Bringing you competitive mortgage rates

Flexible home loans with competitive rates

This is our specialty.  Among the many things we do we aim to offer you pre-qualified choices in a very competitive market, so that you are able to make well informed decisions. 

Home loans are a competitive sector in the banking industry, and interest rates between the main players are, generally, very similar.  We follow interest rates closely so we know what is on offer around the banks and others in the industry.  We also know that there are some significant differences in credit criteria, product rules, fees, and charges between the main players in the industry.  These points of difference are not promoted in a competitive manner because they are difficult to understand and to compare - so competitive promotions are generally restricted to interest rates. 

Our view of cheap versus competitive

It isn't always practical to chase the lowest interest rate, which we expand on below.  Price wars train us to look for the cheapest rate.  But, if price wars worked then nobody but the cheapest would be doing business, and this is clearly not the case.  The truth is that the cheapest isn't always the best or the most suitable. 

An interest rate is one measure that allows people to make comparisons.  However, the danger is that 'other costs' are hidden so comparisons cannot be made easily or accurately.  But the 'trick' in cheap promotional interest rates is that people believe that they have made a comparison which can be trusted. 

We cannot promise to always offer you the cheapest in the market but our panel lenders represent some 70% of the market, so we can promise to offer you very competitive products every time. 

Beware the snake oil salesman

This is our warning to beware of exaggerated marketing

There is a lot written about the savings "you will make" with the cheapest interest rate versus its not-as-cheap competitor.  We often see the results if improbable calculations which "prove" savings of many thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.  Beware. 

Organisations do this because it suits their purpose, which may be selling their home loans, or simply being dramatic to attract attention.  While these calculations should be mathematically correct (and we can check them if you like), it is the assumptions which are flawed and make the results quite improbable.  What is not mentioned is that the calculations ignore the probable realities of any home loan.  This is done because it makes the calculations simple and the results more dramatic. 

Facts ignored:

1. 30 year fixed interest rates are not available here.  Therefore, the differential is not guaranteed for 30 years - the reality in a competitive market is quite different. 
   
2. The average term of a home loan is much less than 30 years.  Therefore it is meaningless to extrapolate an improbable 'saving' for 30 years to prove the benefit to you - it is far from reality.  
3. New Zealanders tend to split their home loans between fixed interest rates (about 80%) and floating interest rate products (about 20%).  Therefore, it is somewhat misleading to demonstrate savings based only on floating interest rates (which tend to have the greatest rate differential). 
   

Reality check:

1. We think it is impractical to plan much more than 3 years at a time.  
2. We also think it is almost misleading to show figures which "prove" savings based on unrealistic fundamentals.  We prefer to use more likely (though less dramatic) time horizons, like 1 to 3 years.  We think this gives better perspective to the impact of interest rate differentials - because it is less biased toward the improbable.  
3. Although we think floating interest rates are sometimes under-utilised in New Zealand, we prefer to use real market comparisons which generally supports at least 70% weighting in fixed interest rates (on average over time).  Fixed interest rates have been the battleground of the price wars between banks over the years, so the rate differentials are relatively low.  This does not suit comparisons to produce dramatic results (55 cents per day is not a dramatic saving).
   

* Interest only  **365 day year

Don't sweat the small stuff

Our reality check above shows you the savings per $100,000 based on an interest only calculation and using the interest rate differentials listed, which are a fairly common representation of rate differentials among the banks. 

We think it is important to retain a perspective when comparing interest rates because, in reality, you may not be saving much based solely on a comparison of interest rates.  It is our experience that a poor choice of lender (based on a cheaper rate) could be more costly than a well-matched fit with a lender whose credit criteria is most likely to accommodate your needs over time.  

Interest rates are one significant factor in the mix that helps to determine suitability.  However, there are other factors and some subjective aspects which may give one lender an advantage over another. 

We will ensure that interest rates, both at the outset and during the life of your loan, are competitive.  This is just one of the benefits of dealing with a mortgage broker. 

But if it's the cheapest interest rate you are after

We can probably do this too.  Our panel of lenders will always work very hard to offer you a choice of very competitive interest rates, and over the years it has been infrequent that we have lost business to a cheaper interest rate provider.  However, it does happen occasionally. 

Sometimes it is just not possible to get you the lowest interest rate in the market, given some of the other services that both we, and our panel lenders, offer you. 

Try Kiwibank

Maybe we are crazy but, if it is strictly the cheapest interest rate that you want and we can't get it, then we recommend that you look at what Kiwibank can offer you.  If Kiwibank doesn't suit you, then you will always be welcome back here.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer Kiwibank mortgages to you so you will need to make contact with Kiwibank directly and manage the process yourself.  We will be sad to lose the opportunity of working for you, but there's no hard feelings and we give you our best wishes.  We hope you have found our service helpful so far and we will gladly help you anytime in the future. 

Link to Kiwibank. 

If you haven't buzzed off to Kiwibank

We guarantee you won't be disappointed with what we do for you.  If you are, we don't know what we'll do but, we'll think of something pretty wild to make it up to you. 

You can read a little bit more about how we work or perhaps you will be interested in our story.  If you think we're okay, then let's get started.

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

PS.  Don't worry about us spamming you, or becoming a nuisance if you make contact with us, we just don't do that stuff.