Cooking the Books podcast: Mortgage myths that can hold you back from a first home

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s first-home tricks that can help you over the line. Hosted by Frances Cook.

First-home buyers are being encouraged not to let mortgage myths hold them back from trying to get into a home.

While issues like being single, self-employed or not having the full 20 per cent deposit can make buying a home more difficult, they don’t have to mean an automatic no.

Speaking on the Cooking the Books podcast, Claire Williamson, director and adviser with My Mortgage, said it was key to talk to a mortgage adviser or bank staff.

She said clients were often closer to qualifying for a first home than they thought.

“Nine times out of 10 we can make something work for people, it’s just how that fits in with their expectations and what they want out of their first home.

“Often people come to us and don’t realise that they’re really close to buying.

“A classic one is young professionals who’ve had a couple of years in their career, they’ve got KiwiSaver, they might not have a 20 per cent deposit but have been told they need to have it.

“We can end up moving that process forward pretty quickly … it might even be within a month or two.”

Williamson said first-home buyers could find schemes to help them buy with as little as a 5 per cent deposit, such as First Home Loan or BNZ’s new low-deposit loan option.

Using deposit boosters such as KiwiSaver and the First Home Grant could then help them get over the line.

For those who were single and worried about having enough income for the repayments, Williamson recommended teaming up with a friend or family member.

“I’m seeing so many people, siblings, friends, even extended family, looking to purchase together.

“Then they’re not only combining their deposit, they’re combining their income.

“I had a conversation with some brothers last night, this was exactly their situation. One of them couldn’t have purchased on their own but, jointly, they were in a really good position.”

For the interview, listen to the podcast here.

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• Listen to the full interview on the Cooking the Books podcast. You can subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.