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How do I use my KiwiSaver investment to buy a house?

A lot of first home buyers ask us – can I use my KiwiSaver investment to purchase my first home.The answer is generally yes, but there are a few hoops to jump through to make sure all your ducks are in a row, and we can help make this process nice and easy for you.The great thing about KiwiSaver is that you can only request to withdraw the funds for two reasons; on your retirement, or to purchase your first home. In this way it functions very well as a strict savings account, and there are man...

June update

The Official Cash Rate remained unchanged this morning but there are still talks of a potential drop in this later in the year. Because banks may already be counting on a drop in the OCR there is no guarantee that interest rates will drop if the OCR does move down a gain. Conversely if the OCR did not drop then we may see an increase in short term interest rates. At the moment the bank economists that we get our information from are suggesting equal chances of a decrease or increase later i...

Make Auctions Easy

As the property market has fired up over the last 12 months we are seeing more and more properties going to auction and at the same time we're encountering more and more people frustrated by the process of buying at auction... But it shouldn't be frustrating. We show below how to make things as easy as possible for you to buy at auction....

Higher interest rates for Rentals? No way!

There has been some proposed restrictions in the media lately about tools to slow down the housing market. Most have been hypothetical ideas such as the income to debt ratio but one change has been put in place by a bank this week that we think will catch out a lot of unsuspecting borrowers. A major bank has changed their interest rate policy to exclude those purchasing rental properties from getting their special rates. We are yet to see whether others banks will follow suit but this change has...

Get the most out of your Revolving Credit

Revolving Credit Facilities are becoming more and more popular but we're constantly seeing them not being used to their full potential or being set up wrong and costing people more money than they should.Following on from our recent blog about the benefits of compounding interest we'll give you some tips below on how you can use a Revolving Credit to manage your money better and get debt free faster....

Compound interest is your friend

I first learned about compounding interest from my 5th form Economics teacher and it seemed to make sense if you were investing money. It didn't make a lot of sense if you were borrowing money but in this blog I'm going to show how you can turn the tables and use savings on interest to save you more on interest which, if you're as nerdy about saving money on your home loan as I am, will make you about as happy as this guy above!I'll explain the details of how this works below but if you'd like u...

How many beers can you save?

It's 4pm on Friday afternoon and as we occasionally do, we are enjoying a drink as we wind down toward the weekend. Naturally (in an office like ours at least) the conversation turned to money and the ever increasing cost of a weekly supermarket shop and how making a small saving on your home loan could make a big difference to your surplus in your weekly budget. Although not a staple by any stretch, it seemed topical to use a beer as an example. This one sitting on Claire's desk retails for aro...

What does a Mortgage Advisor cost you?

When you have My Mortgage on your side, our service won’t cost you a penny. As we dive into 2025, the property market in Cambridge and the Waikato region is really starting to move. With a growing team, we’re excited about the future and ready to help you with all your property lending needs. A question we often receive is about the cost of our service. We’d like to clarify how we are compensated and why that helps us secure the best mortgage deals for you. Our advice and assistance wit...

The first interest rate rise

We received some slightly disturbing news in our inbox today. It was the first time we had had an email all year advising of an increase in an interest rate with ASB putting up their 1 year special from 4.35% to 4.39%.Now we're not saying the sky is falling or that it is time to panic but along with the Reserve Bank deciding to keep the Official Cash Rate on hold last week, the signs are definitely pointing toward a flattening off in interest rates and this will no doubt lead to increases on the...

Better than a tropical island giveaway!

Like many of you, our Facebook newsfeeds have been inundated with advertising for the Kiwibank "free trip to Rarotonga" giveaway with one of its new home loan products. Of course we can negotiate you a great deal on your home loan along with structure and advice that will surely beat their offer.It may seem boring by comparison but the lessons here and personal advice from us could see you sitting on a tropical island celebrating being debt free years ahead of when you thought you would be and w...

Want to buy a property in NZ but live overseas?

With the property marketing booming in parts of New Zealand and interest rates at all time lows, there has been a lot of interest from people wanting to buy property to rent as an investment. We're fielding a lot of inquiry from ex pats who are living overseas, earning good money and want to buy a property back home so that they're in the market and can take advantages of the gains to be had whilst reducing their home loan as much as possible through rental income and good earnings.Much like the...

Why budgeting is cool

Most of us will know that setting goals and working to a plan is a sure fire way to achieve success in our lives. However, from our experience we do not see enough people setting financial goals and having a budget and home loan structure to get them debt free as fast as possible. The right loan structure and budget It's important to have a loan structure that fits your financial goals and the way you earn your money. That's the first place to start so that you can reduce your mortgage as qu...

What should I do with my fixed rate?

This seems to be the number one question I'm being asked by clients at the moment... and with good reason as there are a number of factors to consider. The trust is that there is no single right option as we don't have a crystal ball but I've outlined the factors pushing and pulling interest rates below and how you can assess what's best for you depending on how much risk you're willing to take....

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...