Are You Know What are the deposit requirements for a mortgage?
Gather up your acorns
Basically, banks won’t lend the full amount for a house — you need to be able to put down a deposit, and the more the better. You may be familiar with 20% as the magic number, but the reality is if you’re in a strong financial position we can work with as little as 5% deposit. Most people will need around 10% deposit, and if you can fork out a whopping 20%, you’ll access the banks’ most competitive rates and avoid low equity fees.
If you’ve got high income but low deposit, you could be eligible for Launchpad, Squirrel’s own home loan product for first home buyers that allows buyers to get into home ownership with as little as 5% deposit. Find out if you’re eligible here.
KiwiSaver
If you’re a first home buyer you can withdraw KiwiSaver contributions made by you and your employer to use as a deposit towards your new home if you meet these conditions:
- have been a KiwiSaver scheme member for at least three years;
- be planning to live in the house for at least six months, and
- be buying your first home.
First Home Grant
In addition to KiwiSaver, if your household income is less than $150,000 and you are buying for less than $625,000 (or building new for less than $700,000) in Auckland, you may be eligible for a First Home Grant of up to $5,000 per borrower.
Kainga Ora First Home price caps in Wellington are $650,000 and $550,000, and in Christchurch they are $550,000 and $500,000.
You can find out more about these options in our —> (aka your new bible). But what if you earn above the price caps? Glad you asked.
Launchpad
With Launchpad, a home loan product created by Squirrel, if you’ve got high income you could buy your first home with as little as 5% deposit and shoot into home ownership faster. We’ve tailored this towards those of you who don’t quite fit in the banks’ box or the Kainga Ora scheme, haven’t got access to the ‘bank of parents’ but are able to afford the mortgage .
Buy with as little as 5% deposit *
No property valuations required for most properties (this allows you to go to auction without draining your savings)
Competitive interest rates
Best of all, it’s a leg up onto the property ladder
To find out more about Launchpad and see if you’re eligible, click here.
* Lending criteria and t’s and c’s apply. ?
The Bank of mum and dad
The easiest and cheapest way to buy is using your parents to guarantee that part of your 20% deposit you don’t have.
Their guaranteed portion will be secured over their property or it can be secured over a term deposit, so you’re not asking them to fork out cash, it’s more like putting a ‘hold’ on their existing equity until you’ve paid that portion back.
In the event they use a term deposit as security, the term deposit stays in your parent’s name and they continue to earn interest on it. Guaranteed home loans are treated the same as loans under 80% so you get great interest rates, there are no fees, and you’ll even get a cash contribution from the bank. On an average loan size of $400,000 you will http://www.rapidloan.net/payday-loans/bad-credit-payday-loans/ save around $10,000 using this option. Using a guarantor makes strong financial sense, even if you can go it alone.
Homeowner’s Loan
Ask a Squirrel mortgage adviser about using our Homeowner’s Loan as part of your house deposit.
Your parents need to be in a stable financial situation and still working (so ideally not retired on a sailboat, spending your inheritance).