Haven | Using KiwiSaver for your first home

KiwiSaver Mortgages

Using KiwiSaver for your first home

3 MIN READ April 23, 2019

We’ve all heard of KiwiSaver and most of us have joined up by now, but did you know that you can use KiwiSaver to help you buy your first home?If you’ve been a KiwiSaver member for three years or more, you might be eligible to…

You may also be entitled to a KiwiSaver HomeStart grant to help you along the path to home ownership.

Am I eligible to use my KiwiSaver?

To make a first home withdrawal from your KiwiSaver, there are a few important criteria you’ll need to meet:

You must have been a KiwiSaver member for three years or more
You can only withdraw money to purchase your first home – not an investment property

What is the HomeStart Grant?

The KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant provides you with a cash grant that you can put towards your first home too if you’re eligible.

To be in the running for this grant, you’ll need to have been contributing regularly to KiwiSaver for at least three years.

The HomeStart grant can provide you with $1,000 for each year of your contribution to the KiwiSaver scheme, up to $5000 per buyer for an existing or older home, and up to $10,000 per buyer for a newer home or land to build a new home on.

Am I eligible for the HomeStart Grant?

There are a few other criteria you’ll need to meet before you can be eligible for the HomeStart Grant, such as meeting the income cap threshold of $85,000 or less in the last year for a single buyer, and a combined income of $130,000 or less in the last year for two or more buyers.

There’s also a cap on the price of houses you can purchase under this grant – for example, in Auckland, the cap for existing/older properties is $600,000 and $650,000 for new properties.

To be eligible for a KiwiSaver HomeStart grant you must:

have been contributing the required minimum amount to KiwiSaver for at least three years
be 18 years or over
be purchasing or building your first home
have a household income (before tax) of less than $85,000 per year (for one person), or less than $130,000 per year (for two or more people)
have a deposit that is 10% or more of the purchase price, including the addition of the grant
be planning to live in the house for at least 6 months from the settlement/completion of the property

If you’ve owned a home before, you may still be eligible to withdraw your savings, but you’ll need to contact Housing New Zealand to determine if you’re in the same financial position as a first home buyer.

If you’re not sure if you’re eligible, it’s best to seek advice from Housing New Zealand directly.

If you have any questions on how you can use KiwiSaver as a first-home-buyer, contact our friendly mortgage team today!

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Terms & Conditions

Eligibility.
The Haven My Food Bag Promotion is only open to legal residents of New Zealand who are eighteen (18) years of age or older.To be eligible for the prize you must have a delivery address within the My Food Bag delivery area. My Food Bag delivers to most addresses in the postcodes found here.
Disqualified Participants’ are: (a) all Haven Financial Advisers employees (b) all people under the age of 18 years (c) all people without a qualifying delivery address.
Competition Period.
The Competition begins on Monday 3rd July 2023 to Saturday 30th September 2023.
How To Enter.Complete a financial review with any of Haven’s advisers for any service during the entry period and you will receive one entry into the Competition.
Or,
Refer someone else to complete a financial review with any of Haven’s advisers for any service during the entry period and if they complete the review you will receive one entry each into the Competition.
Drawing the Winners
We will select 3 winners. The final winners will be drawn on Monday 2nd October via random selection by Haven Financial Advisers.Only the person who originally entered the Promotion can be awarded the prize.
The Winners will be determined by Haven Financial Advisers and will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The Winners will be notified by email, phone (voice or text), mail or in person. Where attempts to contact a Winner fail (e.g. when the Winner cannot be contacted by phone after three attempts or mail sent is returned) Haven Financial Advisers will select another winner. If, after successful notification, the prize is not collected within two months of being announced, it will be regarded as forfeit. (Note: 3 attempts to contact the Winner will include individual calls to any numbers provided at the time of entry.
Where the Winner is required to claim the prize in person, they must provide proper identification (eg driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate).
The Prizes
The Prizes (8 weekly My Choice (4 nights for 4) My Food Bag deliveries) are not redeemable for cash or transferable. In the event that the Prize specified in the Competition becomes unavailable for any reason, Haven Financial Advisers may substitute a prize of like or equal value.In order to claim the prize the winner will need to sign up to the My Food Bag website to manage their deliveries. In order to sign up a credit or debit card will need to be added to the account for any upgrades or additional grocery items beyond the Prize.
The Winner takes the Prize entirely at his/her own risk and indemnifies Haven Financial Advisers in respect of any claim for any accident, injury, property damage or loss of life that may occur in connection with the prize. The Winner is responsible for all insurance, tax or other costs that may be associated with the Prize. Where the Prize has associated terms and conditions the Winner accepts the Prize subject to those terms and conditions and restrictions.
The Prize must be taken as stated and no compensation will be payable if the Winner is unable to use the Prize as stated.
The Promoter (Haven Financial Advisers Limited) will not be liable for any prize(s) that do not reach the winners for reasons beyond the Promoter’s reasonable control. Where a prize is being supplied by a third party, the Promoter accepts no responsibility in connection with the provision of the prize, including without limitation, the failure of the winner to receive ownership of, or use of, the prize or any performance issues associated with the prize.
The Promoter will not be liable for failure to provide (or delay in providing) the Prize resulting from any events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of god (natural disasters), acts of war or terrorism, national emergencies, issues of public health and safety, pandemic, mechanical breakdown, industry disputes, riots or failure of communication or power supply or voluntary or involuntary compliance with any regulation, law or order of any government.
Prizes may be subject to additional terms and conditions imposed by a third party.
The Promoter will not be responsible for any loss or damage suffered by entrants or anyone else as a result of, arising out of, or in any way connected with the Promotion or its prizes.
Social Media & Marketing
Where the Promotion is conducted across social media: a. Entrants’ conduct must comply with the rules of that social media platform. b. The Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. These social media platforms are in no way responsible for any aspect of the Promotion.By entering this Promotion, entrants agree to the use of their names, photographs and likeness for promotional/advertising purposes, and agree to make themselves reasonably available for this purpose. Any copyright associated with an entry will be owned by the Promoter.
The Promoter collects and holds personal information provided by entrants for the purposes of administering this Promotion and for future Promoter promotional purposes. All personal information provided by entrants will be held by the Promoter and will not be provided to third parties unless otherwise specifically set out. Under the Privacy Act 2020, entrants have the right to access and correct their personal information.

Terms & Conditions

1. Eligibility.

The Haven Travel Promotion is only open to legal residents of New Zealand who are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

Disqualified Participants’ are: (a) all Haven Financial Advisers employees (b) all people under the age of 18 years.

2. Competition Period.

The Competition begins on Monday 13th March 2023 to Wednesday 31st May 2023.

3. How To Enter.

Complete a financial review with any of Haven’s advisers for any service during the entry period and you will receive one entry into the Competition.

4. Drawing the Winner

The final winner will be drawn on Monday 5th June via random selection by Haven Financial Advisers.

Only the person who originally entered the Promotion can be awarded the prize.
The Winner will be determined by Haven Financial Advisers and will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The Winner will be notified by email, phone (voice or text), mail or in person. Where attempts to contact the Winner fail (eg when the Winner cannot be contacted by phone after three attempts or mail sent is returned) Haven Financial Advisers will select another winner. If, after successful notification, the prize is not collected within two months of being announced, it will be regarded as forfeit. (Note: 3 attempts to contact the Winner will include individual calls to any numbers provided at the time of entry.
Where the Winner is required to claim the prize in person, they must provide proper identification (eg driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate).

5. The Prize

The Prize (a travel voucher valued at $4,000 NZD) is not redeemable for cash or transferable. In the event that the Prize specified in the Competition becomes unavailable for any reason, Haven Financial Advisers may substitute a prize of like or equal value.
The Winner takes the Prize entirely at his/her own risk and indemnifies Haven Financial Advisers in respect of any claim for any accident, injury, property damage or loss of life that may occur in connection with the prize. The Winner is responsible for all insurance, tax or other costs that may be associated with the Prize. Where the Prize has associated terms and conditions the Winner accepts the Prize subject to those terms and conditions and restrictions.
The Prize must be taken as stated and no compensation will be payable if the Winner is unable to use the Prize as stated.
The Promoter (Haven Financial Advisers Limited) will not be liable for any prize(s) that do not reach the winners for reasons beyond the Promoter’s reasonable control. Where a prize is being supplied by a third party, the Promoter accepts no responsibility in connection with the provision of the prize, including without limitation, the failure of the winner to receive ownership of, or use of, the prize or any performance issues associated with the prize.
The Promoter will not be liable for failure to provide (or delay in providing) the Prize resulting from any events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of god (natural disasters), acts of war or terrorism, national emergencies, issues of public health and safety, pandemic, mechanical breakdown, industry disputes, riots or failure of communication or power supply or voluntary or involuntary compliance with any regulation, law or order of any government.
Prizes may be subject to additional terms and conditions imposed by a third party (for example, vouchers may have additional terms and conditions and/or an expiry date or in the case of travel, additional terms and conditions may be imposed by airlines, service providers and venues).
The Promoter will not be responsible for any loss or damage suffered by entrants or anyone else as a result of, arising out of, or in any way connected with the Promotion or its prizes.

6. Social Media & Marketing

Where the Promotion is conducted across social media: a. Entrants’ conduct must comply with the rules of that social media platform. b. The Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. These social media platforms are in no way responsible for any aspect of the Promotion.
By entering this Promotion, entrants agree to the use of their names, photographs and likeness for promotional/advertising purposes, and agree to make themselves reasonably available for this purpose. Any copyright associated with an entry will be owned by the Promoter.
The Promoter collects and holds personal information provided by entrants for the purposes of administering this Promotion and for future Promoter promotional purposes. All personal information provided by entrants will be held by the Promoter and will not be provided to third parties unless otherwise specifically set out. Under the Privacy Act 2020, entrants have the right to access and correct their personal information.