Refinancing to a lower interest rate sounds like a good idea. But do the numbers stack up? Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through what to consider before making the move. "Today we are talking to all those people who currently have mortgages and are looking for a better mortgage rate from another bank.  We’re going to look at what you need to know about interest rates and when it’s good to refinance and when it’s not a good strategy. So, you’ve got a fixed-term interest rate...

Want to increase the amount the bank will lend you for a mortgage? Mortgage Lab CEO tells you how it can be done. "In our last video we asked the question, what is your mortgage number.  Essentially, what is the maximum you can borrow at the best bank for you in your current financial situation.  Today we’re going to look at what you can do when your mortgage number is not enough to get the house you want. Everyone who is paying rent can borrow something.  You’re already making regular...

Everybody has a mortgage number.  That is, everyone has an amount of money that a lender is willing to lend to them to purchase a house.  Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough talks you through what your mortgage number might be and how you can confidently calculate it. "When you hear that a friend or a workmate or just a random person in the news was declined for a mortgage what you’re actually hearing is that the mortgage amount they applied for exceeded their personal mortgage number at one or...

Wondering how the bank would take into account income from a boarder or flatmate? Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through what you need to know. "Firstly, let’s clarify the difference between a boarder and a flatmate because it’s important for your application.  A flatmate is someone who rents a room at a fixed price and shares the costs such as food with others in the house. A boarder, on the other hand, pays a set amount which might include the room, prepared meals and laundry...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough wraps up what's been happening with interest rates in May 2022 and shares big news about the First Home Loan and First Home Grant schemes. This is a must watch for first home buyers! "Firstly, with the First Home Loan, there is now no price cap for getting a First Home Loan. In other words, there is no maximum purchase price when using the First Home Loan scheme.  That means, whatever you can afford on your income, up to the threshold of $150k for couples and...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough talks you through everything you need to know about the changes to the First Home Loan and the First Home Grant and gives you an explanation of the First Home Partners. You can watch a video on the same subject here: https://youtu.be/WmnYWvjY99o If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at mortgagelab.co.nz/contact-us, we're here to help. You can watch more of these articles by subscribing to our YouTube...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough shares what you need to know about the new government initiative, First Home Partner, and why it could be the key to buying your first home. "A number of initiatives are already in place from the government - administered and processed through Kainga Ora.  The main ones are: The First Home Loan: This allows first home buyers, buying under a certain price cap, the ability to borrow with as low as 5% deposit with a portion of the loan being guaranteed by the...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough shares what's been happening in mortgages throughout April 2022, giving you everything you need to know about the mortgage market. The big news this month was, of course, the OCR announcement when Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr announced a 0.5% or 50 basis point increase to the official cash rate. This was the biggest OCR increase in 22 years on the back of massive inflation of 6.9% well above their target inflation rate of 2%.  Not since 17th May 2000 has the...

Thinking about buying a house with friends in order to get on the property ladder? Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough talks you through everything you need to consider beforehand. With high house prices and not everyone having access to help from the Bank of Mum and Dad, many Kiwis are asking whether it is worth buying with friends instead of on their own.  So let's look at the pros and cons of purchasing a house with friends, what is involved with getting a mortgage together and at the end, I’ll...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough shares his top five tips to boost your house deposit.  "The first thing is look around your house and see what you can sell.  It might be a spare car that you don't use anymore, just sitting down there on the driveway, slowly (or quickly) depreciating in value. It might be the camping gear that you went away once with and almost had a divorce over. It could be the mountain bike that you bought and took out to ride once. There's a tonne of stuff sitting around...

Credit cards are a common pitfall for first home buyers. Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through exactly how much your credit card limits impact your ability to get a mortgage.  "One of the first things you need to know is the difference between a balance and a limit. You might have a limit of $10,000 and be able to borrow up to that amount. But you may never have spent more than $1,000 on your credit card.  Unfortunately, when you're applying for a mortgage, the bank has to assume...

March was certainly an interesting time for interest rates. Rupert Gough, CEO of Mortgage Lab talks you through the latest. Let’s talk about what happened in March 2022 in the mortgage and property market with the biggest news being the shocking milestone that interest rates reached at the very end of the month.  February’s mortgage lending numbers came out mid-March with $5.7b of mortgages being lent across all the banks in February 2022.  This is down 36% from its peak of $9.08b (just 3...

This topic is just for fun! Or in other words, just for property nerds. Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough looks at what you would need to buy a $10,000,000 house. "You’ve got a cool money pile floating around in the bank.  It’s time to upgrade and you want to go large. 8 figure large.  What can you get for $10,000,000 and what do you need to show the bank to be able to get a mortgage?  Stick around until the end of the video and I’ll also show you how a 10 million New Zealand dollar home...

Wondering how much money you actually need for a deposit on a house? Rupert Gough, CEO of Mortgage Lab talks you through the numbers. "The amount of income varies vastly and is actually quite a hard number to nail down.  The amount required varies from bank to bank and is also highly variable depending on your monthly expenses, how many children you have and your secondary debt - things like credit cards for instance..." You can watch a video on the same subject here:...

Rupert Gough, CEO of Mortgage Lab chats with Garreth Collard, owner of Epsom Tax about whether it's worth breaking your mortgage to re-fix earlier. If you would like to contact Garreth and EpsomTax to learn more, you can reach them at 0800 890 132 or visit their website www.epsomtax.com. You can watch a video on the same subject here: https://youtu.be/d6xEi49NBpk If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at mortgagelab.co.nz/contact-us,...

Your options will depend on the reason your application was rejected. In this podcast, Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through what to do next if you've been declined by a bank, as well as when and how. Now I don’t want to shamelessly plug mortgage brokers here, but if you’re getting declined by banks directly it’s safe to say it’s time to talk to a broker. They will find out which bank is most likely to approve your application and give you advice on how to improve your chances of...

Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough does a round up of all the important mortgage news for the month of February 2021. The month started with a jump in interest rates.  ANZ moved first pushing the 1 year rate up to 3.85% at ANZ followed by BNZ 2 days later. Other banks soon followed course ranging from 3.79% to 3.85% for 1 year.  At the other end of the fixed term rates, the 5 year term is sitting around 4.95% to 5.25%.  That’s a premium of 1.1% - 1.5% to lock in a 5 year rate... You can watch a...

In this podcast Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through whether you could - or should - get a top up on your mortgage. "There are many valid reasons why you might be looking to pull some equity out of your property to use elsewhere. This is commonly referred to as a ‘top up’ on your mortgage.  The benefit of a top-up is that you get cash to spend but in return your mortgage gets bigger. Interest charged means that unless you pay it back reasonably quickly you will end up paying...

 In this podcast Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough gives you an overview of the act, its impacts, and what you now need to do differently in order to get a mortgage. "The act, called CCCFA for short, came into force on the 1st December 2021. It was largely meant to protect consumers from high-interest loan sharks. But unintended effects of the act have flowed into mainstream mortgage applications, for home-buyers, upgraders and investors alike. So, what is the CCCFA? The act effectively...

Mortgage interest rates are always changing, making it difficult to keep up if you're not actively working in the industry. But don't worry,  Mortgage Lab has you covered. In this video CEO Rupert Gough provides his monthly update on everything interest rates. You can watch a video on the same subject on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/AIjNcENuo9E If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at www.mortgagelab.co.nz/contact-us, we're here to...

Working through the logistics of selling your current house and buying your next one can be taxing. In this podcast Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough takes you through the process and options. You can watch a video on the same subject here: https://youtu.be/StNpI1GZS9I You can also learn more from reading our blog on the same subject at mortgagelab.co.nz/what-happens-when-you-go-to-buy-your-next-house If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at...

Mortgage interest rates are always changing, making it difficult to keep up if you're not actively working in the industry. But don't worry,  Mortgage Lab has you covered. In this video CEO Rupert Gough provides his monthly update on everything interest rates. You can watch a video on the same subject on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8mmrqAPrshk If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at www.mortgagelab.co.nz/contact-us, we're here to...

Mortgage interest rates are always changing, making it difficult to keep up if you're not actively working in the industry. But don't worry,  Mortgage Lab has you covered. In this video CEO Rupert Gough provides his monthly update on everything interest rates. You can watch a video on the same subject on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/MSwLGIbrSzo If you are unsure where to start or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the team at www.mortgagelab.co.nz/contact-us, we're here to...