What are the extra costs involved when buying a house?

One way to reduce some of the stress of finding and owning your first home, or moving up to your next home, is to plan ahead for the extra costs involved. That way there’ll be less chance of nasty surprises that blow your budget and ruin the fun. Everyone has their eye on mortgage repayments, […]

What is a mortgage cashback?

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 […]

How to move your mortgage to another bank or lender

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 […]

What credit score do I need to buy a house in New Zealand?

When a home loan lender is checking you out as a potential borrower, they’ll take a long, hard look at your credit score, which is a number between 0 and 1000. Lenders refer to your credit score because they need to ensure the loan they provide will be repaid. Having a high number could make […]

What happens if a registered valuation isn’t high enough?

Whether you’re buying your first home, next home or an investment property, you might need to get a registered valuation to finalise your home loan. What happens if that valuation isn’t high enough? If you’ve purchased a property at auction and there’s a shortfall between the amount you need to borrow and the amount supported […]

When to refinance your mortgage?

When 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 […]