Buying your first home

Buying your first home is considered one of life’s major milestones and can be a very daunting process, but our aim is to make this a journey you enjoy.

We can help you prepare for your first home purchase and guide you through the process step by step.

A woman hanging a framed robot illustration on the wall while a young boy plays with a train set on the carpet below in a brightly lit room.

It’s always a good idea to find out what you can do to prepare yourself before putting an application together. Below are some things you can go through, to see how you can get yourself into the best position to buy your first home.

Learn more

Our process

Preparing Your Application

After meeting with you and having a clear conversation around your current financial position and what you would like to achieve, we look at gathering information from you while putting together an application. Click below for a list of the documents we will need to submit your application.

Learn more

Bank Assessment & Approval

Once the bank has assessed your application, they may request further information or offer an approval. This may or may not contain conditions which will need to be met before you can draw down on the loan. We will go through the approval with you to make sure you understand everything there. The approval will usually be valid for 90 days, after this time we will send through some updated information to the banks to extend this approval if you are still looking for a property. Don’t worry, we will be in touch with you before this expires and will let you know everything we need to have this approval rolled over. 

House Hunting

Now you have your approval, the fun can begin with house hunting!

If you haven’t already, it would be a good time to engage in a solicitor as you will want them to go through the Sale and Purchase Agreement with you before you put an offer in, to go over the term and conditions, and help you if you need to ensure any clauses are added if need be. Also discuss with them the process of withdrawing your KiwiSaver as this will need to be done once you are unconditional, and it can take some time to have this deposited into your solicitors Trust account.

Making an Offer

Once you’ve found a property you would like to put an offer in on, you can request a copy of the Sale and Purchase Agreement form the Real Estate Agent selling the house, and you forward through a copy of this agreement to us to we can have the banks confirm they are happy to hold this property as security. You will need to also let us know what your maximum off would be. The bank will then let us know if they would require a Registered Valuation on the property (if it is a private sale, or high LVR lending this is most likely to be needed)

Property Checks

We will also let you know if any conditions need to be added to your offer, such as a finance condition.

You may want to have a Builder go through the property if you have any concerns, and they can produce a Builders Report for you. You can have this done once your offer is accepted, but before you go unconditional, as if there is anything untoward in the property, you may not want to continue with the purchase.

Loan Structure

Once you’ve had your offer accepted on a property, all conditions in the approval letter have been met and the bank has offered you confirmation of finance, the next step is sorting your loan structure.

We will send you through interest rates and a cash incentive as well as options on how to structure your loan. Your Advisor will be in touch with you to have a thorough chat to make sure you understand how this works, and that the structure you choose is the best option for you and your needs.

Documentation

Your loan documents will then be sent to your solicitor who will arrange a time for you to go through and sign the final documents before settlement.

Settlement

It’s Settlement Day! Congratulations! You made it into your first home, how exciting! Things don’t end here for us though, we will still be working with you when it comes time to update your loan when your fixed rate expires, we are here if you feel you need any changes to your structure, or if you want to apply for some funds to do some work on your new home! 

  • “Can’t recommend Jo Taylor enough for sorting your mortgage. As first home buyers she really helped us understand the processes and was always willing to talk. Can’t express how happy we are with the work she put in to get us across the line! Cheers Jo!”

    - Stuart Julian

  • “We couldn't recommend Natasha and the team at Lend any higher.We have used Natasha twice over the past 3 years, and each time have received fast communication, a professional manner and she has always gone above and beyond to make sure we have had the best possible service.Thanks again Natasha! ”

    - Courtney Paurini

  • “Thank you to the wonderful Natasha Viliamu for helping me purchase my first home! There are a lot of different things to consider when buying a home and Natasha was there every step of the way. Nothing seemed to be too much to ask. 10/10 recommend Natasha!!”

    - Alarna Stratton

  • “Jo Taylor was wonderful to work with. She made everything very simple and clear, taking the hassle and confusion out of dealing with the banks. I'll definitely come back to Jo when it's time to remortgage.”

    - Kelly Loney

  • “One year since we moved into our very own home! From our first visit to the sold sign going up on our new house was around two weeks and it definitely wouldn't have been possible without the kind help and support from Natasha and team. Highly, highly recommend. Thank-you!”

    - Liah Hughes

  • “Awesome experience with our broker Jo Taylor. She managed to get us a fantastic rate, far lower than the public one! She always answered our emails and phone calls during the day. Jo took time to explain to us the bank system in New Zealand which is different from our country of origin. She was always incredibly kind and supportive during stressful moments and especially when some surprises arise from LIM and Building reports. I have been impressed by her involvement with our lawyer during the six months we needed to find and secure our dream house.”

    — Johann Cornet

  • “Natasha is a super star! Professional and hardworking we are really happy with the way things have gone I can’t think of anything that would fault her service and how much Natasha has helped us over these last few weeks in the purchasing of our first home. We are so grateful!”

    — Jessica Lay

  • “My dream of owning my own home in New Plymouth was about to fall along the wayside until I contacted Jo. I needed bank finance yesterday! Thanks to good advice and excellent service Jo got me across the line. I am now a homeowner and I couldn't be happier. I can highly recommend the services of Jo Taylor.”

    — Sherianne Taingahue

  • “Thank you to the wonderful Natasha Viliamu for helping me purchase my first home! There are a lot of different things to consider when buying a home and Natasha was there every step of the way. Nothing seemed to be too much to ask. 10/10 recommend Natasha!!”

    — Alarna Stratton

  • “After struggling to navigate the first home financing process ourselves, Jo was an encouraging breath of fresh air. From our very first meeting, she put us at ease with her confidence and professionalism. She took the time to get an accurate picture of our situation, and was our number one 'go-to' person with any question along the way. She was genuinely invested in our success; it was fantastic to have her consistently working hard on our behalf to secure us the best deal. We would recommend her to anyone looking for supportive, personable and efficient services.”

    — William Isbister

  • “Natasha was great to deal with. Even though I never met her in person she was a great communicator on the phone and via email. I was turned down initially by a major bank when I was battling away by myself and Natasha managed to get me a Welcome Home Loan with Co-Operative Bank. Even with only a 10 percent deposit as well. I simply would not be a home owner without Natasha! Thanks very much.”

    — Guy Honnor

  • “Can’t recommend Jo Taylor enough for sorting your mortgage. As first home buyers she really helped us understand the processes and was always willing to talk. Can’t express how happy we are with the work she put in to get us across the line! Cheers Jo!”

    — Stuart Julian

  • “Natasha Viliamu has just organised the mortgage and insurance for my son purchasing his first home. Natasha was amazing - she made everything smooth going and stress free and really knows what she is doing. Nothing is too much trouble for Natasha and she went the extra mile to get everything sorted out. I would highly recommend Natasha!!”

    — Andrea Collins

  • “I would highly recommend Jo Taylor, she really streamlined the process of buying a house for us!”

    — Annabel Shaw

  • “Natasha was great from beginning to end! She did exactly what we needed, the way we needed it, at the right time. She made the chaos understandable; guided us over rough terrain; kept an eye out for us in places we wouldn’t have known to look; and consistently met our questions with patience and know-how. Natasha is an awesome mortgage broker and we would recommend working with her in a heartbeat and will continue to use her for future ventures.”

    — Hannah Bailey

  • “Jo Taylor was so incredible to deal with. Super professional and kept us up to date with every move. Highly recommend!”

    — Annalee Muggeridge

  • “Natasha was very friendly and answered in depth with any questions I had. Was awesome to deal with and made things so simple to understand and made the whole process smooth and easy. Always quick to reply and worked very hard for the best financial option available.”

    — Reuben O'Neill

  • “Jo helped us so much with the purchase of our first home. She worked above and beyond to make sure we knew the steps to take. She was extremely helpful and we would recommend Jo to anyone looking at buying a home.”

    — Kylie Lashford

  • “One year since we moved into our very own home! From our first visit to the sold sign going up on our new house was around two weeks and it definitely wouldn't have been possible without the kind help and support from Natasha and team. Highly, highly recommend. Thank you!”

    — Liah Hughes

  • “Jo made the whole process easy. She was easy to talk to and saved me a bunch of time during a very busy period at work (in which I'd otherwise we busy rushing off to meet with banks).”

    — Evan Chamberlain

  • “Jo Taylor was awesome, hardworking, professional and really cool! We wouldn't have got our house without her help! Highly recommend her services. Thanks Jo!”

    — MRT

  • “Jo Taylor worked really hard to find us a great deal with our home loan refinancing, we couldn't be anymore happier with the service we received. Thanks Jo for all your hard work, we greatly appreciate it :-)”

    — Jonny Vesseur

  • “We were recently referred to Jo Taylor for our mortgage needs and couldn’t have been happier with the end result. She went above and beyond to make sure we got the house we really wanted ! Excellent communication, explained everything really well as we were complete novices. Would definitely recommend Jo.”

    — Michelle Mills

  • “After being declined from 2 different banks I thought there was no hope. A friend had recommended me to come and see Jo. I wish I had done this in the first place! She is truly amazing at what she does and has a great balance of professionalism and wanting the best for you! Nothing was a hassle for Jo and she got us approved with the bank and into our first home. Thanks so much Jo you are AMAZING!!!”

    — Moana Maaka-Katene

  • “Getting declined from a bank is never a nice feeling.....not knowing what to do next, feeling stuck. Jo Taylor was highly recommended to us. Jo was a pleasure to work with, she always kept us updated and was honest about what options would suit us best. She made the entire process so easy. In the end we all got the results we wanted and we are so grateful. Thank you very much Jo for helping us to own our dream home. We couldn’t be more happier and this would not have been possible without you.”

    — Hailee Tuhakaraina

  • “We are a young couple and really appreciated the great professional service provided by the lovely Jo. She listened to what we were after and explained everything in a simple and easy way so that we both understood. Jo was very prompt getting back to any questions via email which worked out great for us both working full time. Thanks for going the extra mile Jo!”

    — Holly Day

  • “Jo Taylor was wonderful to work with. She made everything very simple and clear, taking the hassle and confusion out of dealing with the banks. I'll definitely come back to Jo when it's time to remortgage.”

    — Kelly Loney

  • “Can’t be more thankful for the hard work Jo put into helping me achieve my dream of owning my own home! Can confidently say it wouldn’t have happened without her help! Thank you so so much for everything Jo!”

    — Monique Titter

  • “My partner and I were lucky enough to have worked with Jo Taylor - we found her hardworking, professional and really easy going. We wouldn't have been able to get our house without her help! Thank you Jo!”

    — Moerangi Tamati

Ready to start the first home buyer journey?

Contact us today.

Get in touch