Guest post from OrbitRemit – Online Money Transfer
The size of New Zealand’s overseas population is massive; almost 14% of all kiwis live overseas. In fact, there are more Kiwis just in Australia than there are in Wellington, New Zealand’s second most populated city! What’s become clear is that as New Zealanders are a sentimental bunch and many will, at some point, return home to put their roots down.
Here are 5 tips for Kiwis thinking about buying a property back home.
- Most Kiwis will have built a Kiwisaver in New Zealand before leaving or have made additional contributions to a pension overseas (UK, Australia). They may be able to be withdrawn if you are buying your first home in NZ. There may also be other grants available depending on where and what you are looking at.
- Find an independent builder that you trust to look over the house before you purchase. There are also independent building inspectors like homecheck.net.nz that are worth checking out. A good builder will be able to tell you if the house is a solid investment or a lemon. If there’s time before you head back down-under, buying off-the-plan could be an option. Also, consider Kiwibuild homes.
- If you’re returning home and you have a business or looking to set one up, consider setting up one room as an office from where you manage it. The IRD advises that you can claim a portion of the household expenses, such as the rates, insurance, power and mortgage interest as business expenses and pay less GST.
- Find a good real estate agent like Tommy’s to help you find the property of your dreams. By creating a relationship with a real estate agent, you can help them work in your best interest to find a house that fits your specific needs.
- When it comes time to pay the deposit for your new home, consider an online money transfer company like OrbitRemit.com to facilitate the transfer. OrbitRemit will send your hard-earned funds across borders for a fraction of the price that banks charge. They will do it quickly and securely and if you’re sending over $10,000 there is room to negotiate on the rate.
New Zealanders are renowned for being well-travelled and for going on working holidays in their 20s. After earning an income overseas and then selling up, as an ex-pat, you may be able to purchase a comfortable family home on your return to New Zealand. We’re confident that the people at Tommy’s have the skills to help you find the house that you’re looking for.
Happy house hunting!
Josh Brown, Financial Writer
Hi there,
My partner and myself currently reside in Western Australia and have been for the past 8 years, we are wanting to purchase a home in NZ, we know what property we want to buy. We are wanting to know what is the minimum deposit we need to have before we can look at a bank for a home loan?. We are both full time are currently renting/boarding with family, we have no debt, great credit, no credit cards and now we want an investment that we can move into in the future when and if we do decide to move home.
Any information is appreciated, Thank you.
We own two houses in Australia. We want to move home to NZ and would like to purchase a house while still working here for a year, as the wages for us are significantly better in Australia. Would we get a mortgage with a NZ bank or an Australian bank? Ideally we would like to build a house, but will also consider buying an existing home. Any adivce?
Hi there, the next step would be to get in touch with our agents (we have offices throughout Wellington) – they will be able to offer you advice if you’re thinking about purchasing a property in Wellington.
Hi is it possible to buy a house with my Au in nz
Hi there, would you like to speak to one of our agents? They will be able to answer any queries you might have.
Hi, would like to buy a bit of land to put two shipping containers on and live off the grid in a local town somewhere near the ocean so we can have access to the water and bush to go hunting. We live in Brisbane and thinking about our future a 5 year plan work here and work on building our sweet sanctuary to live in an easy going environment could you help us in the right direction please, we have saved a deposit and if it makes it easier I could start transferring money to my kiwi saver?
Hi Amy,
Definitely get in touch with anyone of our agents. They will be able to advise you on your enquiry.
Cheers.
Minimum deposit required for buying or building first home in NZ
We own a home in Brisbane
Hi V,
If you head over to our ‘agent’s page’ – our agents will more than happy to assist with any queries that you might have.