SuperCity Launches Referral Rewards Programme.

October 2017

SuperCity Launches Referral Rewards Programme.

SuperCity Mortgages & Insurance has never spent $1 on advertising. We have built our business 100% by word of mouth from our clients telling their friends and family about our services, expertise and value we provide.

In 4 years we have built our business from scratch to being New Zealand’s 2nd largest locally owned Mortgage Advisory company in the country. In 4 years we have built our business from scratch to being the 2nd largest Mortgage Advisory Company in the Country. Drawing down in excess of $500,000,000 in lending for our clients for the 2016 year and on track to increase this number again for 2017. Our 14 Mortgage Advisers now actively manage well over $1 billion dollars in home loans for New Zealanders.

Words could never express the gratitude we feel towards our existing client base and advocates for the remarkable word of mouth recommendations and referrals they have provided. We do not take it for granted and will always strive to meet or exceed your endorsement.

To celebrate another record year in business, from 1 October through to December 15 2017 we are launching our referral rewards programme where any client referred to SuperCity Mortgages & Insurance that leads to a drawdown in lending before 30 June 2018 will earn the referrer a Prezzy Card to a value range between $100 – $1000*see terms and conditions below.

In some instances, the referral of clients with existing mortgages who would like their lending managed by me will also qualify.

The person who provides the most referrals in this period to SuperCity will also receive a bonus $500 Prezzy Card.

We look forward to your continued support and showering you in return with sweet Prezzy Cards to spend for Christmas.

If you have any questions regarding this promotion please do not hesitate to contact me.

Value of the Prezzy Card will vary dependent upon the $$ value of the business to SuperCity. Any information we hold on behalf of our clients is entirely confidential which is why we cannot provide specific details as to how the Prezzy Card $$ amount is arrived at.
Referred lending top-ups of $100,000 or more will qualify for a minimum $100 Prezzy Card.

LVR Restrictions could start to drop soon.

The votes have been cast, the results are in, and the dust is still settling. By October 12 we should have a new government, which will help the market settle down for summer. The official cash rate remains at 1.75% under new acting Reserve Bank governor Grant Spencer, with no likely change on the horizon.

Much more interesting were the words of outgoing governor Graeme Wheeler, who has suggested the gradual removal of loan-to-value ratio (LVRs) restrictions.

The latest restrictions have hamstrung the investor market and put additional pressure on first home buyers. Bill English has made noises about this, but it’s down to the Reserve Bank to make this decision, making Wheeler’s comments arguably more meaningful. ANZ’s Cameron Bagrie has also joined the party, calling for a drop in the required investor deposit from 40% to 30% while also allowing for more 80%-plus loans. This could start happening later this year, or early 2018, but we have no way of knowing until the Reserve Bank gives us some more clues.

If LVR restrictions are reduced or removed, this could take the brakes off the housing market. Will we see a massive property rebound in February/March, even with the LVRs in place? There’s going to be some upward movement, I’m sure, but to what extent. The drivers are there for more growth: still too few houses and plenty of new residents arriving in New Zealand. With the economic outlook positive, it looks like the housing market will be steady, even if not spectacular, in 2018.

The Bank of Mum and Dad: Best bank ever.

How would you like a lender that didn’t charge interest, gave you unbelievably flexible terms and even fed you Christmas dinner every year? The Bank of Mum and Dad has always been a highly popular source of money and it’s gained even more borrowers as house prices have risen over the past five years.

Unfortunately, you can’t run a successful bank like that – it would cost you a lot of money. That means you need to think long and hard about becoming the Bank of Mum and Dad yourself. The last thing you want is to end up in a situation like this one where the elderly couple had their retirement savings severely depleted by an outstanding loan to their daughter. After chasing the money for five years, the whole affair’s been dragged through the court of public opinion (which is a pretty unpleasant ordeal).

This has been a hot topic in the UK recently, with a survey finding that:

The Bank of Mum and Dad is now the UK’s ninth-largest mortgage lender.
UK parents are spending around £6.5 billion a year to help their children get onto the property ladder.
British parents are also spending over £2 billion a year on rent for their kids.
Around 300,000 property transactions in 2017 will rely on a loan from family and/or friends.

While the numbers will be lower in New Zealand, I think the rates would be about the same. If you’re considering lending money to someone to help them buy property, please draw up the right documents. You don’t want there to be any confusion around whether it’s a gift or a loan, or how much interest might need to be paid, or when it should be paid back – and it can get messy when partners or spouses get involved. We’ve seen this type of arrangement turn sour before; talk to a property lawyer and talk to me before you hang out your sign as the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Cowboys on the horizon.

I bet you know a builder who’s having a good time right now: plenty of work and excellent profits. Unfortunately, while my builder clients are all reputable people who work to a high standard, the money available in the industry means the cowboys have ridden up to join the party.

And it’s not only cowboy builders who are popping up, it’s also plumbers and gasfitters (‘pipe cowboys’), electricians, and allegedly a good chunk of the meth-testing industry. There’s even a team of investigators who ‘raid’ suspicious construction sites to check that the correct methods and materials are being used.

Sadly, it’s a symptom of any successful market that unscrupulous characters will crawl out of the woodwork offering bargain basement prices for labour or materials. They do a poor job or install unfit products and you end up spending more on fixing their horrible work than you would have on paying the right price in the first place. Using a site like NoCowboys.co.nz (look for their registered tradies) or Builderscrack.co.nz gives you the chance to look at reviews from users and see qualifications.

I know it can be difficult to find a tradesperson, but taking the time to get the right person and the proper materials will help protect you from making an expensive mistake and having to spend even more to fix it.