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!
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Losing out on homes because your offer looks “too hard” is brutal, especially when you’re a first home buyer trying to tick every box the bank and your lawyer require. We kick off with a real question from Facebook: finance condition (15 working days), KiwiSaver, valuation, builder’s report, and a LIM report, then multiple declined offers with the hint that the conditions are the problem. So what can you change without putting yourself in danger?
We get practical about KiwiSaver timing, because this is where many buyers accidentally make their offer slower than it needs to be. If KiwiSaver is needed for the deposit when you go unconditional, the withdrawal process and lawyer undertakings matter, and that can shape your deadlines. But if you only need KiwiSaver for settlement, it may not belong in your offer conditions at all. We also talk about why having an adviser or mortgage broker can make a massive difference compared with trying to piece it together from a busy bank conversation.
From there we move into what really tightens an offer: strong pre-approval, fast finance sign-off, and realistic planning for the slow bits like valuations and LIM reports. We share typical timeframes, where you can pay for urgency, and what banks actually care about versus what your lawyer is focused on. We wrap with a reminder that vendors sometimes take a lower cash offer simply for certainty and speed, and how you can compete by being prepared rather than reckless.
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And one more from our good old friend called Facebook. And I've got George in the house. Hello, George.
SPEAKER_00
Hello, Zebroneso.
SPEAKER_01
Right. First home buyer. How can we make our offer conditions more attractive? I'm gonna read you out a post. Yep. I like reading out posts.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
I put my own spin to them. First home buyer here looking for some advice. We've had a few offers declined, and with one of them, we're told that our conditions were a factor. At the moment, our offer needs to be conditional on finance. 15 working days, as we need to use KiwiSaber, which is interesting. I'm gonna address that separately. A builder's report, valuation, and limb report. These are requirements we need to meet for the bank before they will release the funds. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there anything we can do to make our conditions more attractive to a vendor without removing the conditions we need to meet for finance? It was all in bold. So I had to read it out that way. Any advice or experiences from other first-time buyers would be really appreciated.
that question is all about you, isn't it? You know, because it it basically comes down to them talking to their bank or their mortgage broker and finding out what they can cut down. Now, I think a big one there is is like the Kiwi Saver. Because Kiwi Saver can be used in two different ways. Some people need it at the very beginning, there, for the deposit and everything, and then some people only need it for the settlement.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
So if it's only for the settlement, then I don't even know. Do you need Kiwi Saver in there at all as a condition? No. You don't. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
So I think people are getting mixed up here. And again, this is the classic example. If you are working just with a banker that hasn't explained things properly, you should really have an advisor by your side. Because often I find people don't get the information from the first time. I have to repeat myself five times sometimes, in five different ways for my clients to understand and get it. And bankers wouldn't do that.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, they wouldn't, in my experience.
SPEAKER_01
Nothing against bankers, but I feel like because they're stretched, they only work nine to five, you know, and a lot of the time my clients have questions in the middle of the night. They have questions at eight o'clock at night going, oh my God, I haven't thought this through, or I forgot about this. Can you please repeat? So if we go back a step for KiwiSaver, as you rightfully mentioned, if people put a deposit on a sales and purchase agreement, let's say $10,000, and they don't have any savings at all, all of their deposit is coming from KiwiSaver. Yes. Then that 10K has to come from somewhere. Yeah. And that 10K is probably going to come from their KiwiSaver. Yeah. And that's what they have to apply for the moment that offer is accepted. Yes. Kiwi Saver takes 10 working days for withdrawal, not 15, in my experience, sometimes faster. But usually it's 10. Yeah. And it's the lawyers that have to do the undertaking to the KiwiSaver saying, we're going to have this funds, we're going to release it for the deposit. But if the purchase doesn't go unconditional, this funds will be returned back to the KiwiSaver provider. Now, not all lawyers like doing that undertaking. So you have to find a lawyer that will be keen to do that. So this only applies if you're going to be using Kiwi Saver as a deposit when you go unconditional. Yeah. Or when yeah. The thing is, if you're not using your KiwiSaver, if you've got that 10K saved up somewhere, or if mom and dad is lending you money for a period of time or whatever, then you don't need to put the KiwiSaver as a as a condition or you don't need to put 10 working days for finance.
Yeah. If you can meet your finance sooner. And this is where pre-approval is super important because a lot of my clients that are pre-approved first, like we take a week to get them pre-approved. You know, sometimes it's still document collection, the bank turned around, da-da-da. But once they're pre-approved, the moment they want to offer on something, I can turn it around within a day. So we don't need 10 working days for finance. Yes. And that will make your offer super attractive.
SPEAKER_00
Yep. So well, I know that from first experience with you guys. I've seen it firsthand going through pretty fast in a day.
SPEAKER_01
Correct. Correct. So we can do it super, super fast. So this is what will make your offer attractive. If you need valuation, yes, valuation does take time. Standard valuation takes seven to ten working days. You can pay for urgent and get it within three days. Yeah. Again. So for due diligence, you could put just five days if you wanted to. Builder's report, again, you could, I'm sure you can arrange within three to five days. Limb Report is the one that usually takes the longest. But if the vendor already has a limb report, you could start with that one. And then if you want to get your own, you could still apply for your own.
SPEAKER_00
So are most banks that happy with the homeowners' limb reports?
SPEAKER_01
Banks don't read limb reports. Banks do not read limb reports.
SPEAKER_00
It's the lawyers, isn't it, that really wants it. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. And they're happy if it's been supplied by the homeowners.
SPEAKER_01
Usually they are.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
But usually they'll still encourage you to get your own. Is that right? They will. Yeah. Yeah.
Because again, as I was mentioning in the previous episode, if you want to pull out from the property for one reason or the other, then um.
SPEAKER_00
Look, it's it's an interesting thing with people like I always find with first home buyers. And I'm coming from again, Megan and I buying our first home, and I look back at the sacrifices we made to save a deposit. And I think if if you're going into a big responsibility of wanting to buy a house and have a mortgage, I my belief says then you've got to make some sacrifices at the early stages to make that happen and make a plan and get some money there. And I think if you can do that and show the banks and everything that you've done that, I think then they can be a lot more accommodating and helping you getting into your property if you've managed to save $10,000, $20,000, you know, as your deposit. What do you feel about that?
SPEAKER_01
I feel the same. I feel the same. And I think this is where you and I come in, you know, and we educate our clients. Yeah. Because if they get the wrong information elsewhere, and then that information just travels like wood fire. Wait, wood fire? Forest fire?
SPEAKER_00
So like a fire. Like a fire. A raging fire.
SPEAKER_01
A raging fire, you know. And we and this is why we do this, I guess, is to educate people on what is right and what is the the way the way to go. So diaposter on Facebook. If if you ever come across this podcast, I hope you uh get the benefit of it of you know, to make your off attractive. Yeah. Talk to your broker, talk to your advisor, agent, and yeah, get it through.
SPEAKER_00
That that site that you were on there in the questions, I go in there there there a lot and read read stuff. And I was actually reading one just the other day
about a first home buyer that missed out on a property by $40,000. And it was because the the one that the the offer that the owners took was $40,000 less for a cash offer there. They had a couple of conditions in in there, which I would have looked at and thought wasn't wasn't that bad. But yeah, the homeowners decided to take the cat cash offer at $40,000 less. I'm not sure if I would have done that for $40,000. Maybe they would dispensate, but you don't know what the homeowners' situations are, you know, and maybe needed a fast sale.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
Awesome, George. Thank you so much. And I can't wait to see you again.
