Nearly every home requires a spruce-up before sellers head to market. The complexity and expense of that update has been contentious since the first cave dwellers hand decorated their walls! The Block and other reality renovation programmes, in which contestants spend a large amount of money and effort to fix up homes, has helped fuel […]

Mortgage interest rates have fallen rapidly in recent months after the Reserve Bank began cutting the official cash rate in June. Home-owners can now lock in a mortgage for as low as 4.35% for a year if they meet special conditions. According to interest.co.nz, this time last year the average one year fixed term mortgage […]

Tax can change the outcome of a financial benefit greatly. As the number of property transactions increase, be aware of the changing tax consequences of some property transactions from this month forward. Generally there is no capital gains tax on property sales in New Zealand. However, new rules affect properties purchased from 1st October 2015 and […]

This month there have been several announcements affecting the housing market, but regional areas like Hawkes Bay are unlikely to experience any significant changes to the status quo. In its six-monthly financial stability report, the Reserve Bank announced its intention to introduce new loan-to-value ratio (LVR) limits on lending to property investors in the Auckland […]

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy? Selling poppies in town today. The poppies, child, are flowers of love. For the men who marched away. But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy? Why not a beautiful rose? Because my child, men fought and died In the fields where the poppies grow. But why are the […]

A hundred years on from the Gallipoli landings, on ANZAC Day the entire country honours and remembers New Zealanders who have served at war. ANZAC Day commemorates the loss of life and of innocence at war. Interestingly, recently my sons school librarian directed my 12 year old son away from the fantasy stories he’s enjoyed reading […]

This recipe is a sensational spin on a classic pudding. It’s a great way to use up leftover hot cross buns. This is an indulgent and comforting desert. Ingredients: 6 Hot Cross Buns 2 cups cream 1.5 cups milk 3 eggs Zest of 1 orange 1 handful sultanas Berries & cream to serve Sugar to […]

Daylight saving ends on Sunday 5th April 2015. You’re probably looking forward to that extra hour of sleep you get when we turn the clocks back. But a little more shut-eye (and the threat of being an hour early to work on Monday) isn’t the only thing Daylight Saving Time can signal. You can also […]

On 22nd February 2011 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Canterbury killed 185 people, injured thousands and caused unbelievable property damaged. This event, considered an aftershock of the quake six months earlier, not only changed lives forever, it changed the face of house insurance in New Zealand. Since then, home owners have no longer been able […]

First home buyers were among the big winners from National’s win in last year’s general election.  A series of changes to the KiwiSaver first home buyer packages come into effect from 1 April 2015. These changes are designed to help lower and middle income first home buyers attain their dream of owning a home. There […]

Last month Napier property owners received a revised Rating Value for their property. The Rating Value is an assessment of the freehold value of a property. It is one of the factors used by a council for calculating the rates that individual ratepayers will pay. In Napier rating valuations are reassessed every three years from […]