Get your New Zealand mortgage sorted from anywhere in the world
Thanks to the power of technology we can help sort your mortgage without you getting off your seat. We’ll compare your home loan options and give impartial, personalised advice.
Recently landed or planning your return?
Take the stress out of getting the mortgage for your new home.
We can provide advice and sort your mortgage no matter where you are in the world. Here's how we can help:
- Advise you on what your options are, based on your plans
- Approach the right lender for your situation
- Negotiate hot mortgage rates on your behalf, and structure the loan to suit you
- Walk you through the house buying process over Zoom, phone call, email... pretty much any communication channel except owl message delivery. They take a bit long.
Download our handy checklist to see if you're ready to buy
We write over $3 billion of home loans per year
working with all the major banks
Why choose Squirrel to sort out your home loan?
- Better mortgage rates
- More lending options
- Expert property and lending advice
- Better technology and online services
- Our advisers get paid the same no matter which lender you end up with
- Ready to get started?
What you need to know before you start house huntingThere are a few things to be aware of, and it all depends on what your plans are. Whether your arrival is imminent (or you're already here), or planning the big move down the line.
There are a few things to be aware of, and it all depends on what your plans are. Whether your arrival is imminent (or you're already here), or planning the big move down the line.
Your borrowing power is a function of your income and deposit
If you've saved a hefty deposit overseas, great! Next thing is proving you've got work in New Zealand to service the mortgage.
You don't necessarily have to have recent bank history in NZ
As long as you can provide three months' recent bank history from the country you've been living in, that should do the trick.
It may or may not be a good idea to buy before you move
This depends on how soon you're moving back to NZ. If you're arriving soon, wait til you're on the ground. If it's further down the line, you'll have different hoops to jump through. (We can walk you through those).
Lenders are ultra conservative with overseas borrowers
The banks will factor a whole lot of big buffers in when they're looking at any overseas borrowers' ability to service a mortgage. Best chat to us first.
Our handy checklist can help you make sure you're ready for a mortgage
Not sure where to begin? Get our handy checklist emailed to you and see how many steps you can tick off. Once they're all ticked, you're in good shape to apply for a mortgage.
Let's talk deposits. How much will you need to cough up?
It depends on whether you're buying within New Zealand or from overseas. If you're here in the country already, standard deposits apply. That is, for an owner occupied home, as close as you can to 20% is ideal. If it's a new build, you can get away with less (find out more about current deposit restrictions here).
If you're buying from offshore, you'll need more. That's because the assumption will always be that it's an investment property, and that means a deposit of at least 40% on an existing home, or 30% on a new build.
With that in mind, if you're planning on coming back soon it's generally easier to hold off until you're on the ground.
See for yourself why we have over 1,000 five star reviews.
Do it all online, from across the ditch or the Pacific Ocean. You’ll receive personal, impartial advice via phone or email from our team of mortgage brokers and you’ll get a great rate too.
Kelli
New Zealand
Our experience was fantastic. From start to finish we were kept informed, they helped in any way possible, and being in a different country was no concern. The process was made easy and painless, and as we have previously bought we know how daunting it can be!
Squirrel does the hard work so you don't have to
Simplify things
It might seem like a minefield of jargon but it doesn't have to be.
Save your money
Having the right home loan solution in place will save you thousands.
We provide unbiased, personalised advice
Our advisers are paid the same regardless of which lender they recommend, so their only motivation is to make you better off.
Ready to get started?
Start the application process online, or if you'd prefer to chat we're just a phone call away.
A world of insights in one place
Keep up to date with the latest in the housing market, interest rates, economy, and our practical how-to's.
How saving with Squirrel could get you into your first home faster
If you've been working hard to get to that 20% house deposit, you'll want to make sure your savings are working as hard as possible, to get you into your first home even faster.
First home buyers: Ways to get into your own home with just a 5% deposit
Lenders will usually require you to front up with a deposit of 20% of the purchase price for an existing property – 10% if it’s a new build – before they’ll consider giving you a mortgage on it. If you’ve been saving hard only to have your deposit goal feel like it’s getting further out of reach – or you just don’t want to have to wait years and years (and years) to get into your first home – there are options out there.
A Squirrel case study: Charlie & Kyle
In this case study, we sat down with Auckland first home buyer, Charlie, to chat about her (and partner Kyle's) journey to home ownership with us.
Don’t just take our word for it
Victoria
New Zealand
Outstanding guidance and service from Adam. I don't know why someone wouldn't use Squirrel. Accessible responsive knowledgeable understanding of our situation and goals and making it all so easy, we were so grateful to work with Adam and Squirrel and recommend the them both without hesitation!
Luke Murray
New Zealand
It was a great experience. The refinance helped me greatly and put me in a position to keep my apartment
Christa
New Zealand
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.
Mark Karen
New Zealand
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.