No jargon, no sales pitch. Just the plain-English version of the questions I get asked over and over — from first-home deposits to break fees to fix-or-float.
The questions I get asked most often before someone's first purchase.
Most main-bank lending needs a 20% deposit, but there are two big exceptions. The First Home Loan (Kāinga Ora backed) lets eligible buyers borrow with just 5% deposit, subject to income limits and lender criteria. And new builds are exempt from the 80% LVR rule, so you can often buy new with 10% deposit. In practice most first-home buyers I work with sit somewhere between 5% and 15% depending on which option fits.
It's a scheme underwritten by Kāinga Ora that lets banks lend up to 95% of a home's value (5% deposit) to eligible first-home buyers. You must meet income and lender criteria and intend to live in the home. First Home Loan house-price caps were removed in June 2022. Check current eligibility with Kāinga Ora and a participating lender. It's genuinely useful — most of the buyers I get across the line in Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and eastern Porirua use it.
Yes — if you've been a KiwiSaver member for at least 3 years and meet first-home withdrawal criteria, you can usually withdraw savings including government contributions while leaving $1,000 in your account. This is often the biggest chunk of a first-home deposit. Your KiwiSaver provider handles the withdrawal; your solicitor coordinates it with settlement.
Usually 3–10 working days once we have your documents together (payslips, bank statements, ID, KiwiSaver statement). Pre-approvals are typically valid for 90 days. The bit that takes real time is preparing the application properly the first time — a scrappy application gets declined for reasons that had nothing to do with your actual affordability.
For existing owners whose fixed term is rolling off or already has.
Refinancing means moving your mortgage to a different bank for a better rate, a cash contribution, or better structure. It's usually worth exploring when your fixed term is within 60 days of rolling off. Cash contributions vary by lender and can come with repayment conditions; compare them with legal costs, break fees and any clawback of your previous contribution. I benchmark all five main banks and give you a straight answer on whether switching, or just re-fixing where you are, comes out ahead.
It depends on where rates are heading and your own cashflow tolerance, not on a rule of thumb. Most borrowers use a mix — some on floating for flexibility, some fixed for certainty. When we talk I'll walk through the current curve (6-month, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year fixed) and match it to your situation rather than give you the generic answer.
If you break a fixed-rate mortgage before the term ends, the bank charges a fee based on how much interest they'd have earned versus current rates. When rates have risen since you fixed, break fees are usually zero or tiny. When rates have fallen a lot, they can be significant. I'll get an actual break-fee quote from your bank before we make any moves.
Building new or buying off the plan works differently to buying existing.
New builds are exempt from the standard 80% LVR restriction, so most main banks will lend up to 90% (10% deposit) on a new build without charging low-equity fees. Some will go higher again. This is one of the most under-used levers in first-home buying — if you can find a turnkey new build in your area, the deposit maths often works when existing-house maths doesn't.
Turnkey: you pay a deposit, the builder builds it, you settle the full amount on completion. Simpler, fewer moving parts. Progress payment: the bank releases funds in stages as the build hits milestones. More flexible but more admin, and interest starts earlier. I'll walk through which one your build contract needs and how it affects the lending.
A declined application is a reason to review the details, not a guarantee that every lender will say no.
Ask the bank why it declined your application before applying again. The issue might be affordability, your deposit, existing debts, credit history or the property itself. An adviser can help you understand the reason, check your documents and work out whether a different lender's criteria fit or whether you need time to improve your position. Avoid sending multiple applications without a plan, and don't commit to an unconditional purchase without confirmed finance. Approval is never guaranteed.
The practical stuff about how the process actually runs.
Nothing. The bank pays me a commission on settlement — you don't pay a cent. I'm required to disclose exactly what I'm paid and by whom, and that disclosure is available on request. Because I'm not tied to a single bank, the recommendation is genuinely based on your situation, not on who pays the most.
Yes — but the paperwork looks different. Banks usually want 2 years of financials (or in some cases 1 year plus a good story), IR3s or GST returns, and a sense that income is stable or growing. Some lenders are much more comfortable with self-employed income than others, and knowing which ones to go to first saves a lot of pain.
LVR (loan-to-value ratio) is the size of your loan compared to the property's value. A $600k loan on an $800k house is 75% LVR. Under 80% LVR you get the best rates and no low-equity margin. Between 80–90% you'll usually pay a low-equity premium unless you're using the First Home Loan or buying new. Over 90% only really works via the FHL scheme.
Send it through — I'll come back with an honest answer, no strings attached.
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