Buying a house is an important milestone in your life. It's a chance to establish a new home base for yourself and your family - and on top of that, buying property of your own is a great investment that will benefit you financially later on.
The following is a guide to getting your footing with your first mortgage in New Zealand. Unfortunately, it can also be staggeringly expensive. In fact, Bloomberg reported in September that the average price of buying a house in Auckland just surged past $1 million for the first time this year. Chances are, unless you're very wealthy, you don't have that million dollars in cash lying around your house. If you want to be a property owner anytime soon, you're going to need a substantial mortgage.
Do your homework before getting started
If you're a first home buyer, there are a lot of considerations to think about before you commit to beginning your first mortgage. It pays to do some preliminary checks before agreeing to buy a home. The New Zealand Government, for example, recommends examining the property closely and making sure you're you're getting a home that's exactly what you're paying for, with no overlooked damage.
Only once you've confirmed the condition of the place should you think about making a firm offer. Once you've made a purchase agreement, it's legally binding, and you don't want to put yourself in that situation until you're confident.
Maintain your financial flexibility
Even if you've got a good mortgage broker, there's no denying that buying a home is expensive, and you want to make sure it doesn't ruin your financial flexibility down the road. To this end, Bankrate recommends negotiating the down payment you'll owe down to a number you can definitely afford. If you overpay at signing, it's going to put you in shaky financial condition moving forward.
Beyond that signing date, you also want to keep some savings in reserve just in case your financial situation changes in the future. If you're going through a career transition or some other kind of hardship, you want to have some funds available just in case.
Need a little mortgage advice?
Taking out a mortgage is a little complicated, and there's no shame in admitting you need a little help figuring out the details of the process. Luckily, at Squirrel Mortgages, we have a team of experts who are happy to lend their insights. You're not likely to find better mortgage advice in Auckland.
You probably have a lot of questions about the mortgage process in New Zealand; we have answers. Talk to us today about how we can help you out.