Home Equity Release

The following is a selection of articles mainly from January 2005 to the present. To explore this topic in more depth and access earlier columns, please use the search box.

Articles

NZ Herald 15 December 2012

Q&As: The pluses outweigh the minuses when putting kids into KiwiSaver
- Some thoughts about reverse mortgages
- Alternatives to reverse mortgages
- An end of year message

NZ Herald 8 December 2012

Q&As: Child's KiwiSaver account highly unlikely to shrink to zero
- Family could do its own "reverse mortgage"
- Some downsides of reverse mortgages

NZ Herald 1 December 2012

Q&As: Reverse mortgages can work well, if you know what you're doing
- Where to get comparable info on KiwiSaver fees
- A parent's worries about KiwiSaver are probably unfounded

Syndicated column 22 September 2012 - Help needed for retirees to live it up a bit

I'm disappointed. Retired people have been gaining access to their KiwiSaver money for several months now, but there's no emergence of good new products to help them manage their savings.

NZ Herald March 24 2007

Q&As: Should we blame the banks for soaring house prices?
2 Q&As on the new fair dividend rate tax on non-Australasian shares - the threshold, and trying to get around the rules
2Q&As on home equity release - lifetime interest rates and break fees if you change your mind

NZ Herald March 10 2007

Q&As: Many elderly, and others, could benefit from rates postponement schemes.
Why floating interest rates might be better - for home equity release schemes and ordinary mortgages.
A not-so-dumb question about the $50,000 exemption for international tax changes, and a new source of info on the changes.

NZ Herald March 3 2007

Seeking your questions about KiwiSaver
Q&As: Are home equity release (HER) schemes - which lend to retired people with homes but little income - a rip-off?
Sentinel defends its HER schemes, but they are still expensive compared with possible alternatives.

NZ Herald January 27 2007

Q&As: Unclaimed money may be yours!
Options for couple retiring with $200,000 and no house.
More on the index/active share fund debate - the theory and how it works in NZ

NZ Herald January 13 2007

Q&As: Options for a newly retired couple with $200,000 and no home include part-time work, buying a home with a flat attached, an interest-only mortgage and equity release.
Two Q&As on which investments are affected by the new tax law on international shares, and how it will work for investors.

Holm Truths autumn 05

Moving the goalposts: Working part-time in retirement makes a huge difference to how much you need to save

Also in this issue: From the Mailbox - Is home ownership so great?