You’ve found the home, now get the loan
So, you’ve saved like mad, you’ve a good idea of how much you can borrow and you may just have found the perfect home. Now what?
With the housing market like it is, things often happen quickly. So the better prepared you are, the better position you’ll be in. Here are some helpful pointers to make getting your home loan easier.
1. COME AND SEE US
Although it might seem daunting at first, the home loan process is nothing more than the bank getting to know you a little better and, together, coming up with an idea of how much you can afford to borrow. A face-to-face meeting is the best idea, so pop in to any BNZ store or give us a call to set up an appointment.
2. PROOF OF INCOME
When a bank decides whether or not to approve your home loan application, they’re going to want to know that you can pay the loan back. They’ll figure this out by asking for evidence of your income, usually in the form of either two recent, consecutive payslips, a copy of your employment contract or a letter from your employer stating your income. If you’re self-employed, you’ll need copies of your last two financial statements (the ones your accountant draws up for you).
3. ESTIMATE YOUR EXPENSES
We also need to see what your outgoings are to make sure you don’t over-burden yourself with your home loan. We don’t need to know every detail of your spending (so your chocolate milk habit can stay secret!) but we’ll need to see a list of the things you pay out for on a regular basis - like monthly rent, overdraft payments, personal loans and credit card repayments. We’ll also need to know what your credit card limit is. Websites like sorted.org.nz are great for helping with budgeting lists like these.
4. PROOF OF IDENTITY
If you’re not already a BNZ customer, we’ll need confirmation of who you are. It’s surprising how often this can hold things up. So please bring in two forms of ID (one with a photo of you on it like a driver’s licence or passport) and proof of your address.
We’ll also need copies of your bank statements for the last three months. You can order copies from your bank or we can print out statements from online banking when you come in.
5. CONFIRM YOUR DEPOSIT
While we don’t want you bringing in a giant pile of cash, we do need evidence of your deposit. This can be something like a bank statement or term deposit receipt to show off all your hard work saving.
6. PROPERTY PAPERWORK
Bring along all the documents you have relating to the home you’re looking to purchase. If you have already found a property we’ll need a copy of the signed sale and purchase agreement. We may need to organise a valuation on the property (at your cost) and we’ll let you know if that’s the case. And to be on the safe side, until you have your written home loan offer, make sure any offers on properties are conditional upon finance.
Remember, the better organised you are, the easier and quicker the whole process will be. And the sooner you could be moving in to your new house!
We want to hear from you
GoodHome should be an enjoyable and worthwhile place to visit filled with information that helps you to be the smartest homeowner you can be. We want to hear about anything you found useful or anything you didn’t, and anything you want to see more of that would help make this the perfect site for you - email us at goodhome@bnz.co.nz
This article is intended as a general discussion only, and is based on selective information which may not be suitable for your purposes. BNZ strongly recommends the recipients take independent legal, investment and financial advice prior to making any investment decisions.
