[justin.g.s]

Hello all,

This web site was a big help to me while I was still in California. We moved here in dec 04' and have been very busy and I have not really been back to this site since then.

As much help as this site gave me, this really is my first opportunity to return the favor.

That Being said, I was a mortgage broker in California for five years, before our move over to New Zeland, and landed a job working for Kiwi Bank as a Home Loan Advisor based north of Auckland in Orewa.

I have seen a few questions about banks, and I am more than happy to answer any questions about mortgages in New Zealand that you have to ask.

As I am a loan specialist I may not be to helpful with day to day banking questions ie opening savings accounts ect..

To answer a earlier question about New Zealand owned bank, of the bigger banks: Bank of New Zealand, ASB, Westpac, The National bank, and Kiwi Bank all but Kiwi Bank are owned by Australian companies.

There are a few smaller kiwi owned bank, but they don't offer the same services and are a really dont offer competitive interest rates.

With that ask away and I will endeavor to answer your questions.

The good news though, is that compared to getting a mortgage in the states, it is VERY easy to get a loan here in New Zealand.

Regards, Justin Syphers

[tigerlily]

Hi Justin!

How are you settled aside from work? Are you feeling at home?

A few questions...
Do you know of a good online calculator to figure out such things as how much the monthly payment would be on a certain loan.

In America it's hard to get a bank to lend less than 100K. Are smaller mortgages offered in NZ?

What about home insurance? In America it's rolled in with the mortgage very often. Can you buy home insurance and what sorts of cost am I looking at?

Thanks for the help and welcome back.

[justin.g.s]

Hi

we are settled in it took the better part of a year, alot of that had to do with the fact that we bought a REAL fixer upper, or do -upper as they say here.

You can get a loan for under 100k. Kiwi banks min is 50k for a loan.

Insurance in general is cheaper here in N.Z compared to America. I pay around $90 a month for top of the line insurance including about 100k for contents coverage.

As far as the calculator goes you should be looking for an amortization schedule. If you google that you should find alot of them. I used to use www.bankrate.com when I was in Ca, not sure if it is still up and running. Google search for that schedule and you will be fine.

Thanks for inviting me back, this place is an island of usefull info. With out it one might feel a bit lost in the move.

[Avalon]

A few questions...
Do you know of a good online calculator to figure out such things as how much the monthly payment would be on a certain loan.
.
http://www.westpac.co.nz/olcontent/olcontent.nsf/Content/Home+Loan+Calculator+-+Fine+Tune

Try this one - I found it the best of all Kiwi calculators as it best shows the difference you can make with overpayments etc.

There is also sorted.co.nz which has all sorts of finance calcuators - and one you can use to compare several different loans.

[Toronto_Kiwi]

Hi Justin. I don't know if you have any influence regarding the Migrant banking services for Kiwi Bank, but I was recently shopping for a NZ bank account and I was forced to turn to Westpac instead of Kiwi Bank. The Kiwi Bank migrant banking forms were more confusing and I couldn't reach anyone to answer my questions. I tried calling an Auckland branch but they couldn't direct me to a phone number that I could call from overseas (without getting put on hold for ages and ages). I would have preferred to use Kiwi Bank but Westpac has been super helpful.

[Jaideco]

Hi Justin,

I'm glad to hear you settled in and thanks for the offer of help. I am sure that everyone will be as eager as me to say thank you for your kind offer.

I do have one question, I am going to be moving to NZ in April and after a period in temporary accomodation, I am anticipating looking for permanent property in 6-9 months time. Whether or not I actually decide on buying will depend on how much I have saved and what the market is like but I want to make sure that my chances of getting the credit are as good as possible.

What sort of requirements would you expect of someone before they would be offered a reasonable loan? Obviously I would be in permanent employment with a recent career change... Do I need to get myself listed on any registers for the local authorities? What sorts of documents would support my case? I expect that I will pick up an NZ credit card at some point, but would it be an idea to get one sooner rather than later to establish a record of good credit with any credit monitoring agencies?

Yours very interestedly!

[katandbob]

Hello all,

This web site was a big help to me while I was still in California. We moved here in dec 04' and have been very busy and I have not really been back to this site since then.

As much help as this site gave me, this really is my first opportunity to return the favor.


Regards, Justin Syphers

Maybe you can give me any thoughts on wether we will have a problem with getting set up in NZ, we actually sold our house last year in Oct and have been living with my OH parents, this means no current bills (well except for the phone bill that they still havent sorted out! they still owe me £57!)

I have kept all my last bills...council tax, gas etc, but obviously they wont be less than 3 mths old....

I also DONT want to do the credit card senario it seems silly that being in debt makes you a stronger credit candidate! has NZ got this silly outlook too?

Thanks,
(using cash again....and starting to like having money in the bank!) :roll

[justin.g.s]

first of all for jaidco and others when concerning "positive credit" In new zealand their is no such thing as positive credit.

Due to New Zealand privacy laws it is against the law to share or report you personal credit history save for when someone misses a payment.

That being said when I run a persons credit in New Zealand it will only report negative credit.(if any exists) This is totally different to America and the U.K as well. You do not get rewarded for having a positive credit history, only punished for havning a negative history.

Getting a loan here is fairly easy. Assuming you came to kiwi bank for help. we can lend up to 95% of the loan if you are a permanent resident. For non resident you will need a deposit of 20%.

To get a loan with us we need 3-6 months personal bank statements in New Zealand showing a history of your work and the history of your deposit, that and one payslip are all the documentation we normally require. You can get a loan day one here if you have a job and can show the history of the deposit.

You can keep your old bills to get your fire started for the most part.

[justin.g.s]

Totonto kiwi sorry about the hassle with kiwi bank. Their 800 number is tough to get through. I have not had any experience with their migrant banking services. I will tell you that kiwi bank is a new bank, just coming up on 4 years. So their are still some kinks in the armour.

Kiwi Bank is growing however and evolving. They do garuntee to offer the lowest availabe interest rates among the big five or so banks.

Many do take solice in the fact that the profits stay here in New Zealand as opposed to going overseas if you use our competition. It is a small thing but important to alot of my clients.

Sorry you had a rough go of it the first time through, maybe we can make it up to you when you get over here.

How is the weather in Toronto? were still wearing shorts and going barefoot over here:) Hope that's not too mean of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TJH]

Does anyone out there have the Migrant Banking packet you could send to me via e-mail. I have seen the forms on the Kiwi Bank website, but I heard there was a bit more info out there that went along with them such as brochures. My e-mail is:

dirtpig67@yahoo.com

Also, does anyone have any recent experiences with setting up a Migrant account while still not in NZ? Are you allowed to transfer money to the account prior to arriving and if so are there any limits on amount? Thanks

[Avalon]

TJH-

Most of the banks will set up accounts from the UK. Theres a thread started by Dawn about the Kiwi Bank setup - and we used ASB (Done throuh the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in London).

And yes - you can transfer money here before you come out. MY parents did this on thier first trip out here - they were just on holiday - but it made paying for stuff a lot easier.

[Toronto_Kiwi]

Totonto kiwi sorry about the hassle with kiwi bank. Their 800 number is tough to get through. I have not had any experience with their migrant banking services. I will tell you that kiwi bank is a new bank, just coming up on 4 years. So their are still some kinks in the armour.

Kiwi Bank is growing however and evolving. They do garuntee to offer the lowest availabe interest rates among the big five or so banks.

Many do take solice in the fact that the profits stay here in New Zealand as opposed to going overseas if you use our competition. It is a small thing but important to alot of my clients.

Sorry you had a rough go of it the first time through, maybe we can make it up to you when you get over here.

How is the weather in Toronto? were still wearing shorts and going barefoot over here:) Hope that's not too mean of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhh... I hadn't understood that Kiwi Bank was such a new bank. Kinks are definitely forgiveable. I wasn't frustrated - just hoping to offer some productive criticism to help improve the experience for others.

It's not nice to tease Canadians about the weather in winter but we had a nice weekend: +12 C!! Now it's snowing and windy.

[justin.g.s]

When transfering cash into New Zealand I would stronlgy suggest looking at a currency broker such as custom house. www.customhouse.com

Their margin of profits is much slimmer than what most banks would charge to do the same thing.

[smitjo]

Thanks for your help.

This may sound like a really stupid question but how would you go about using a currency broker rather than directly with a bank? Would you set up an account with a NZ bank before going and then exchange your money with the broker? Does this mean that you would have to take cash over or could they transfer it to your bank for you? Sorry - not very clued up with banking!

Thanks,
Jo

[justin.g.s]

Not a problem. Banks will do the same thing as a broker, just charge you more to do the same thing.

You will need to open a bank account in New Zealand. A broker will help you through the process. Basically you will wire the money to the brokers bank in my case this was Bank of America.

They then will wire the money into your New Zealand bank account. The process takes a couple of days. The net result is that you get a better deal(more moeny)

[willsken]

I am sure that I have seen a thread about a company that transfers your money free of charge. I will try to find it and post the link. Then again I may be having a blond moment....had loads of those today! :uhoh

[Jaideco]

Not sure whether this will be of interest to anybody but I was reading on the MoneySavingExpert uk website that the Nationwide building society has a current account card that has no charges when you use it worldwide. I haven't tried it myself but I was thinking that it could be a useful way to bring money from the UK into NZ if you have large regular expenses such as rent payments perhaps?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1106765397,71685,

[Avalon]

Not sure whether this will be of interest to anybody but I was reading on the MoneySavingExpert uk website that the Nationwide building society has a current account card that has no charges when you use it worldwide. I haven't tried it myself but I was thinking that it could be a useful way to bring money from the UK into NZ if you have large regular expenses such as rent payments perhaps?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1106765397,71685,
Abbey National seems to do the same thing. Mum is withdrawing money from an Abbey account with no fees (though it is a business account - so please do check if its the same for persoanl accounts).

We have used HIFX for currency transfers - no fees involed (they make thier money from the difference in the rate they get and the rate they give you. Typicall if the rate of the day is 2.73 - you would get a rate of 2.71) You have to transfer a minimum of £uk 5000. I have to say ive found them very easy to deal with - and they are very good at explaining the process - simply but without treating you like a moron - which is always a good sign in my book.

Bear in mind that currency transfer though Dealers such as Hifx (and I think the banks) - can take 4-5 days for you to get the money. If you are likely to require some cash without wanting to wait - the Nationwide etc accounts are ideal. I wish Id known about them before I came here.

[willsken]

We have used HIFX for currency transfers - no fees involed (they make thier money from the difference in the rate they get and the rate they give you. Typicall if the rate of the day is 2.73 - you would get a rate of 2.71) You have to transfer a minimum of £uk 5000. I have to say ive found them very easy to deal with - and they are very good at explaining the process - simply but without treating you like a moron - which is always a good sign in my book.


Thanks Avalon! They were the one I was thinking of. Phew not going mad! :D

[baboonworld]

so if you use HIFX do you still need a migration account - or do you just open an account when you get to NZ??

Am not a millionnaire - however still would like to get the most for our money!

I have been filling in the ASB forms - but before i send them i could use all your advice!!!

[Jaideco]

Hi Guys,

How many of you have actually used Customer House or XE Trade to shift currency? Can you offer any indication on how much money you actually get at the end?

I am considering opening an account to move currency, primarily from NZD->GBP but I would be interested to know what sort of a bite they will take from me through weighting the exchange rate or adding fees.

[StevieD]

Just remember that you "get owt for nowt"! Everybody is out to make money, because they are a business. Read the small print - let the buyer beware. But a very very interesting thread, and thank you for spending your time advising people.

[Jaideco]

No kidding, but the sneaky R*****ns won't even give you a quote until you have fully signed up for their service. Undertandable but it doesn't give me any confidence in their prices.

[Avalon]

Jaideco,

My feeling would be to sign up for as many company as you like (as long as you dont have to sign anything which means you pay ANY money fo doing so - which as far as im aware - none of them do). Then - when you want to transfer (or even before - just for comparison), get quotes from all your options (including the banks) to transfer a set amount of money.

For companies like Hifx, the amount quoted will be the exact amount you get in your account as there are no fees - but just remember that with the the backs you must take into account any extra fees at each end that may not be included in the quote.

Also, ive recently had an email off Hifx about thier regular payment service - for sending regular amounts back to the uk - so you may want to ask all the companies you contanct for specific quotes on that as well:
Dear Helen



Do you need to make regular currency transfers for an overseas mortgage, pension or

salary payment? If you do then read on!



If you are transferring currency on a regular basis for any reason, you will know the

hassle involved and that the costs can quickly add up. HIFX's Regular Payments Abroad

service can automate your monthly transfers, saving you both time and money.



You won't ever have to contact your bank or worry about the exchange rate again.

Interested?



To find out more about how we can make your regular currency hassles disappear,

call us today on 09 306 3705 or send us an email: rpa@hifx.co.nz


Private Client Desk



HIFX Ltd
Dealing Room, Level 15, gen-i Tower
66 Wyndham Street, Auckland, New Zealand

Tel: +64 (0) 9 306 3700
Fax: +64 (0) 9 306 3701
www: http://www.hifx.co.nz

[starkhorn]

Hi Justin,

I know this thread is quite old but I was wondering if you are still around to help answer some questions?

When we get to NZ, we are seriously thinking of buying a new home on a vacant section of land thus our choice of bank will greatly depend on what bank offers the best services for construction loans.

I've looked on the Kiwibank site and I can only seem to find home loans to buy existing property and I'm not entirely sure if I can use those loans to build a new house?

Also what are the main differences a home loan to buy an existing home and a construction loan? Are there additional pit-falls or fees with construction loans due to the fact that the property hasn't been constructed yet?

Thanks a mill in advance.

Cheers
Starkhorn

[dean1968]

I built my own house and I am aware of some things you will need to know. Kiwibank will always be the cheapest bank in NZ as it has a semi quasi government gurantee behind it. Kiwibank was originally designed for first home low income buyers. The government has promised to pick up the tab if these people default so there credit rating is the highest and therefore they can borrow at the cheapeast. It would be similar to Fannie Mae in America.
Kiwibank is design purely for residential mortgage lending not speculatiing in real estate development deals.

Moving on, you can use the land as calleteral and borrow on that to build the house. The bank will probably charge you 1/2 percent more on a reconstruction loan because of the so called risk. I am not going to get into politics the Reserve bank has strict parameters on what they the bank can lend on which means if you say you are gonna live in it (they like), the banks has all these assessments etc for lending and charging. Saying you going to built a block of flats is a definite no-no. Building a house you are going to live is a plus. Saying you going to have borders etc is a nice sweetner. You have to know the right things to say. For example if the bank says how did you make your money you say "saving and investing" not speculating.

They look at lending up to 30% of your cash flow - income source. Self employed has stricter criteria because people can fudge (lie about ) their income. They usually want 2-3 years records. Working for someone. Employee salaries are the best. Long term track record with the business many years working at the same company will be a plus.

If you are building the house and borrowing then your only constraint is your income source when you land in NZ. That will be the criteria they will be using. Can can you service the loan? IT is usually 30% of your gross salary or of your combined partner's income.

We have had migrants land in NZ and plan to build their dream house in some idealic rural setting or beautidul deserted coast only to forget how they will service the loan. The reality is if you build your dream house not in a major city you better figure a way how you are going to service the loan with no job that brings in the big money. If you build your dream in in Auckland I am sure you can get a job thay may pay big money. NEw migrants are dreaming, You always start at the bottom. But if you livein some rural village you might get a menial day job but forget it. IT is not going to work. People forget how they are gonna live unless it is on interest in the bank. Running on an empty fumes when the gas runs out in the car is not the ideal situation with a mounting debt to service on an unpaid house. It is not the way to go.

The bank lends a set amount of money and then they expect a property valuation on the house each step of the way as more progress payments are handed over. Foundation, roof and walls $90,0000 valuation. $1200-$1500 they can be high. My house builder did it in 4. Some do it like 6-7. At the end of the day you pay for the register valuations. The lesss the better.