Back to Home Loan Options

Welcome Home Loan

Getting a deposit together is sometimes the hardest part of buying your first house. So NBS has teamed up with Housing New Zealand to offer Welcome Home Loans. Welcome Home Loans are low deposit home loans designed to help you get on to the property ladder.

 

  • Get on to the property ladder sooner, without having to wait until you have a large deposit together

  • Own your first home with as little as 10% deposit
  • You could purchase a house valued up to $600,000*, depending on the area you want to live:
Area   House Price Cap
Nelson/Tasman and Waimakariri $500,000
Buller, West Coast and Mid Canterbury $400,000
Christchurch City and Selwyn $500,000
* Auckland
 		  $600,000

For all other regions visit - welcomehomeloan.co.nz

Welcome Home Loan regional house price caps are effective from 1 August 2016.

Welcome Home Loan can only be used to purchase owner occupied property, which means you must live in the house you buy.

 Fixed rate - payments stay the same for the period you select. However, if you want to repay some or all of the loan while it is still on a fixed rate, your may have to pay an early repayment adjustment.

  • Some flexibility to pay your loan faster
    You can make lump sum payments totaling $50,000 within a 12 month period with no early repayment adjustment.

Variable rate - payments can increase and decrease overtime with the market. Lets you repay some or all of the loan at anytime without fees.

  • Available with any type of NBS home loan.

 

Welcome Home Loans has the following standard criteria. NBS' lending criteria applies.

  • You must be a New Zealand citizen or a permanent New Zealand Resident (holding a 'Permanent Resident Visa')
  • You must not own any other property
  • You will live in the home you are buying
  • You are buying a house (not refinancing)

Maximum Income

  • For 1 borrower you can have a maximum yearly income of $85,000 (before tax)
  • For 2 or more borrowers you can have a combined maximum household yearly income of $130,000 (before tax)

Minimum Deposit

  •   You will need a minimum of 10% of the purchase price of the house you are wishing to buy

See case studies to find out how other borrowers put together their deposit. 

For further information on Welcome Home Loans, please phone us 0800 101 700 or visit www.welcomehomeloan.co.nz

You may be able to withdraw some of your KiwiSaver savings (except for the $1,000 kick-start) to put towards purchasing your first home.

Making a first-home withdrawal
You must have been a KiwiSaver member for three or more years. You can only withdraw money to purchase your first home - not an investment property.

If you have owned a home before, in some circumstances you may still be eligible to withdraw your savings. Your scheme provider may require you to contact Housing New Zealand to determine if you're in the same financial position as a first home buyer.

What can be withdrawn?
If you're eligible, you may be able to withdraw some or all of your KiwiSaver savings (except for the $1,000 kick-start) to put towards purchasing your home.

  • Your members contributions
  • Any employer contributions (voluntary and compulsory)
  • Any returns on investment(s) received
  • Any member tax credits

How to apply for a first-home withdrawal
You'll need to apply to your KiwiSaver provider if you want to make a first home withdrawal.

After 3 years of contributing to KiwiSaver, you may be entitled to a KiwiSaver HomeStart grant. The grants are administered by Housing New Zealand and will be paid to your solicitor.

The two HomeStart grants are:

  • For purchasing an existing home, the grant is between $3,000 and $5,000 based on $1,000 each year of KiwiSaver membership.
  • For building or purchasing a new home, or for purchasing land to build a new home on, the grant is, in effect doubled to, $2,000 per year of membership in the scheme, up to a maximum of $10,000 for five years for each member.

There are maximum values of grants payable for the purchase of a single dwelling, regardless of the number of eligible purchasers:

  • $10,000 for the purchase of an older/existing property
  • $20,000 for the purchase of a new property

To be eligible for a KiwiSaver HomeStart grant you must:

  • Have been contributing the required minimum amount to KiwiSaver for at least three years
  • Be 18 years or over
  • Be purchasing or building your first home
  • Have a deposit that is 10% or more of the purchase price, including the addition of the grant

Note: Income and house price caps will apply. If you've owned a home before, in some circumstances you may still be eligible for a HomeStart grant. Housing New Zealand will need to determine that you are in the same financial position as a first home buyer.

Welcome Home Loan Fees

Loan Establishment Fee From $400.00
Lenders Mortgage Insurance Premium 1.00% of the loan amount
Interest Rate Review From $150.00
Discharge Mortgage Fee $130.00
Default Interest Rate                                                                                                                                                 4.00% p.a. above annual interest rate
Default Administration Fee $100.00
Insurance Arrears Payment Fee $15.00
Rates Arrears Payment Fee $25.00
Motor Vehicle Security Variation/Security Swap Fee $30.00
Duplicate Statement Fee $15.00
Early Repayment Adjustment $500.00 (minimum charge)
Early Repayment Administration Cost $100.00

Early Repayment Adjustment (ERA)

Calculating the cost of an ERA is a complicated calculation and is not the same for everyone. There are many factor that are taken into account when working out an ERA cost, therefore we recommend you contact us for a quote. You'll find more information on the procedure for calculating the cost of an ERA in your loan agreement.

 

Fees are subject to change.  For descriptions of the above fees refer to NBS' current loan agreement specific terms example.

Welcome Home Loan, NBS' Current Loan Agreement Specific Terms and General Lending Terms are available free of charge from any NBS branch.

NBS lending criteria and the above terms apply. You will also need to have an NBS account.

Your satisfaction is important to us.

NBS aims to provide you with the highest quality of service at all times.  If you have a problem, concern, or complaint about any part of our service, please let us know as soon as you can so that we can sort it out quickly.

We have an Internal Complaints Procedure to resolve any issues.

NBS is committed to responsible lending and has adopted the guidelines produced by the Financial Services Federation.

The Responsible Lending Guidelines have been developed by the Financial Services Federation with the assistance of a variety of stakeholders including the NZ Federation of Budgeting Services, Consumer NZ, the Families Commission Debt Working Group, the Retirement Commissioner, and officials from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and the Ministry of Social Development.
 
The Guidelines aim to improve consumer protection, raise standards across the consumer credit industry, and deliver better outcomes for borrowers and lenders and set out specific steps that lenders may need to take to assess if a credit contract will be suitable for a consumer.