Choose The Best New Zealand Home Loan

Today I had a lady visit the office to discuss how I could help her get the lowest home loan interest rates, but the conversation focused on how to choose the best home loan which is quite a different and more complex subject.

So often we see people that have are so focused on just getting a house that they forget about the importance of getting their biggest debt right, or people that pop into their bank to arrange a home loan in the shortest time without really considering the options – what the various other banks can offer. The thing is, we think that knowing how to choose the best home loan is the most important thing of all.

A home loan is a big debt, and a debt that you will be paying back for a very long time.

So why do so many people spend so little time on getting their largest financial commitment sorted out correctly especially when there are some very good mortgage brokers that will review people’s loans (for free) and often suggest a few small changes that might save thousands of dollars each year.

Of course, as mortgage brokers we are always chasing the best interest rates too.

How To Choose The Best Home Loan

This is a question that everyone wants to know “how to choose the best home loan”…

When you consider all of the banks and other specialist non-bank lenders have a range of options it all equals a lot of choice for you. Of course, only mortgage brokers really have the range of home loan choices for you but even the banks have some options and could structure a home loan to e better for you rather than easier and more profitable for the bank.

As a mortgage broker it is always pleasing to have the opportunity to talk with people and explain the advantages of working with a mortgage broker.

Let me share the key things we talked about.

Interest Rates

Yes, we talked about the home loan interest rates and how the various banks take turns at offering the best interest rates.

There are some very good interest rates available at the moment and you can find the advertised interest rates on this website, but as mortgage brokers we can often negotiate even better interest rates that the advertised “specials” that you may see.

We do not suggest that you chase the lowest mortgage rates all of the time as your strategy is more important.

The Importance Budgeting

It is important to think about how good you are with money.

Some people are exceptionally good at managing money and not over-spending, while most of us are not as good at this. I personally find that budgets are hard and while we can all make a budget it is a whole lot harder keeping to it. We tend to have continuous ‘one-off’ expenses that wreak havoc to any budget we are trying to stick to – the dentist, new tyres, a school trip, new washing machine etc …

Many accountants will talk about the importance of budgeting and in business or households with good earnings it is easier, but the fact is that budgets do not work for most people and therefore we use other strategies to achieve the same (or better) results.

Debt Consolidation

Often when we review mortgages with people we discover that there is some other debt that they have. Most often it is a credit card that they are struggling to get rid of, a store card or hire purchase that has quite large weekly repayments or a student loan, tax debt or money owed to family.

It is great to be able to wrap all your debt up into your mortgage so you can take advantage of the low interest rates, but you need to also ensure that you do not get into more debt and preferably pay off any debt that you have consolidated into you mortgage.

We are happy to talk about debt consolidation with you and introduce you to our strategy for dealing with it.

Paying Off Debt / Mortgage Reduction

Almost everyone wants to pay off their mortgage faster and get themselves into a position where they are not having to pay those mortgage repayments every week, fortnight or month.

You may have seen people advertising the “magic formula” for paying off debt faster and while there are some simple things that can help, most of the debt reductionstrategies will take some effort and sacrifice over the short-term.

We are happy to discuss some of the strategies and help you implement those one’s that will work best for you.

The Key Is Loan Structure

When we meet with people either to arrange a home loan or to review an existing home loanwe almost always have the discussion about the ways to structure the loans.

Over the years we have seen different loan structures and concepts and have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. This is something that we have always offered as afree service and it does not mean having to change banks either.

When we look at creating or choose the best home loan for people we need to consider both the loan structure and a strategy that suits those people.

Structure and strategy is the key.

Contact one of our team: Freephone: 0800 100 939

Today I had a lady visit the office and we focused our conversation on how to choose the best home loan.

More Kiwis Are Building A New Home

In a real estate environment where there is a shortage of properties for sale (listings) and so many going to auction it is not surprising that more people are now looking at building a new home.

It is a fact that Kiwis love property and most of us dream of one day building our own new home, but to many of us this is just a dream or something that we think we might do later in life. What many people don’t know is that it is easier to get new build finance in many cases which makes building a very viable option.

Building New Shouldn’t Be Hard

Some people expect that building a new home is hard.

Yes, there are some stories of people that have had problems with their new build, and there are a lot of people that will have experienced delays; however when you use a reputable builder or building company and plan properly then any problems can be minimised.

My name is Stuart Wills and I am an Auckland mortgage broker, but we have also recently finished building a new home in Hobsonville Point in North West Auckland. The experience with the building company was good and there were no major issues with the build either and the house was even completed within the expected timeframe. Of course being a mortgage broker we had the finances arranged in advance so our new build finance went through without a hitch and with the way we structured things it meant we were able to shift into our new house on practical completion rather than having to wait for the Auckland Council to issue the code of compliance. 

When most of us decide that building a new home is a good idea we are entering into something that we have no experience with.

With many new builds there are a lot of decisions to be made; however in many new developments the building companies have designed house and land packages that are planned so have limited options or choices for you to make.

Advantages Of A New Build

There are many advantages of a new home.

The major advantage that people perceive is that you get to build a house that suits your lifestyle.

While this can be true, most of use are limited by our budget and how the property developer has designed the area. New suburbs like Hobsonville Point are quite structured, whereas other areas leave more options to the individual people. There are pro’sand con’s for both – a planned development means your choices are limited, but it also means you know exact what is being build next door and details like where the windows go are planned to offer maximum privacy for everyone.

There are the physical advantages with a new house too.

Just like new cars and more economical and better featured than older cars, the same can be said about houses. New builds are constructed using modern materials and building practices meaning the houses are a lot more energy efficient and often planned better to take advantage of the sun and light to make the living environment more pleasant for living in.

How often have you been in an old villa which may have a lot of character, but also has a lot of drafts and dampness. If you look closer many old villas have rot that needs repairs or the owner has made a lot of effort and spent a lot of money to maintain the house.

Then there are the leaky homes – the last thing you want to experience is a leaky home!

There are many advantages of having a new home built with a warranty too.

Do Your Research

You hear of people that get stressed when building a new home, and when you hear from those people the issues seem quite real too.

Generally stress is caused by unexpected things happening.

Most new residential building projects these days have had a lot of planning. The building companies have very good planning and project management software so they can plan and track each each and every step of the project. The two areas that are often out of their control is the dealing with Councils and the management of trades people.

Where people often feel let down is with how the project manager or building company communicates with their customer – with you.

Doing your research and setting realistic expectations will help you through the build process. Part of this process should be to get the right people with experience that can offer you good advice like your mortgage broker and new build specialist Stuart Wills.

But who can help you with this?

Arranging The Best New Build Finance

Many people will just go directly to their existing bank to source the new build finance, and in many situations the person at the bank is able to arrange some finance which seems okay.

The problem is in many cases the finance that has been approved is not really okay.

When you are building a new home there will be enough for you to do without having to worry about the finance and dealing with the bank. As an experienced mortgage broker it would be easy to say “I know about new build finance” but having recently been through the building process myself too I can say I really know about the whole building process including the new build finance that is required.

Unlike many other people that source new build finance, we are experienced Auckland mortgage brokers in the true sense and have access to most banks and non-bank lenders. We are happy to work with your existing bank to ensure that you get the finance that is needed and at a competitive rate too.

You should contact the Kiwi Mortgage Man, Stuart Wills at The Mortgage Supply Company.

Maybe Home Loan Rates In New Zealand Are At The Lowest Now

As a leading New Zealand mortgage broker I get asked all the time if it is better to wait for home loan rates to drop, or is it better to just refix my loans on the rates offered today.

In the media the messages are quite mixed, but most people think that rates will drop again at least once before Christmas.

But will the interest rates really drop again soon, and is it best to wait?

Should I Wait For Home Loan Rates To Drop?

This is a really good question at the moment as there has been some talk about The Reserve Bank adjusting the OCR again before the end of the year.

There has been a lot of talk about another fall in interest rates, but I’m not so sure.

My name is Stuart Wills and I have worked in the financial services industry in New Zealand for almost 20-years, and while I do not profess to know everything about finance I have some experience to share.

It is this experience as a New Zealand mortgage broker that means I am often sought out to provide opinion on the mortgage market here.

This is a short video where I share my view on interest rates and why I believe that we may not see another cut to home loan rates this year.

As a mortgage adviser we cannot predict what will happen with interest rates, but we can have a look at what is happening and share our thoughts with you.

Please feel free to subscribe to my You Tube channel or read my finance blog where I have posted an article on the subject of home loan interest rates, and more importantly asked the question will home loan rates be cut again this year.

Or if you want to discuss this then you can contact the office and talk to myself or one of the team.