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This week we had a question from a client which prompted this blog. They said they wanted to fix their mortgage at the lowest possible rate and they asked me where I saw interest rates going. It was a good question and it got my..
Read ArticleThere have been a number of tax changes ushered in recently with two relatively large tax bills passed into law. Below is a grab bag of some of the changes that may be relevant to you. If you are concerned that any of these changes..
Read ArticleWe've lived for a while now with the quiet rumblings of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)wishing to introduce a new macro prudential policy of debt-to-income ratio (DTI) on the premise this is needed to ensure stability in our financial system. Lately those rumblings..
Read ArticleBack in May I wrote that the Reserve Bank had removed the loan-to-value restrictions, which they stated would be for a 12-month period. At the time, this made sense with Government, Treasury and most economists' predictions being in line with double digit decreases in house..
Read ArticleI’ve noticed most people starting this year with a bit of optimism. However, it’s hard to say how much of that is based around fundamentals, and how much is more attributable to the amazing weather we have been having and a decent summer break. From..
Read ArticleEven before Winston Peters made his announcement that he would form a coalition government with Labour, we were seeing some disturbing trends in the banking sector. You need to be aware of these if you are looking to buy a home or investment property. There..
Read ArticleIf you keep an eye on the media, you will have noticed over the Christmas break and into January a plethora of articles referring to the CCCFA. The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act was initially brought in back in 2005, but all the recent..
Read ArticleIn the last couple of weeks I've been honoured to be able to speak at a couple of events, attended exclusively by women. These events focused on issues relevant to women such as maintaining a "work-life balance". I of course spoke about the issue of..
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