September 2019's Property Gazette

What the Official Cash Rate Drop May Mean to You

When the expected 25 basis point drop of the Official Cash Rate was replaced by a 50 point drop, there were plenty of surprised New Zealanders. The unexpectedly large drop was explained by the Reserve Bank as necessary to meet its inflation and employment objectives. Financial experts are predicting that there will be more drops to come in the short-term, but most likely smaller in basis points. 

The question then becomes, is now a good time to fix or float? Get in touch, and let’s chat about your specific circumstances for the right answer.

Springtime is Ideal for House Hunting

As the weather is warmer, the days are getting longer and (hopefully) there is less rain, September is a great month for house hunting. You can expect more homeowners to list their properties, knowing that they’ll look more appealing in the sunshine. Agents are able to offer better viewing hours, giving buyers more opportunity to view homes, which in turn encourages more people to start looking. 

Chances are that if you’re looking for a property, the springtime weather combined with the appearance of more homes on the market means it’s time for you to start house hunting too. But before you start, chat with us about organising mortgage pre-approval to give you an advantage over other purchasers.

Spotlight on Jo Henderson – Our Office Manager

Having joined the team at Advanced Mortgage Solutions in 2016, Jo quickly settled into her role as Office Manager. With a strong background in the banking sector, Jo will easily help guide you through the mortgage application process, while keeping you updated with its progress.

Outside of work, Jo has a passion for travel, is happily married and has been blessed with two adult sons and two adorable grandchildren. Working alongside Scott and the team, Jo is available to chat with all clients and looks forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Insurance Matters

What is risk?

We’ve all coined the phrase “that’s a risky business” but what do we mean when we say this?

The Oxford dictionary definition of risk is that it is the exposure (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss.

In our lives is there any situation where we really want to be exposed to something that could harm us?

When it comes to financial risk there are a number of differing views with not everyone having the same thinking about financial risk.

For example after arranging mortgage finance we recommend protecting this with a policy that can help cover mortgage payments from the risk of being unable to work from a disability. i.e. the risk that we do not have the funds available to meet the costs associated when an event occurs.

Sometimes I hear the following in response to this advice:

• “We’ll be right, we’ll just lean on our parents for a while”
• “We are both healthy we don’t need this at this stage, we’ll look at it later on”
• “If the worst happened (meaning death) we’ll just sell the house”

At the other end of the spectrum there are a number of people wanting to protect themselves against all risks.

What is your personal risk tolerance?

• High (can accept risk and self-insure for a lot of my needs)
• Medium  (can take some risk but have an insurance fall back for some areas)
• Low (will have cover for most of my risks, want to protect the unforeseen)

What we believe or the value system we were brought up may determine the level of importance you place on your needs or risk. For example, the provision of being able to meet financial needs throughout life and having a retirement fund may be an absolute ‘must have’ for some people, but not so much for others.

If you want to avoid “risky business” talk to us and see where you can protect what matters to you.