Moving House

Changing properties is a bit more complex than it was buying your first home. You might have questions like "should i buy or sell first?" and "what happens to my mortgage when I move?"

If you’re looking at getting into your next home, talk to us first. It’s a great time to review your financial position and make sure you’re getting the best possible deals and advice.

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Cardboard box labeled Wilbur's hats

When you're considering a move, there's a lot to think about. We can help.

  • Should you buy or sell first?
  • How do you sort out bridging finance? 
  • What IS bridging finance? 
  • Should you pay to stage your home for selling? How do you choose a good agent?

We'll answer these and more. Our brokers are here to make the process easier, so you can spend more time on the important stuff like searching for your next dream home.

Why talk to Squirrel when you've already got a mortgage?

List detail

Review your financial situation

We'll make sure your mortgage is taken care of when you move house and ensure you've got the best rate and mortgage structure.

Strategy

More lending options

We've got relationships with all the banks, plus non-banks too. More options means a better deal for you.

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Our advisers aren't incentivised by lenders

They're paid the same no matter which lender you end up with, so you know you won't get pushed into a loan you don't want or can't afford.

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Sort the deals from the duds

We love putting properties under the microscope. When you find a potential home, we'll check it out and make sure you're not buying a lemon.

Let's get started

Book a time to talk to an adviser today.

Check out the video of Courtney's story.

She's one of our favourite clients and we helped her and her family into their second home.

What happens to your mortgage when you move house?

What a lot of people don’t realise is when you move house, you can move your mortgage with it. 

Say you’ve got a really good rate on your current mortgage and you don’t want to lose it. If you're still borrowing the same amount, we can move the mortgage rate from one property to another. This is a smooth process if settlement for both properties is the same day. Of course lining both up for the same day isn't always possible, so don't fret - there are options for that too, like bridging finance.

Another common option is paying off your home loan in full when you sell, and taking out a new one against the new property. 

If you need to borrow more for the new property, we can approach the bank on your behalf and make sure you get the best deal.

When you’re repaying your loan once you’ve sold, you may have to pay break fees so before you sign anything, get in touch with one of our team to chat through your options.

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Bridging finance

In a perfect world, you'd sell your house one day and land the perfect gem the next, then settle both on the same day. But we live in the real world where that's not usually the case. If you end up buying first, there are two kinds of bridging loans you could go for:

Open-ended bridging

is where you buy first and intend to sell (but haven't sold yet.) Banks are reluctant to do open-ended bridging finance unless you are in a strong enough financial position to support both mortgages.

Closed bridging

is where you buy, and before settlement your existing house is sold under unconditional contract but is yet to settle. This is generally easy to finance.

Find out more about bridging finance

JB explains what happens to your mortgage when moving in 2 minutes and 5 seconds

Chat to a mortgage whiz

Not sure where to start? Book a chat and we'll give you a call to talk through your situation, and provide advice for your next move.

More lenders, more options

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Squirrel

We have access to more lenders than other brokers – and if you don't quite fit the bank's box we can step in with our own custom solution for you.

Should you buy or sell first?

What comes first, the chicken or the egg? It can be a bit of a juggling act. Lets weigh up the pros and cons. 

Have a gander at our blogs

You'll find some useful insights on the joys of moving house. 

Aerial view of properties located at Clinton Cove, on Clinton Ave in Te Atatu, Auckland

9 September 2024


A Squirrel case study: Design-led community haven for first home buyers in Te Atatu

By Squirrel

This is the story of two young developers on a mission to create a beautiful, design-led community for first home buyers, in Auckland's Te Atatu Peninsula—and how Squirrel helped make it happen.

Two men in business suits shaking hands

29 August 2024


Everything you need to know about business acquisition funding

By Ollie Mellsop

If you're looking to expand your business, acquiring another company can be an exciting (and lucrative) opportunity for growth—but there are lots of different moving parts to consider. Here's what you need to know about getting a business acquisition loan in New Zealand.

13 half eggshells and one whole egg sitting on a yellow background

23 August 2024


OPINION: The CommComm inquiry into competition in banking delivers just one impactful solution

By David Cunningham

Earlier this week, the Commerce Commission released the findings of its report into competition in personal banking. Heavy on the analysis, and light on actual recommendations—what good will the report actually do?

After some advice? 

We're here to help.

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Christa

New Zealand

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A huge thank you to my advisor, Kat. She worked so hard to get a mortgage offer for me. She admitted that as I did not tick all of the boxes, she would have to present my case differently. I'm so grateful that she didn't give up on me, as other mortgage brokers had. She is so hard working, clever, lovely and friendly. I would recommend Kat to anyone looking to purchase a house.

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Mark Karen

New Zealand

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We've used Squirrel investment and mortgage services. On the investment front, we found it easy to use and the interest rates were excellent, selling our investments was easy when we needed to as well. Mortgage services were great too - Emma listened to what we needed, and our circumstances and got us a fantastic deal. The process was smooth from start to finish, with excellent communication and advice along the way.

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Anonymous

New Zealand

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Really happy Basil was amazing, very efficient, great communication and he worked with us to get a good result. Would recommend him to others

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Anonymous

New Zealand

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Once again dealing with Emma has been awesome, She just makes things happen and gets us a good deal that is why some of our Kids deal with her also