What is it?
How do you qualify ?
How much can you get?
Existing home VS New Home or Construction
“I’ve heard about the Kainga Ora First Home Buyers Grant, but I don’t quite know what it is…or how I get it?” is a statement we hear often. Our latest blog talks all about the First Home Buyers grant – what is it, who is eligible for it, and how do I apply?
What is the Kainga Ora Grant?
The Kainga Ora first home grant is a one off payment that you can receive to put towards buying your home. Granted, you meet all the criteria.
The criteria; Have you been in Kiwi Saver for the past 3-5 years and been making regular contributions?
If you have answered yes to this, then … get up and do a little happy dance, punch the air a bit and let out a yell, you are on your way to accessing the first home buyers grant.
How much do you qualify for?
How much you can get depends on how long you have been contributing to your kiwi saver and what you are intending on spending. It can seem a bit complicated, but we will do our best to describe it. How does it work?
If you are looking at purchasing an existing home (a home that is already built) you can get $1000 for every year you have been contributing between 3 & 5 years.
3 years contributing = $3000
4 years contributing = $4000
5 years contributing = $5000
$5000 is the most you can receive for contributions for 5 years or more.
If you are looking at building a home or purchasing a home that is less than 6 months old, you can receive $2000 for every year you have been contributing for up to 5 years.
3 years contributing = $6000
4 years contributing = $8000
5 years contributing = $10,000
$10,000 is the most you can receive for contributions for 5 years or more.
How do you apply?
So now you know how much you can receive, let’s talk about how you go about applying for it.
- You can either apply for a pre-approval -where you are approved for the grant and THEN you can start looking for your home.
- OR You can apply once you have found a property and have signed a sale and purchase agreement.
Here is a little tidbit of information that you might not know, you can access the first home buyers grant even if you have previously owned a home. If you have previously owned a home but are considered by Kainga Ora to be in a similar position to a first home buyer, you can potentially still access the grant. This is a little bit more complicated than a straightforward first home buyers application. This is where we can help. We can help you apply for the first home buyers grant and do all the groundwork for you.
So if you did that happy dance back at the start and this sounds like you could qualify, please get in touch we would love to help you into your first home.
While we’re home loan experts, our blog posts are for general information purposes only and are not intended as financial advice. If at any stage you need personalised advice, get in touch on 06 8788 4444 or Ben or Mark.
