planning for your new home loan

There aren't many people in the world who LOVE to budget and stick to it but those who do generally find themselves in a good spot to get to where they want to go financially (whatever that means to you).Since the dec 1, 2021 CCCFA changes, were seeing the need for people to be planned and have a good budget in place to make sure we can help them step forward in the best light to get home loan lending in place. ...

Private Sale Series - Buying Someone Out

Unfortunately, this scenario usually involves the ending of a relationship of some kind - it can be a hard one to talk about but these things do happen and it can get messy if things aren’t handled well. We’re here to help!There are other scenarios where you may find yourself buying someone out of a property, like if you and a friend or relative purchased property together and one of you is moving on to something else, so it’s not always a sad ending!This “buying someone out” process i...

Private Sale Series - Buying Into a Property

Another common one we see is people looking to buy into a property belonging to someone else - usually a friend, partner or spouse. Let’s say Sally has a property she’s owned by herself for three years. She’s recently got engaged to Matt and they have agreed that Matt will buy into the property. Matt has a good income and $50K in Kiwisaver that he’ll contribute to his share. Firstly, Sally & Matt will want to determine the value of the property. They might agree on a price ...

Private Sale Series - Buying From Family

This is becoming really common as house prices continue to climb. The situation is usually that Mum and Dad or another family member (grandparent, etc) might have a property that they will sell to the kids, possibly at a reduced price (thanks Mum and Dad!). The first thing for everyone to consider is the value of the property and the price at which it will be sold. Next, will the property be sold at market value or reduced? If selling at market value, it’s a pretty straightforward tr...