Did you ever wonder why the saying “Home Sweet Home” isn’t “House Sweet House” ?  I think the answer is quite obvious… “a house” is just a thing and yet “a home” has a much deeper meaning that is far more intangible.  A house may be decorated from floor to

As mortgage advisers we often uncover unpaid fines and the applicants are surprised when we say you need to disclose unpaid fines. After all an unpaid fine is a debt that you owe. And often the reason an adviser will ask about unpaid fines is because they have either found

When you are buying your first home is unlikely to be your forever home… it’s not the dream home that you plan to live in for the rest of your life. It’s important that you remember that when looking at houses. Sure, there are many things that you may love

Saving your first home deposit is not easy and in areas where houses are more expensive you will need a bigger deposit which makes things even more difficult. As mortgage brokers we consistently hear how saving a big enough first home deposit is one of the biggest challenges. So we

When a lender is assessing a mortgage application they will access your credit check and look at any adverse credit, and it’s important that you are aware that even a paid default on your credit check can cause problems. It’s a good idea to avoid defaults getting onto your credit

Obviously this is a question that lots of people ask as we all want to know the best time to buy a house. Sometimes the advice would be “now” but others would say that you should wait. If you look at how house prices have increased over the years then

Most first home buyers in New Zealand will access their KiwiSaver to help fund your house deposit. But is saving in your KiwiSaver the best option for you? We look at the pro’s and con’s of using KiwiSaver as your main form of saving for a deposit on your first

It’s now been over three weeks since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand removed the loan-to-value-ratio (LVR) funding restrictions but we are still waiting for the banks to start offering low deposit home loans. The banks are now technically allowed to lend as much as they like. They could lend