Search results: John Bolton

At Squirrel, we're known as one of the largest mortgage brokers in New Zealand. But what you might not know is that we are also a lender, which means we can make a portion of those loans available as investments for retail investors. This gives investors better opportunities for their cash funds.

The cult of personality is alive and well in the New Zealand property market with the next wave of self-styled property gurus. Now they're digital savvy and on social media.

Investing money with property developers is risky. In this post we talk about how risky it is and ask how it can even happen.

In March the Reserve Bank will reimplement LVR (loan-to-value ratio) restrictions on property investors. This will mean lending for investment properties will be required to have a 70% or possibly 60% loan-to-value ratio.

Most of us store a large part of our wealth in property. It could be in our owner-occupied home, a holiday house or an investment portfolio. And a large number of property owners are starting to head towards retirement.

Earlier this year we launched our P2P Home Loans and Business Property Loans that give investors access to residential first mortgage investments with returns of up to 5% p.a. As interest rates have fallen, investors are looking for better returns.

There are numerous reasons to regularly review your mortgages and make sure you still have the right overall solution for your lending. Part of that includes not putting all your eggs in one basket, and splitting your lending across different banks to avoid sticky situations.

As a general rule of thumb, any property investor who has at least six rental properties is viewed as a "professional" property investor through the eyes of the bank. And the way these investors are treated by the banks is markedly different to someone whose main income is not from property.

When you have established yourself on the proverbial property ladder you will at some point come to the decision to move house. But what comes first? Is it better to buy first and then sell, or the other way round? Here are the pros and cons to each of these scenarios.

I think now is a good time to be at least looking, but take your time and make sure the numbers stack up. If you buy cash flow neutral in the right areas, irrespective of what happens with short-term house prices it will be an excellent long-term investment.

Although banks are tightening access to credit and becoming harder to deal with, there are competitive non-bank options with rates as low as 3.40% that are worth considering.

There could be emerging opportunities for investors in the current market, but to take advantage of them you need to be reviewing your existing portfolio now.