A.            It is good that you are having these discussions now. You have probably worked how much you can afford to borrow, and will be looking at getting your deposit together. 

First home buyers using KiwiSaver may be eligible for a Welcome Home loan, which only requires a 10% deposit rather than 20%. Housing New Zealand does not issue the loan. This is done through selected banks and credit unions. Housing New Zealand underwrites the loan for the lender and you will need to meet the lender’s specific lending criteria.

Under these terms, if you are looking at a house worth $250,000 you will need a deposit of $25,000. You must leave $1000 in your KiwiSaver accounts, which gives you $22,000 towards a deposit – not far off what you need. 

However, it may be worth waiting until you qualify for the HomeStart grant. Once you have been contributing at least 3% of your salary for three years, you could be eligible for $3,000 each. You can read up on the eligibility criteria on the Housing New Zealand website. If you both qualify, this is an extra $6,000 towards your first home (or $10,000 once you have five years’ contributions behind you). This money does not need to be paid back as long as you live in the house for at least 6 months.

You may be thinking that property prices are going up and you don’t want to miss out, but we can’t predict what property markets are going to do. There are always bargains to be found if you are willing to buy a property that needs some fixing up or has an issue that is putting buyers off such as lack of fencing or off street parking.

If you need every dollar, then you may have to contribute more from your KiwiSaver than your partner. If this is the case, it would be worth drawing up a relationship property agreement through a lawyer.  This is best done before you buy your first home. Having an agreement on what's rightfully yours and theirs in place allows you some protection over what assets, if any, you brought into the relationship.

The cost of having one of these agreements written up for you varies according the level of complexity.  It's important to note that if you've been living together for three years already then protecting your assets could be a lot trickier because the law considers you to be in a de-facto arrangement.  Anything you have acquired while living together could be considered relationship property. 

You will need a lawyer to help with your property purchase, so this is a good time to get some advice. You will be able to look at Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney as well. Buying a home is a big investment so take your time and do it properly.