Professionals recently held a First Home Buyer’s Seminar at our Cornwall Street office, where some of our agents talked about why renters might like to own their own home and what products are available to assist with getting on the property ladder. We were fortunate to have Kāinga Ora attend to discuss their First Home Partner product, and Westpac to talk about their Shared Equity Scheme, and how together these products help get a first home buyer’s foot through their own front door!
Why continue to pay someone else’s mortgage when you could be provided the tools, along with our agent’s expertise, to purchase your own home? There are many benefits to home ownership beyond the financial ones. Your own home is somewhere you have freedom to add your own personality, and comfort; a space for you and your family to make homely.
Kāinga Ora offers a product called First Home Partner that will assist first home buyers by contributing up to $200,000 when your deposit, KiwiSaver and home loan aren’t enough to purchase your first home. It is a shared ownership agreement between you and Kāinga Ora, where you will be the majority shareholder and over time, will buy Kāinga Ora’s shares in the property out. There are several factors you will need to ensure your eligibility for First Home Partner - being over 18, have a good credit rating with a household income of no more than $130,000, be a first home buyer, have a minimum deposit of 5% and meet the criteria for home loan lending from a participating bank. You can also apply for a First Home Grant of up to $10,000 per owner towards your deposit if you are eligible.
The main differences are that Kāinga Ora will be a co-owner on the title, you will commit to living in the property for a minimum of three years and will need to purchase all shares from Kāinga Ora within 15 years. Any improvements or renovations to the home will need to be approved by the Relationship Manager assigned to you through Kāinga Ora. You must live in the home – it cannot be rented out, but you can have flatmates. Then once all shares have been purchased from Kāinga Ora, the house is 100% yours.
Once your application with Kāinga Ora is accepted along with the home loan through your bank, you can then start the process of finding your home. Homes that are eligible for First Home Partner are new builds or sales off the plans. We recently had a property here in Lower Hutt that was a new build but had been settled by another owner who hadn’t moved in. Professionals were able to work with the buyer/vendor/Westpac and Kāinga Ora to get this buyer into their first home and the vendor’s property successfully sold!
For more information on First Home Partner, visit www.kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/first-home-partner or to see what homes are eligible, check out Professionals’ New Build Hub www.newbuildhub.co.nz.
We would be happy to put you in contact with an advisor who knows the full process.
Happy First Home Hunting.