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About Us
Established in 2013, The First Home Buyers Club has proudly assisted thousands of Kiwis on their journey to home ownership.
The Club was established as a free, easy to access resource to provide first home buyers with all the information they need throughout their journey.
The First Home Buyers Club is the only company in New Zealand whose focus is exclusively first home buyers, which has seen us earn the reputation as New Zealand's leading first home buyer experts. We regularly provide media commentary on first home buyer issues.
The Club was founded by Karen Lewis, a former Bank Executive who had worked for over 25 years in a number of New Zealand's leading banks. Karen is passionate about the importance of Home Ownership and its benefits to individuals, families, and the wider community. Karen went on to establish a boutique mortgage advisory service which lead her to realise that there was no one place first home buyers could go to for advice on all aspects of the often daunting journey to home ownership. And so the First Home Buyers Club was born ... a place for support, encouragement and objective advice.
We’re working for you – our members are our top priority. We are not funded by any banks or developers, but do generate income to support the club through advertising and mortgage commissions. Our philosophy is to always look for a win-win-win ... a win for you our members, our partners, and the club itself.
Buying your first home is a super exciting time – and we love seeing our First Home Buyers Club members turn the lock in the door to their new home!
Vision
Home ownership for more Kiwis and their families.
Mission
Provide a comprehensive free resource to assist Kiwi first home buyers on the home ownership journey.
Advocate and champion homeownership for Kiwis.
Values
Objective honest advice.
Win. Win. Win.
How the club works.
We’re working for you – not for the banks, and we’re here to help you at each step of the journey – from dropping that first dollar in the savings tank, to helping with negotiations with a mortgage provider, right through to helping you find the right person to mow the lawns in your new home.
In addition to the abundance of free resources and information on our website, we also have a Registered Mortgage Adviser available to assist our members with:
A PLANNING MEETING
As a privately-funded business, you can assist us in continuing to support Kiwi first home buyers by using us to arrange your mortgage and/or insurances. We would sincerely appreciate your support!
HOME LOAN PRE-APPROVAL
HOME LOAN STRUCTURING
Member Offers
We’ve teamed up with a number of great partners to provide you with special deals and offers to make buying your first home even easier, to help ensure you can save a little more here and there – after all, every little bit counts! We will continue to work on bringing you many more special offers from all around the country.
Meet the Team
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Founder
As a former mortgage broker with more than 25-years experience in the NZ banking industry, Karen saw first-hand the struggles that many first home buyers faced to get the information and support needed to put in an offer on a new home. Subsequently, The First Home Buyers Club was founded in 2013, providing Kiwi’s with the right tools and information, from the right people, right at the start of the process.
Driven by no financial reward, but honest and unbiased advice, Karen is passionate about helping Kiwi home buyers achieve their dream of owning a home. She believes this is through making smart, informed decisions with realistic, achievable terms that fit their budget and lifestyle.
In her spare time, Karen is passionate about photography and interior design work. She loves travelling and spending time with family, and her rescue dog, Bella.
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Media Director
Lesley joined The First Home Buyers Club in 2017, and is regularly called upon for television and radio interviews. She is the 'subject-expert' on everything first-home-buyer related, as well as the voice of our members.
With over 20 years financial banking experience in senior and leadership roles, as well as an extensive property background, Lesley understands the growing challenges for first home buyers in New Zealand. She is passionate about making the first home buyer journey accessible for all Kiwis, and subsequently creating a more positive future.
Lesley's passions also extend to interior design, and she is a restoration and renovation consultant specialist. As an ardent animal lover, Lesley works with a local animal charity and loves spending time with her two dogs, Marlow and Willow ... and a cat called Casper.
For media enquiries please contact Lesley:
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First Home Buyer Adviser
With over 8 years of experience guiding first home buyers through the purchasing journey, Dustin is a valuable member of the First Home Buyers Club team. Initially joining as a Marketing Manager in 2015, Dustin now leads our Digital Marketing team.
In 2021, Dustin qualified as a registered Financial Adviser, specializing in helping first home buyers navigate the lending process and overcome its associated challenges. He is committed to enabling First Home Buyers Club members to achieve their dreams of homeownership.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Dustin is a passionate record collector who also runs a side business importing and selling soul and funk vinyl at www.dustycrates.co.nz. He enjoys attending live music events, exploring nature through bush walks, traveling, and spending quality time with his loved ones.