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Buy 1st Home with KiwiSaver deposit

Before you look for a house you need to organise some paperwork and get KiwiSaver withdrawal pre-approval. In the examples below I've added in the details I used such as lawyer details but of course yours will be different:

Step 1: Pre-approval check list

The check list below is the main information you need and will speed up your Home buying process significantly. 

Who is your Solicitor?

Firm: The Law Shop
Solicitor: Kelly Morris
Phone: 06 351 4739
Fax: 356 9849 
Email: k.morris@fitzrowe.co.nz

I used Fitzherbert Rowe because my business has used them for a number of years and I know they are reliable and professional.

Paperwork

1. Proof of identity such as a photo of your New Zealand passport, birth certificate, or confirmation of permanent residency if you are not a New Zealand citizen.
2. Certificate of Income from IRD. 
1. Login to IRD here: https://www1.e-services.ird.govt.nz/secure/ login.html
2. Login using your IRD Online Services user name and password
3. Select ‘My Income’
4. Under ‘Account Information’ click on ‘Earnings last 12 months’
5. Click ‘Save/Print’ and save as a pdf (I renamed mine to ird-caertificate-of-income.pdf so it's easy to distinguish from other documents)
3. Evidence of your KiwiSaver contributions:
1. Go to www.kiwisaver.govt.nz
2. Click in ‘My KiwiSaver’
3. Login using your IRD Online Services user name and password
4. Select ‘View Transactions’
5. Click on the drop down box to select ‘Deductions from Salary/Wages’
6. Change the start date to ‘1st July 2007’, which is the default start date for KiwiSaver scheme, then apply filter.
7. Click ‘view all pages’
8. Print.
4. Self Employed KiwiSaver members like myself also need financial statements and tax returns for the last two years. These can be obtained from your Accountant.
5. Loan statements. If you have loans such as a Student Loan or Hire Purchase you will need statements showing how much you owe.
6. Copies of your pay slips for the last 2 months.
7. Contact your KiwiSaver provider (mine was KiwiBank: kbksproduct@kiwibank.co.nz) and ask for a confirmation letter stating how much you're able to withdraw from your KiwiSaver for a first home deposit.

Pre-approval

Step 2: Apply for loan pre-approval

Once you're pre-approved for KiwiSaver withdrawal and the NZHC subsidy you need to:

1. Identify how much you want to loan. I wanted to loan as little as possible so I would have low repayments and pay it off quickly. To work out how much I wanted to loan I used the KiwiBank Mortgage Calculators. 
2. Identify who you want your loan with. I chose KiwiBank because:
1. My personal account has been with them for ages.
2. I could split my loan into fixed and variable.
3. The variable part of the loan is linked with my personal bank account so if I have $20,000 in my personal account then I don't have to pay interest on $20,000 of the variable component of my loan.
4. They gave me $1,000 toward lawyers fees and waived the $250 for the offset loan application.
3. Identify who you want your house insurance to be with. I chose KiwiBank because it made everything happen a lot faster.

Once you have this information, contact your mortgage provider or bank and ask if you can get loan pre-approval. You can start the KiwiBank home loan application process here.

Step 3: Find a house

Once you know how much you can loan start searching for a house and have some clear "must haves" in mind. My requirements were:

1. Must be under $150,000 so I can pay it off quickly. I hate the idea of owing money; especially for 25 years and I also hate interest.
2. Must be a good investment opportunity so I can do renovations to improve the property's value.
3. Must be within 20KM of Palmerston North so I can cycle to work.

When I found the house that I wanted I was lucky because I had a friend who was a Real Estate agent that guided me through the process. These are the steps:

1. Make an offer on the house with the following conditions:
1. Finance - allow 2 weeks before you go "unconditional" so you have time to liaise with your bank, solicitor and insurance company.
2. Builder's report must state the building is sound.
3. No deposit to the vendor required because it is a loan using KiwiSaver withdrawal.
4. Allow 45 days before you take possession so you have time to draw down your KiwiSaver and NZHC Deposit.
2. Go to the local Council and ask to view the files of the property you wish to buy. Take photographs of electrical and building certificates that show everything is in order.
3. Contact a builder and ask them to provide a Builder's Report for the property. This will identify if there is anything major that needs fixing and is a requirement for the loan and insurance.
4. Contact your insurer and ask them for full home and loan repayment insurance for the property.

Step 4: Last steps

When you go "uncoditional" your solicitor will complete the KiwiSaver and NZHC subsidy form and draw the money down into their trust account ready for payment to the vendor on the possession date.  Here's some things that I did to ensure that everything was running smoothly:

1. Contact the Vendor's real estate agent to let them know that everything was going as planned on our side.
2. Create a contact list of all the parties involved so I had their details on hand such as:
   
   Solicitor
   Firm: The Law Shop
   Solicitor: Kelly Morris
   Phone: 06 351 4739
   Fax: 356 9849 
   Email: k.morris@fitzrowe.co.nz
   
   Mortgage Manager
   Firm: KiwiBank
   Solicitor: Debbie Rotherham
   Phone: 0800 452 002
   Fax: 06 355 5517
   Email: debbie.rotherham@kiwibank.co.nz
   

   Do you want $250 for free?
   If you decide to use KiwiBank for your home loan let them know that you were referred by Brynn Neilson. That way you'll get $250 for free and I'll also get a $250 commission for referring you.

   Insurer
   Firm: KiwiBank
   Solicitor: Nicole Ashton-Afamiliona
   Phone: 0800 222 491
   Email: Nicole.Ashton-Afamiliona@kiwibank.co.nz
   
   Vendor's Realtor
   Firm: Unique Realty
   Solicitor: Catherine Cawsey
   Phone: 06 323 1554
   Email: catherine@uniquerealty.co.nz
    
3. Gave plenty of notice to the rental property I was in and planned the shift to my new house.

About
Brynn

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