Planning To Buy: 3 Things You Can Do Right Now

There are plenty of hurdles along the path to buying your first home.  Preparing yourself is key to making the process go nice and smoothly.

The team from Mortgage Lab recommends 3 things you can do right now (no matter when you’re buying)

1: Order your Credit Report

It’s free to order your own Credit Report and is a great insight into what the bank will know about you. See what loans are recorded against your name. See what the Utility Companies say about you (if you’re late paying the Electricity company, they now note this on your Credit Report and the bank hates it).

But most importantly, see if there are any defaults marked against your name and if they are incorrect, start the process to get it correct. This is a long and tiring process so it’s better to know 3-4 months before you want to apply for a mortgage.

You can check your credit report at www.checkyourcredit.co.nz

2: Find out when you’re eligible to withdraw your KiwiSaver

You need to have been contributing to a KiwiSaver for 3 years before you can withdraw it for your first home. Note the word: “contributing”. Give your KiwiSaver provider a call to see if and when you are eligible.

Take a look at our summary of KiwiSaver Withdrawal For First Home

3: Ask your boss for a pay rise

Hey, why not? An additional $3,000 per year could get you a house worth $50,000 more. That can make quite a difference in some areas and could be the difference between getting your dream house or missing out on it.

Take a look at these 5 Tips For Getting A Pay Rise

Remember, when it comes to talking to a Mortgage Adviser, there is no such thing as “too early”. We prefer to get you on the right path now so when it comes to applying for finance, it all goes nice and smoothly.

This post is brought to you by Mortgage Lab, partnering with The First Home Buyer’s Club to provide specialist advice to first time buyers.  Get in touch with one of their experienced advisors via the form below to get yourself on the right path.

Image Copyright: c_brignell / 123RF Stock Photo