You can now withdraw more money 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.1 - Withdrawing all but the $1000 kickstart from Kiwisaver
2 - An increase in the maximum purchase price cap for HomeStart Grant
3 - Up to $10,000 per person Homestart Grant for a brand new home
Under the new policy you will be eligible for double the normal Homestart grant if your first home is a brand new house or land to build a brand new house on.
So if you've been in Kiwisaver for 5 years and eligible for the grant and buying a new home then you would receive $10,000. If there were two of you and you had $11,000 in your Kiwisaver each then you would have $40K total deposit to put towards a brand new home which would put you in a very good position, especially if you had some other savings and reasonable income.
It's worth noting that you have to have been in Kiwisaver for at least 3 years to be eligible to withdraw from your Kiwisaver fund and there are other conditions as well depending on your fund provider. The Homestart Advantage has some income caps and other rules which we can provide you further details on.
If you would like to discuss these changes and how they effect you as a First Home Buyer then feel free to get in touch with us at My Mortgage
Adam and the My Mortgage team