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Buyers Guide

Some helpful tips to help you buy your first home.

NBS Clients - Jessica and Nick

Your guide to buying a home.

Buying a home is exciting and at times, a little stressful too. At NBS we want to take some of that stress away so we have put together some helpful tips.

Preparing a realistic budget is important. Include amounts for expenses, savings and entertainment. This will help you stick to your goals.

 

Think about existing debt (hire purchases, credit cards or car loans).
At NBS we can roll this debt into one easy to manage personal loan, with one regular payment which could assist you in clearing the debt faster and help you reach your savings potential.

Getting a Deposit Together

There is more than one way to get a deposit together. Below are some examples.

Set up a regular payment to transfer money from your transaction account to your savings account. Aligning this payment with your pay will make this easier. If you can establish a good savings history, it will work in your favour when you are ready to apply for your loan.

If you’re buying your first home or land to build your first home (or you’re in the same financial position as someone who is buying a first home), you may be able to withdraw most of your KiwiSaver savings to help pay for it after you have been contributing to your KiwiSaver for three years.

First Home Grant

If you’ve been making regular contributions to a KiwiSaver scheme for at least three years, you can also apply for the First Home Grant through Kāinga Ora (previously Housing New Zealand).

Buying an existing or older Home?

You could be eligible for a $1,000 grant for each year you’ve contributed to KiwiSaver, up to a maximum of $5,000.

Buying a newly built home, or planning to build a home? 

The grant doubles, to $2,000 per year (after three years of contributing) up to a maximum of $10,000 (after five years of contributing).

Buying a home with other people?

Each of you could qualify for a grant, up to a maximum total of $20,000 towards your first home.

The Home Start Grant is paid by the government and administered by Kāinga Ora. There are various criteria around who is eligible, including minimum contribution levels and regional purchase price caps.

Find out more at https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/first-home-grant/.

Gifting is when you are given a lump sum towards your home deposit.

You will be asked to show proof of where the money came from, and that there is no requirement to pay it back. You will also be asked to show evidence of a savings history and that you have saved some of the money yourself.

We do recommend you seek legal and tax advice with this option, as this is different from being lent the money from your family.  

Aside from gifting, there are other ways your family could help you into your first home. It is important to understand all the ins and outs of family help. Here are some of the options:

Using a family member's property as security for the deposit

  • This means they become a guarantor and provide their own home as security. Your family member's property is potentially at risk if you do not make your loan repayments.
  • As the borrower, you are primarily responsible for servicing the repayments on the loan, but if you default the guarantor may be asked to make the payments on your behalf.

Family members providing help toward your deposit

  • If your family loan you the deposit, you will need to be able to make the repayments on both your loan, and the repayments for the deposit.
  • Your family may take out a loan over their property to help you with the deposit, so we need to make sure that you can service both loans.

We strongly recommend you and your family seek independent legal advice before entering an arrangement so you are aware of the benefits and risks.

The information expressed above is provided for general information purposes only, with the express disclaimer of responsibility and it does not constitute an offer of finance from NBS.

 

Applying for a Home Loan

If this is your first time applying for a home loan, don't worry we are here to help.

Before you start house hunting ask us about a home loan pre-approval, so you know exactly how much you can borrow. Or, if you’ve already found a house, we can start the process to secure the loan you need to move ahead.

To ensure we provide the most suitable home loan options for you to consider, we’ll need to undertake a comprehensive application assessment.  This process requires NBS to gather detailed information about your financial situation, including your current income, debts and expenses. 

We’ll need to ask questions about your current financial situation, along with an attempt to identify anything in the future that could impact on your ability to repay a loan over the long term. We need to ensure lending we provide our clients is affordable and suitable to their circumstances, now and into the future.

What you need to bring for your first appointment

  • Verification of income details, which could include 2 full years of financial statements if you are self-employed.
  • Details of your current debt and expenses.
    This should include any hire purchase, credit card, car or personal loans, and child support payments as well as an outline of your household expenses.
  • Evidence of your deposit, such as a bank statement.
  • If you are new to NBS, please bring ID and proof of address. (see ID Documents)
  • One form of ID, if you are an NBS Client - photographic is best such as a Driver License.
  • If you have already found a house to buy, bring along the sales and purchase agreement, a valuation if you have one, or any other property reports you may have.

 

During the consultation we will need to collect:

  • Details of your assets and liabilities.
  • A budget from you detailing current income and expenses.
  • Verification of income details, which could include 2 full years of financial statements if you are self-employed.
  • Bank statements detailing all income and day to day living expenses over the last 3 months.
  • Evidence of your deposit.
  • Your permission for NBS to undertake a Credit Check.


Once we have all the information we can discuss the following:

  • How much can you borrow.
  • The deposit you will need.
  • The different home loan options available including loan types, interest rates, repayments and any applicable fees.
  • Any insurance requirements you will need independent advice on.

Our lending specialists will take you through the entire home loan process, but NBS will only provide an approval if we are satisfied you have sufficient income surplus to afford the loan.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Home loan pre-approvals are issued where the loan to value ratio is under 80%.

  • This will provide conditional approval that NBS can lend you a certain amount, provided the property you purchase meets NBS' Lending Criteria.
  • Pre-approvals are valid for 90 days from the date of issue.