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
How Older Homeowners Can Refinance And Thrive
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Worried you’re “too old” for a refinance, consolidation, or even buying again after a long break? We dig into the real story behind age caps, why banks differ so wildly on terms, and how a thoughtful structure can lower cash flow pressure without adding long-term risk. Our conversation starts with a common scenario: a couple with eight years left on their mortgage and a car loan at 15 percent. One bank refused to extend beyond age 70 and bizarrely offered a shorter seven-year term. Another lender looked at the plan to sell within three years, saw the logic, and approved a 15-year term that halved the pressure today while keeping the true exposure short.
We talk through what actually matters for older borrowers: the durability of income, the type of work, and the credibility of an exit strategy. White-collar roles and stable businesses with recurring revenue can support lending past traditional cut-offs, especially when the file includes reserves like term deposits, KiwiSaver, or family backstops. You’ll also hear about a 70-year-old business owner who re-entered homeownership after decades, and how a clear plan turned a perceived risk into a safe, empowering path.
Beyond the case studies, we map out the safeguards that make approvals robust: benchmarking repayments to likely rent, planning for sale delays, and choosing lenders whose policy matches your reality. Access to multiple lenders changes everything; when one rulebook blocks you, another may use common sense if you present the full picture. If you’ve been told “computer says no,” this conversation shows how the right structure, timeline, and documentation can unlock a smarter “yes” that respects both your goals and your safety.
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If you are an older client or classify yourself as an older client for the bank, but still feel very young inside, this is the episode for you. So listen up. I've got Kunch in the house. Hello, Kunch. Hello, Kyota. It's been a while. It's been a while. You always thought it was that.
SPEAKER_00:But it has been. I think we've had a wee break in the podcast for me and then back again. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:But did you know we've actually now like in thousands of downloads? So people are listening. And it blows my mind every single time. Cool. That's exciting. That's really cool. So lately we've been having a lot of clients that are older and they're worried that they won't be able to get back on the letter or even refinancing just to help them out with a little bit of cash flow. And we've had this amazing case. And you think like all banks should treat the clients the same. Yeah. But no. So this client, let me give you a scenario. Mr. and Mrs. and they've got a mortgage at the moment with the main bank. Yeah. And they've got like a personal loan for a car. So they were trying to consolidate their personal loan for a car from another provider that they were paying 15% for to bring it back under the house, secure it against the house, and see if they can push the term a little bit. If they can. They're currently sitting on eight years left to pay for that mortgage. Now we've approached several banks for them. One came back really fast and said, no, look, the clients are going to turn 70. We can't go beyond 70. So even with the young, with the missus being a bit younger, they still wouldn't have a bar of it. So it's got to cut off at 70. So we can only offer you seven years. Yeah. And I'm like, but they already have it at eight years. Yeah. Why are we shortening this? Yeah. They wouldn't listen. So we ended up not going with that bank because they only gave us approval for seven years. Yeah. And then another bank came through and they gave us 15. 15. 15 years. Yeah. Wow. That's like double on what the other bank was offering. Yeah. Yeah. So in in that other bank that gave us 15, they could see the logic behind of what we were trying to achieve. We were trying to reduce the cash flow expense for the client right now. Yes. And the client will sell the house within three years. They will relocate to a completely different area to follow their children. Yeah. Somewhere where it's much, much cheaper. So they're not going to have a mortgage of 300k by the time they turn 70. So the first bank would not see that logic.
SPEAKER_00:It's quite a fine line, isn't it, for our senior citizens in terms of you know, you reach a age and stage of life, and it's also almost as close to discriminating against them just because they're in the their senior years, which is actually quite unfair because obviously, you know, you're not allowed to actually discriminate.
SPEAKER_01:No. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So that is quite interesting in in that sense when you come to lending, because yeah, some banks do you know they have an age cap basically, but people are living longer as well. Like or from you know, all the advanced medical and everything like that, people are living a lot longer. So I think that does need to be, you know, reviewed, or like another bank obviously has seen that side, the logic side behind it, in terms of yes, people live longer. So if they can continue to work and continue to repay their debt on time and everything, what's the issue? Yeah, and they're both in the you know white collar industry, as we call it. They're not building a labourer intense job, right? So, like if you're sitting behind a desk all day, every day, yeah, you would be able to work above and beyond retirement. Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:So it's really interesting to see. So I don't know whether it's the bank policy or whether it's individual lenders on the other side that pick up the deal and how they feel about the deal.
SPEAKER_00:I think. Yeah, it'd probably be a bit of both. I mean, we're both bankers, right? We've been there. Yeah. There are rules, but there are rules that we can work rules. Well, that's why, you know, we know the secrets behind those rules and how we can work around too.
SPEAKER_01:Like every time I tell someone that we managed to get a loan for a 70-year-old, it blows their mind. Like this lady that we've helped, she's a business owner and she was buying her first home after a 30-year break, after her relationship broke down, she was rebuilding herself. And yes, it took her a little bit longer to look after her kids, look after her own personal finances and stuff like that. But now she's in a position where she can sell her business for quite good money. And that business has recurring income months to months, even if she wants to go away on holiday, it still brings her money. And yeah, we got her a mortgage, and she's 70 already.
SPEAKER_00:So, yeah, I mean, we have actually had some quite success with helping our you know seniors and getting one. I just actually met someone this morning that you know is beyond 70. So and the bank couldn't help them, so yeah, so she went in there herself directly to try and get some some sort of lending to help her out. So yeah, the bank send them. Sent her away. Send her well, they sent her to us, yeah. Think about it. Send her to us, and obviously we've got access to more than one lender and more than one product. You know, it's not just home loan we do, we do other type of you know loans as well. So I've already concocted a little recipe and plan for her in terms of how we're gonna get this across the line.
SPEAKER_01:One thing I do want to touch for those that are listening to this and going, oh, but isn't it risky? Isn't it gonna put the clients in a bad position? You know, if something does happen, how are they gonna pay that loan? Look, we will never put anyone in a position that they cannot afford.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01:At the end of the day, it's also our responsibility to make sure the clients can pay that mortgage. So this is where we have those honest conversations with our clients and heart to heart, and going, all right, if things do go down, how are you gonna pay this? Yeah, if you can't sell your house for six months, what are you gonna do? You know, and usually in most cases, our clients do have some reserves, they do have some maybe term deposits, maybe Kiwi savers, maybe you know, children that might come to the rescue. So there is always some sort of plan B. Yes, we will never see anyone land on the street as a mortgage e sale. That's not the aim of this.
SPEAKER_00:No, and generally the limits that we would go to is pretty much what they would pay in rent or something like that. Anyway. Anyway, yeah, exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:So awesome, Corinne. Do you have any other thoughts on this before we wrap up?
SPEAKER_00:No, you're quite happy. Yeah, pretty good on our seniors. But yeah, if if you are a senior, I guess, and if you are listening and you are struggling with the banks, you know, their red tape and everything like that, just reach out to us. We know the secrets. Love it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye.
