New Give Way Rules

Next Sunday, the 25th of March 2012 is when the new Give Way rules in New Zealand take effect.
Are you prepared? Are you insured?

Whether you've been driving from way back when you could get your Licence at 15 and off you went, or if you've just got your Restricted or Full Licence these changes require you to take a moment and think before you move forward from an intersection!

We all need to retrain our brains on the "give way to your right" rule that has been programmed into us all!

If you haven't already, check out the NZTA's website

here, there are simple illustrations that actually make it seem quite clear... although it will be a different story when you are in your car and on "auto pilot", doing your usual drive to drop the kids at school, get to work, the supermarket or the gym.

So, where does this leave you with your car insurance? If you are "at fault" then its your excess thats going to be hit and possibly your no claims bonus!

When was the last time you checked your car insurance?

Or, perhaps you are looking to change cars. If you need a top up on your mortgage to fund your next car purchase, contact us today our services are free.

Mortgage People & Insurance People

freephone 0800 823 823 email us

OCR left at 2.5%

The Reserve bank has left the OCR (Official Cash Rate) at an all time low of 2.5% and has signalled that there will not be a rise until this year's December quarter. They have also indicated that there potentially will be only two more increases over the next two years, so floating interest rates look to remain low.

Inflation has also dropped below the midpoint of the banks 1 - 3 per cent target range and inflation expectations have also fallen sharply. However, not everyone seems to agree with the Reserve Bank, one bank economist believes the rebuilding of Christchurch, the back log of leaky homes requiring repair and the pent up demand for property in Auckland after a slump in residential building (something we have indicated before) will add to inflationary pressures over the next few years. What does this mean, well we could see rising house prices and a construction boom coming our way as we have done in the past.

If you would like to have a chat with a mortgage expert who deals with most main banks and many other lenders about your situation then click here or call now on freephone 0800 823 823

Written by Glenn Christie, Director - Mortgage People

Disclosure Statement available on request, free of charge.

How much of your mortgage should you fix?

Now if I was a cynical man I’d wonder why all the bank economists are suddenly coming out and so called independently telling everyone to fix their mortgages.

The banks have been extremely competitive with each other of late and have been providing discounted rates and other incentives to retain existing clients and attract new ones, great for anyone with a mortgage or those requiring one.

By fixing the banks are locking customers into their client base which sometimes is not a good thing for clients, if for some reason you have to sell or you find yourself in a position of being able to reduce your debt or you want to rearrange your debt you could be up for significant costs.

We are not saying don’t fix but what we are saying is think carefully about the term you fix for and also how much of your mortgage you fix.

In the time you have a mortgage you are guaranteed to go through a few major life changing events, like getting married, having a family, starting a business, buying a bach, changing jobs... so, you want to make sure your home loan is structured to suit your lifestyle, with long term flexibility and short term certainty.

This is what mortgage advisers do best - focus on what you want and need, giving you the best possible home loan options and “advice”. We don't work for a bank we work for our clients - people like you. So please don’t hesitate to chat to us about your future plans and how these may be affected by fixing your mortgage long term...

CONTACT a mortgage adviser EMAIL a question

Written by Glenn Christie, Director - Mortgage People