Search results:

Newsroom’s Alexia Russell sat down with Chief Squirrel JB to chat about what the Government's recent announcement means for first home buyers. Does it remove the stumbling blocks, or is it still hard as ever for young Kiwis to get onto the property ladder? Are there going to be any unintentional consequences?

One of the advantages which existing home owners have over first home buyers is experience. They have learnt that as a rule there is no “best” time to buy property and it is wise to simply get on with it as soon as one is comfortable with the debt to be taken on, and then manage changes along the way.

So much to think about, so much to consider. We’ve broken it down for you into a handy up-to-the-minute checklist that you can download, print and pin up on your wall at home. Once you’ve got all the nuts checked off, you’re good to go!

If there’s one thing we’ve been brutally reminded of this year, it’s that we live in an ever-changing world. Some things may never be the same. However, the world continues to turn, and people will continue to buy houses. Now more than ever it's important to line up those ducks to be bank ready.

There’s a lot of mixed messages out there about property at the moment. Some is from complete pessimists who think the world is coming to an end. Some is from the industry who are far too bullish and whose income is in some way tied to property. We’re arguably in the latter camp (given we’re mortgage advisers) – but we try to call it as we see it.

There’s been a lot written about the 'First Home Loan’ programme in the press recently, particularly around changes to the deposit requirements. We thought it would be a good time to cut through some of the noise around these loans and explain what it means for your average first home buyer.

Most New Zealanders know about KiwiSaver, but not everyone knows how it can benefit you as a potential home buyer, or how the process works when you want to use it.

Let’s take a look at deposits, what support the government offers first home buyers, and a few other ways that you can pull your deposit together for your first home.

It’s easy to get caught up in the news headlines and neighbourhood chatter about what’s happening in the property market. Everyone you know will have an opinion on whether you’re better off buying your first home or continuing to rent, and it can be hard to sort fact from fiction.

We get asked hundreds of questions from Kiwis about buying their first home, so we decided to put our heads together and answer some of the most common ones for anyone that's starting to think about getting onto the property market.

When prices are going up, everyone seems happy to pay ever increasing prices and nobody questions whether or not it is a good time to buy. Conversely, when prices are falling everyone sits on the fence waiting for the market to pick up.

In this post I’ll cover off what I’ve learned about buying in a soft market, and how Squirrel can help beyond simply arrange the mortgage.