Low equity home loan

It can be hard, so why bother?

History tells us that property increases in value over time.  Sometimes the increases are dramatic and sometimes the market is static, or negative for a short while. 

Owning a home is, for most New Zealanders, how we invest in our future.  It becomes part of our identity and, at Mortgage Warehouse, we take pride in helping New Zealanders become home owners.  We work especially hard to get low equity buyers started on the property ladder. 

A low equity home buyer

The characteristics listed below are important in determining whether or not a low equity home loan will be available. If you can say yes to all of the following then we should be able to help you.

If you have equity in one property which is used to secure the cost of another property, then credit criteria can be more flexible and this page is not really designed for you.  See here for more relevant information. 

Stable employment and income

Salaried employees and wage earners will need to demonstrate at least 12 months history with their current employer. 

Business owners and self employed will need to show at least 24 months trading history backed up by financial statements. 

Variable income sources like commissions, bonuses and overtime are often discounted in the debt servicing calculations that we will perform. 

A good ability to service a home loan from your household income

Generally banks and other lenders require that part of their loan is repaid rapidly, which means that a greater than normal level of debt servicing will be required to meet their lending criteria. 

Unfortunately, it is not practical to provide the various models here.  Nor is it possible to be precise with what level of income you will need to qualify, because individual circumstances vary and every case is different. 

To use a 'rule of thumb' we recommend that your home loan does not exceed 4 times your household earnings. 

Unblemished credit history

This speaks for itself. 

A single minor debt collection may be acceptable. A history of debt collections will probably rule you out of a low equity home loan.  

A record of savings

Unfortunately the boundaries here are blurred so it is difficult to be precise. 

The 'rule of thumb' is that 10% genuine savings will be required, but exceptions might be made in some cases for a mixture of gifted and saved deposit. 

Minimal other debts, including credit card debt

Student loans are excluded from our definition of other debts.

The criteria relating to other debts is subjective but, as a rule, buyers should not have any other debts or hard-core credit card exposure.  Occasionally, it is possible to help buyers with other debts of up to $10,000 but this is the exception to the rule.  

If you have any questions

We hope the information above helped to answer some questions for you, but we also understand that sometimes you need answers which are specific to you. 

We are always happy to answer your questions and the more information you can give us the better our answers can be. 

Ask your question here. 

Can we help you?

You can read a little bit more about how we work here.  If you like the way we work, then let's get started.  As the saying goes "there is no time like the present". 

Don't worry about us spamming you, or becoming a nuisance if you make contact with us, - we just don't do that stuff.  If we get even a hint that you'd rather not hear from us, we're gone! 

So why not give us a try? 

• Quick questions here.
• Introduce a scenario to discuss.
• Register and apply for a loan.