How much deposit do I need?
Lenders have recently clamped down on the deposit requirements for home buyers, so if you are asking yourself "How much deposit do I need for a home loan" you need to read the following so know what banks and other lenders need from you. The major lenders such as BNZ, ANZ, Westpac and AB have all announced that they are "hitting pause" on borrowers with less than 20% deposit for a home purchase. However, there are specific circumstances where they will consider lending to borrowers who have less than 20% such as; New home purchases (buy a brand new home [...]
Disability Insurance
Disability Insurance can come in a number of forms such as a lump sum payment, and/or a monthly benefit payment for a set period of time, but the scope of this article is the large up front disability payment type. Total and Permanent Disability When it comes to Disability Insurance there are some rules and criteria that must be met for you to be determined as being totally disabled. This up front payment is designed to fill the gap in the case where you may need a substantial benefit payment because you may not ever return to work. This benefit [...]
Refinancing your mortgage
Refinancing your mortgage may seem attractive right now, especially if you are being offered a very attractive fixed rate for the next few years. However, there are some factors you will need to consider before moving to another lender. Refinancing costs What are the costs associated with refinancing to another lender? you could have any (or all) of the following costs. Legal Fees These can vary quite substantially between legal firms, the number of properties you are refinancing, and how complex your financial arrangements are now which will take more work in refinancing your mortgage, then, there are Trusts, Trustees [...]
Surgery waiting lists
Our public health system may have to tackle a mounting surgery backlog, and surgery waiting lists could grow exponentially if COVID-19 cases soar. Auckland's district health boards have the funding and people to handle the massive task of tackling the region's elective surgery backlog, Health Minister Andrew Little says. But not everyone shares his optimism. Under the national guidelines for alert level 4, all non-urgent care, including surgery and outpatient appointments, have been postponed. Auckland's DHBs have not been able to provide exact numbers on how many procedures have been cancelled at this stage. But in June 2020, it was [...]
Pre Approved Home Loan
Having a Pre Approved Home Loan will provide you greater certainty of what a lender will provide you, and gives you some level of comfort when you go house hunting, but how long does this last and what if the market or the lending criteria changes, what happens to your pre approval. Pre Approvals are limited Pre approval from a lender has a limited time frame, and right now 90 days may be the most time a pre approval will last, then you will need to update your loan application and provide more recent supporting information. This length of time [...]
Best life insurance company
Finding the best life insurance company, really depends on what type of cover you are looking for now, what you may need in the future, and whether you can bundle your insurance together to save multiple policy fees. Who is the best company? Each insurance company has its' specific strengths and at certain times their product ratings from independent insurance research houses may change from time to time because of product innovation or lack thereof, and product ratings will change from insurer to insurer. One company may have the best Income Protection rated policy one year, and through product innovation [...]