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Low Equity Fee / Low Equity Margin for First Home Buyers

Low Equity Fee (LEF) or Low Equity Margin (LEM) is very important to understand if you are buying your first home with less than 20% deposit.  Having less than 20% deposit on a home is seen as risk to the bank and as a result an LEF OR a LEM can apply. A LEF is is a one-off charge which is usually added to the mortgage and increases the overall cost of borrowing. This one-off charge can be anywhere between 0.25% to 2.0% added to the mortgage. The lower the deposit, the higher the ...

Life insurance for first home buyers

Getting your first home is exciting and a great milestone. However, it's also important to consider what would happen to your loved ones if you were to pass away unexpectedly. This is where life insurance comes in. Life insurance can provide financial security and peace of mind for first home buyers, knowing that their loved ones and financial obligations are protected in the event of their death. It's important to consider the benefits of life insurance and speak with a financial adviser o...

Costs to be aware of as a first home buyer

Buying your first home is an exciting milestone - however there are costs that you may not be aware of which you are likely to come across in your home buying journey. This article will outline the potential costs for you to keep in mind so there’s no nasty surprises.  It's important to budget for these costs and have a clear understanding of your financial situation before buying your first home. It's also recommended to seek advice from a financial adviser / mortgage broker to ensu...

Two important things to look out for when considering Health Insurance

Riskinfo NZ reveal that more younger Kiwis view health insurance as an important part of their financial and overall wellbeing. Approximately one in three customers with health insurance are under the age of 30.  However, there are two key aspects to health insurance that most people don’t know about which should be factored in when considering which Health Insurance plan should be chosen.  Factor 1:...

So you’ve Started EARING MONEY - WHAT’S NEXT?

Without your income, you will not be able to maintain your current lifestyle or expand your wealth in the future. It won’t be long until you need to sell your belongings if your income suddenly stopped. Hence, protecting your income with Income protection ( a form of insurance), will ensure that you and your lifestyle are protected, if anything unfortunate happens preventing you from earning. And YES! We have helped with several income protection claims, in thousands of dollars,...

Insurance-101 for Young Professionals

…a term most millennials are familiar with. Most have embarked on many ‘adulting’ things…such as paying student loans, paying rent/mortgage for a place to live in, starting a family, etc. All these major milestones in millennials’ lives, significantly increase their financial risks and responsibility in life. Hence, it becomes crucial to have a financial security net in place. And Insurance is exactly that - it is a financial risk management tool....

Three Reasons why Insurance Companies don’t pay Claims

Let’s discuss everyone’s fear when it comes to buying Insurance ---> “The insurance companies will find any excuse not to pay claims”.This fear mostly surfaces from media portrayal of Insurance companies being the big bad bullies. In 2017, $1.33 BILLION were paid out in claims from Life Insurance products. I’m not here to defend Insurance companies, but to provide you with some middle ground with some education to shed light on this topic. Whenever you hear a story in the ...

Four Reasons why you should get Life Insurance while you’re young

Insurance is a grudge purchase – we don’t want to pay for it, but we need it. Unfortunately, when we are young, we don’t really anticipate the realities of a calamity happening. This could be in the form of a sudden death of a loved one or you could fall critically ill. Death, disability and illness are not tangible items like your car, house or possessions. As a result, we don’t want to pay cover for a misfortune that we can’t physically see or envision. However, the reality is that n...