Staying on top of your home loan sometimes means change.
Featured articleChange is constant. When you set up your mortgage originally, the interest rates were applicable to the housing market at the time. Likewise, the size and term of your mortgage was appropriate to your income and outgoings at that time. You had a new home, lots of set-up costs and were just finding your feet
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Featured articleWhen you originally set up your mortgage, it would have been subject to the floating and fixed lending rates for that particular day, with your specific bank. But things change over the years. It could be time for a re-look, with a view to saving some interest or improving your financial flexibility. Why would you
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One of the simplest ways to see what your regular mortgage repayments would be is to use our mortgage repayments calculator. You can also use it to check the effect of increasing or decreasing your regular repayments, or making a lump sum repayment at some point during the term of your mortgage. And if you’re
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The short answer to this intriguing question is ‘as often as you want to’. Refinancing, aka remortgaging, can be something you do regularly, to either save money with a better interest rate, adjust your repayments or release some equity to achieve life goals. However, refinancing always involves some cost. Also, if you apply for a
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This article provides information on working with a mortgage adviser when you’re refinancing a mortgage. We also have a free service that connects you with one of New Zealand’s mortgage advisers from our handpicked panel. First up, let’s define ‘refinancing’. It can be a confusing word, because it’s often used to describe the process of
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Despite the best of intentions, not all business and personal relationships survive the test of time. If the partners own a property together they’ll likely share a mortgage, so what happens to that loan if they break up? In a business partnership, there’s usually a written agreement about what will happen in various scenarios, including
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Moving from one mortgage provider to another involves applying for and getting a new loan, then using that loan to repay your old one, so it can be discharged. People switch lenders a lot more often these days, whether they’re buying a new home or refinancing an existing property. If you think your current mortgage
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For some years now, New Zealand’s main banks and other mortgage lenders have been known to offer a cashback reward to eligible customers when they draw down (start) a new mortgage. It’s typically a lump sum cash payment of $1,000 to $3,000 – or even significantly more, depending on how much you’re borrowing. In this
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Most people think about breaking their fixed rate mortgage when interest rates are falling and they see lower rates than the one they’re on. But even if fixed interest rates are climbing, you may be worried about how high the rates will be when your current fixed interest rate ends. And that could have you
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Creating future retirement income by buying investment properties is a time-honoured way to build your wealth, so you can achieve freedom from work. And we’re not just talking about retirement in your mid-60s. There’s a global movement called FIRE (financial independence, retire early) that attracts younger followers. So whether you’re an empty-nester looking forward to
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With so many mortgage lenders, interest rates and terms to choose from, finding the best solution for your circumstances can be hard work. Whether you’re about to buy a home or are exploring refinancing options for a property you already own, you’ll find our rates page incredibly useful. It shows the lowest interest rates available
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If your mortgage is due to come off fixed, you’re probably looking at a new interest rate that’s more than double what you’ve been paying. Scary moment. Why has this happened? In this article we look at some of the main influences on mortgage interest rates in New Zealand. We also use the Covid-19 period
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Getting a mortgage is a big deal. Where do you go to find the best lender for your circumstances? What criteria will you have to meet? When and how do you apply? There are so many questions to navigate. Fortunately, mortgage brokers have many of the answers. A mortgage broker is an expert when it
Read More »Moving from one mortgage provider to another involves applying for and getting a new loan, then using that loan to repay your old one, so it can be discharged. People switch lenders a lot more often these days, whether they’re buying a new home or refinancing an existing property. If you think your current mortgage
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When it comes to choosing a mortgage broker or mortgage adviser, there are quite a few things to check out and carefully consider. This article will help you to ask the right questions, so that you can choose a broker that suits you. For example, you’ll need to know whether a broker will charge you
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You’ve probably heard there’s usually no charge to use a mortgage broker (mortgage adviser). That’s because they’re paid a commission by the lender you end up deciding to go with. So, if the lender’s paying them and you’re getting their services for free, are they going to put your interests first? The short answer is
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A property is one of the most expensive things you’ll ever buy. The amount you borrow and the interest you’ll pay over decades can be huge. So, whether you’re looking for a new mortgage or reviewing the one you have, it’s worth investing some time into getting the best arrangement for your current circumstances and
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When it comes to getting a new home loan or refinancing a property, many high-income households face a choice of working with a personal banker through private banking or engaging a mortgage broker. If you have a personal banker (also known as a private banker), your initial instinct may be to contact them regarding your
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Understanding how lenders calculate your mortgage interest is the first step to finding ways to pay less interest over the life of your loan. To help you along, here’s a summary of where the interest goes, what affects interest rates, how your regular interest payment is calculated and ways to reduce the interest you pay.
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A revolving credit mortgage is like an all-in-one bank account with a large overdraft facility. It lets you draw down a loan, put money in and take it out whenever you choose, provided you don’t borrow more than your limit. The interest is calculated daily, so you can use your income to reduce the loan
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As its name suggests, an interest-only mortgage means your regular weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments only include the interest charged. So you don’t repay any of the money you borrowed (known as the principal) until the end. The agreed length, or term, of an interest-only loan is usually a year or two, but it can
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Once you have a mortgage, it’s a good idea to keep a regular eye on how it’s performing for you. You should revisit things every six months or so, just to ensure you’ve still got the best arrangements in place. However, with everything set up on auto-payments and your budget fine-tuned for home ownership, it’s
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When you’re borrowing to buy a home or an investment property there are several different types of mortgages to choose from. Once you understand how they work, and the pros and cons of each, it’s easier to pick the types that might suit you best. Most people choose a combination of two or more. It can
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An offset mortgage lets you use money in a separate account (savings or everyday) to effectively reduce the balance of your mortgage when it comes to calculating the interest charged. The money stays in its own account and is available as usual, but simply offsets your home loan balance – hence the name. How does
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When you have a mortgage ticking away with regular repayments happening automatically, it can be easy to simply let things continue as they are. But finding little ways to repay your mortgage faster will have an ever-accelerating effect. Every little extra you pay off will immediately reduce the interest you have to pay each time.
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The question ‘how long should I fix my mortgage for’ has much in common with questions like ‘what are interest rates going to do?’, ‘how much can I save in a year’ and ‘what should I name my first born’? The best answer depends on crystal ball gazing, personal circumstances and market analysis. While we
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When you start planning to buy a home, there’s a lot of jargon to get your head around. But most of it is easily understood, so you’ll soon be talking like a seasoned home owner. If a lender or mortgage broker ever uses a term you don’t understand, be sure to ask what it means.
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A fixed rate mortgage has an interest rate that doesn’t change over an agreed period of time – six months, or one, two, three, four or five years. Fixed rates are typically lower than a floating rate. Also known as a ‘fixed mortgage’ or ‘fixed home loan’, this type of mortgage is popular with New
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Also known as a ‘variable mortgage’ or ‘floating home loan’, a floating rate mortgage has an interest rate that can increase or decrease at any time. That means your regular repayments can also change. The other downside is that floating interest rates are usually higher than fixed rates. The main advantage of a floating mortgage
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There are two main types of mortgage insurance – mortgage repayment protection insurance and lenders’ mortgage insurance. The first is similar to the other types of personal insurance, like life cover and income protection, so this article is mainly focused on lenders’ mortgage insurance. What is mortgage protection insurance? This is a form of income
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Whether you’re applying for your first mortgage, restructuring an existing loan or refinancing to a new lender, it helps to understand why people choose different fix-float strategies. This guide is designed to get you thinking before talking with a mortgage adviser and choosing the best arrangement for your circumstances. Basically, you can choose a fixed
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