November 2019's Property Gazette

30 October 2019

Published by Scott Miller

Does a 5% Deposit Sound Good to You?

There have recently been some major changes to the Welcome Home Loan.

Taking effect on the 1st of October 2019, these changes were made to increase the number of first-time homeowners throughout the country. Now called the First Home Loan, the required deposit has dropped from 10% to 5%. This is for both new and existing homes which have a purchase price less than the maximum cap for your region. Like with the Welcome Home Loan, there are income caps, with a maximum income of up to $85,000 for one person or $130,000 for two or more people. Another point to note is that as well as first home buyers, previous homeowners are now also eligible as long as they are in a similar financial position to a first home buyer.

Of course, to take advantage of the First Home Loan, you need to meet the requirements of the lender to service the loan. If you’re not sure what you could afford, book a time to come see us for a chat.

Interest Rates Are Low - Will They Drop Further?

Homebuyers are taking advantage of record low-interest rates, but many believe the best is yet to come. Low inflation levels led the Reserve Bank to drop the OCR and hint that further drops are likely. With the settling of the housing market, home buyers are now in a much stronger position. Having pre-approval for a loan gives you a significant advantage, so chat with us about how we can help you obtain this. Now is also a good time to talk with us about fixing your mortgage to take advantage of low-interest rates, such as paying your loan off sooner.

Spotlight on Greg Miller

As a Registered Financial Adviser, Greg works as the second Mortgage Advisor in our team alongside his brother Scott. Having returned from ten years working and living in the UK, Greg is enjoying being back home surrounded by friends and family.

He is available to offer advice and support for clients seeking advice on both mortgages and insurance.  Both new and existing clients are welcome to give Greg a call or make a time to meet up with him.

Insurance Matters

What Policies Do I Need?

When talking with “Advanced” customers we are always very clear that bank need their security insured as a minimum insurance requirement, this is not  an option. However the need for them to have insurance (lives, income or mortgage) is an option, however without insurance your options are severely reduced should you be off work or worse face an unexpected loss of the main income earner.

Kiwi’s up until the last few years have placed more value on their house and car than they do health and mortgage cover if current insurance trends are anything to go by.

In 2012 statistics showed 95 per cent of New Zealanders' insured their homes and cars, this insurance for most people was requirement by either a bank who had a mortgage on their house or a finance company who had an interest in the vehicle.

But when it comes to what is most valuable (our lives and the ability to earn) 57 per cent insured their lives, and just 20 per cent had income protection insurance.

Taking the time deciding the right balance of personal insurance is worth it, as no two peoples needs are the same, whether a policy is good value for money and how it compared with other products for you is important.

Being debt-free with no dependents may not need any life insurance, but as soon as you start a family you need to assess your options, if fact we’d recommend assessing this as early as possible. On the other hand as soon as you have debts or dependents it's  important to think about how much cover you need."

The Financial Services Council of New Zealand (FSC), which represents life and income protection insurance companies, said people did not know how much insurance they needed, or were not confident about making a purchase.

At Advanced Mortgage and Insurance Solutions we work with clients to ensure each home loan is tailored to suit their individual needs including protection for their loan.

If you’d like to know more our promise to you across our services is to understand your personal circumstances and to make your home loan experience easy.