Q&As: A happy share investor, and how you might get out of shares if you need to in the current market; How does KiwiSaver mortgage diversion work for someone with a “2 + 2” contribution arrangement? Plus: Winners of the Herald book giveaway.
Q&As: Why KiwiSaver mortgage diversion is such a good idea; Should the government intervene to stop house prices from falling?
Q&As: Disgruntled KiwiSaver has actually done really well; Mortgage diversion finally available — soon — to most KiwiSavers.
Q&As: Why older people get a better deal from KiwiSaver, but younger people should nevertheless still join; Do interest-only mortgages qualify for mortgage diversion?
Choices for those hit by mortgage rate rises. The offers are already being made to people facing big mortgage interest rises. “If your lender won’t renegotiate, we’ve got deals that will lower your payments,” they say. Are these deals any good?
Mortgage diversion well worth it for many. The term “mortgage diversion” will be on more and more lips as KiwiSaver approaches its first anniversary in July. It’s not too early to think about whether this feature of the scheme — available after 12 months membership — would work well if you are already in KiwiSaver, or could attract you into the scheme.
Highlights from Holm Truths. Over the next few weeks, this column will run highlights from Mary Holm’s quarterly newsletter Holm Truths. Mary’s regular Q&A column will resume on October 27. MORTGAGE MOVES: You’ve probably got the message by now: It’s a great idea to pay off your mortgage as fast as possible. Paying off a 9 per cent mortgage, for example, is equivalent to making an investment that pays you a guaranteed return of 9 per cent after fees and taxes. And it’s risk-free. But not everyone is in a position to pay extra off their mortgage. There are other ways you can make the big loans work better for you. Here are some FAQs…
Q&As: Three Q&As about KiwiSaver: Reimbursement of employer contributions; is daughter overseas eligible?; When is mortgage diversion helpful?; Where can you get the information that was in the three Herald supplements about KiwiSaver? …And: Rental property running costs mount up over the years.
Obsessed with property? Not us. New Zealanders are not as property mad — or as mortgage mad — as we’ve been led to believe, recent research shows.
Q&As: A year-old letter shows the danger in trying to predict what the Kiwi dollar will do; “Plodders” wonder how to match the investments of their landlord friends; Traders in shares beyond Australasia no longer pay the old tax on capital gains; How about taxing rental property the same way as international shares?