1. Watch your bank statements! Close any accounts you hardly use and make sure you don’t go into unauthorised overdraft. Banks like to see a clean 3-6 month history of tidy accounts where there has been no unauthorised excesses (overdraft), bounced APs/DDs.
2. Speak to your mortgage broker about everything that is required and be prepared! The more complete and thorough an application is, the better chance it has of being approved. Don’t leave things to the last minute.
3. Minimise debts! Try and avoid taking on big car loans and HPs which can eat into your ability to borrow on a mortgage.
4. Have secure employment and job stability—that means preferably have permanent employment keeping your minimum hours as high as possible. Casual employment is difficult to use as income and being new in a job with varied recent job history can also hinder an approval.
5. Make sure you declare everything! Even if you are about to repay a debt, make sure all debts and card limits are declared on all forms (even if the card is not used or paid monthly).
6. Keep your credit history clean, obtain a copy of your credit report, pay off any bad debts and avoid getting lots of short term debt inquiries from finance companies and credit providers.
7. If self-employed, have your financials up to date—ideally 2 full years of trading history. Try and use a Xero or MYOB program so you can keep month-to-date records as well.
8. Establish a savings history! Whilst KiwiSaver is classed as savings, it’s always good to have a savings history to add weight to the application.