That Home Loan Hub
Welcome to That Home Loan Hub, your ultimate guide to mastering the world of home loans and property. I'm Zebunisso Alimova, here to simplify the complexities of real estate and provide you with expert insights and the latest trends.
Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, an experienced investor, or simply curious about the property market, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we unlock the secrets to property success and help you make informed decisions. Let's dive into the world of property together!
That Home Loan Hub
Holiday Homebuying: What Changes In December
Keys by Christmas sounds magical until you hit the holiday slowdown. We pull back the curtain on what really happens across New Zealand’s property pipeline in late December and early January, from lawyers and valuers logging off to banks and KiwiSaver providers running skeleton crews. If you’re house hunting right now, this guide will help you avoid calendar traps, secure smarter clauses, and move with confidence instead of panic.
We map the seasonal bottlenecks and show how a simple change—extending your finance clause to 15–20 working days—can save your deal. You’ll hear why low‑deposit buyers often need registered valuations, how council closures stretch LIM turnaround, and what to expect from real estate agents, tradies, and advisers over the break. For first‑home buyers, we break down KiwiSaver withdrawal timing, certification requirements, and why getting a solicitor on board early matters more than ever when offices shut from late December to around 12 January.
Once you’re unconditional, the bank still needs time to prepare loan documents. We explain realistic timelines for early‑January versus late‑January settlements, plus a simple reverse‑plan you can copy to keep every piece moving. To finish, we run a practical settlement checklist: confirming rates and direct debits, booking power and gas, and securing your internet connection before the rush. Calm beats chaos when the industry pauses; with clear expectations and a plan, you can glide into your new place without New Year stress.
If this helped you navigate the holiday market, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s buying, and leave a quick review so others can find it too.
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Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Yes. Got a Merry Christmas. I'm sorry, guys. I was gonna say, if you're buying a house during holidays, this is the episode for you. And then Merry Christmas came out.
SPEAKER_02:It is the time of year we're only a week away from Christmas.
SPEAKER_01:Literally. Literally, we're away away, a week away when we're recording this. So by the time you listen, maybe it will be Merry Christmas on the day that you listen. But what we want to cover off today is what we usually come across every year. November, well, the whole year we tell people, you know, this is a good time to buy. If this is a good time to buy for them, get in the house, you're gonna be in your house before Christmas, da da da da. And people are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, you know, January passes by, February, March, April, May, June, July. And then we get to like August, and suddenly the panic starts to set in, September, October, and then it gets boom, boof. It gets really, really busy. And then all of a sudden we're in November, December, and everyone's like, I want to buy a house, I want to build my house before Christmas. And things you need to know to prepare for that.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. So we are what the last week of a full working week. So if you are putting an offer in this week, it's going to have to be subject to finance. We normally say 10 working days, we're gonna ask you to do longer. So I would say 15 to 20 working days. Because you have to bear in mind that if you have a low deposit, you need what we call a registered valuation. And then also And they might be away on holiday. Correct. They might be away on holiday. Also, you need a lawyer when you're purchasing a property. And they might be away on holiday. Yes. So most lawyers and valuers are probably finishing off tomorrow, the 19th of December, or some will work through to the 23rd of December. Most are not coming back till the 12th of January. So it's the second week of January, not the first week. So we've had a lot of lawyers have already come back to us to push settlement date to after the 12th of January. So you've got to bear that in mind. So if you're putting in the offer, your lawyer's got to check your sales and purchase agreement as well. So it's either whether they agree to check it from the next what three days, three working days left. Which they probably wouldn't. They probably wouldn't, because everyone's trying to wind down.
SPEAKER_01:But it's also because of the last episode that we've recorded about the cashback offer. They still got a lot of work from there built up. That created a ton of work for the solicitors, convincing ones to refinance people from bank to bank and settle deals, etc. So therefore, that pushed their workload through the roof as well. And what that means is that if you are a first-time buyer buying a house, have no idea what you're doing, and need that extra support, they're just not going to be physically available to provide you with that extra support that you need.
SPEAKER_02:Correct. Yeah. So lawyers, valuers, and banks are not like your advisor. So we tend to work pretty much 24-7. So you'll get answers from us, but then we wouldn't be able to get answers from the lawyers and the banks and the valuers.
SPEAKER_01:Because our hands are tied. Like we can only do as much as we can do. And then the ball gets passed on to the other players in the team. And unfortunately, if those players are out of the game and we're the only ones playing, that ball is not going to get fired.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and it's only natural, or you know, every year, this is the time of year that everyone closes down. And everyone deserves a Christmas break.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. And this is why it's important to note about the 15 to 20 days, working days. Because your working days might be different to the lawyer working days. So I know the public holidays don't count. So everyone gets public holidays off. That's Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day. And the day after. And the day after. But the lawyers, as you said, they might want to shut down their office for an extra week after that. Yeah. And it's in their right to do so. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, so that's why we asked for a longer finance clause on that. Because real estate agents will continue to most probably work up till this weekend, I think, Sunday. And then they will probably take some time off during the Christmas break as well, but always available like us, I think.
SPEAKER_01:But also tradies, I think, like if you're trying to do a builder's report, you know, find someone to do a builder's report.
SPEAKER_02:They'll probably shut down as well.
SPEAKER_01:The council, you know, if you're trying to get a limb report.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You know, so all those things you've got to think about it ahead. So that's why every year around August, I start ramping up going, if you want to be in your house before Christmas, like this is the time to do it now. Because then it gives us a couple of months to get through that busy time. You don't want to be one of those people pecking and moving on New Year's Eve. I don't know why people do that to themselves.
SPEAKER_02:But like, do you even sit all on New Year's Eve? Like, who does that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Some people love, I think, the adrenaline. I think some people like me. Yeah. I'm I'm a tourist, just chilled. As easy as possible. Awesome. Well, I think we've covered most of the things you need to know about the holidays, but the other thing we didn't cover is the Kiwi Saver providers. Yes. Because if you're a first-time buyer and you're doing your KiwiSaver forms, you know, again you will need a JP, a lawyer to send away your forms, etc. But also are the KiwiSaver providers working to release your KiwiSaver.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think rule of thumb is any professional industry will close off during the Christmas period, Christmas and New Year period. So you just got to be mindful of that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And then also allow once you've gone unconditional and we've done the loan structure with you to do a handover to the bank. I'm using a lot of fancy words here. So please go back a couple of episodes ago and listen to the ones we did with Kunch around the handovers and loan structures and what happens before settlement. If we're doing this to the bank, now usually that takes about 10 working days for the bank to create loan documents. So if you were hoping to settle right as the lawyers open on the 12th of January, then it means we have to do the loan documents this week for you to settle early January. Otherwise, your settlements will have to be pushed over towards the end of January. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Good point.
unknown:Good point.
SPEAKER_01:All those things that we have in our heads that people, you know, we don't really think about it because we do it just naturally now. And um, but I think it's important to spell this out for people to understand the process and what happens. The other post I saw the other day on the Kiwi First Time Buyers page was around what else do I need for settlement? And we've covered that again. But just to repeat, rates, direct debit setup, you know, power. Make sure your power provider is connected. Connected. Make sure your internet is connected. And again, if it's holiday season, your internet provider might be a bit choppy or you know, not might provide it on time or et cetera. So, and if you're working from home like us, you need to make sure you think ahead of all those things. Awesome guys, thank you so much for listening in and happy holidays. Happy holiday. Thanks.
