Smart Thoughts
In this blog I share my opinion on the state of the market, trends and tips you can use to improve your property investing.
Why Should You Have A Mortgage Review
Is it time you had a mortgage review? Have your family’s needs changed since you last had a mortgage review? Banks are NOT the only solution for your lending...
Are You In Kiwisaver?
Maybe when you started work you were just placed in a Kiwisaver scheme. Kiwisaver is the quickest way to build both a first home deposit & security for...
How Income Protection Insurance Works in 59 Seconds
Income Protection in 59 Seconds Income Protection Insurance is one of the most useful forms of insurance when protecting your lifestyle. Statistics released...
Partners Life Insurance Falls Short
At our professional development day we got to meet Diana who came to tell us about her story. It was a difficult story for her to tell and was a tearjerker. ...
How to Pay off Your Mortgage Faster
We have recently seen a couple of Banks advertising a concept of how to pay off your mortgage faster, whilst saving you thousands of dollars in interest paid...
Review Your Life Insurance
I recently saw a young woman who wanted to review her Insurance. She’d had her policy for years and had never looked at it again. There will be a few of you...
How to improve your chances of getting approved for a home loan?
Applying for a home loan is a bit like applying for a new job. The better your application is presented and the more organised you are, the greater your...
Get your $521.43 for your Kiwisaver from the Government
If you are a Kiwisaver member then you may be able to qualify for the member tax credit. To get the full Member Tax Credit from the Government you will need...
Objects Versus People – Which insurance?
A recent article in Stuff stated that: “New Zealanders place more value on their house and car than they do health and family if current insurance trends are...
To Fix or to Refinance your Mortgage
Most of our current conversations are ‘Do I fix or do I refinance?’ What does this mean to you in terms of paying your mortgage? To refix with your existing...
Mortgage rates are likely to rise – so what does this mean to you and your home lending?
Surprising to us at SMART that seventy-five per cent of Kiwi mortgages are either floating, or fixed for less than one year. The one year being offered is an...
Saved enough money for your funeral?
There’s been media attention recently about a pensioner who didn’t have enough savings to bury his wife. Imagine dealing with the stress of losing your...
$1700 Insurance Claim Windfall to New Client
Fantastic news for a client of SMART. A prospective client had an existing life insurance policy for a number of years. When we called on this prospective...
Are you a First Home Buyer with less than 20% deposit?
Are you a First Home Buyer looking to buy a home with less than 20% deposit? Did you know the reserve bank restrictions of limiting the lending to 80% of the...
Will the loan to value ratio (LVR) restrictions affect you?
With the reserve bank looking likely to introduce LVR restrictions to 80% of the property value, this would mean that purchasers would need to have a deposit...