Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Agriculture | Confidence | Economy | Energy | Employment | Finance | Media | Property | RBNZ | Science | SOEs | Tax | Technology | Telecoms | Tourism | Transport | Search

 

NZ Mortgage Startup to Help First Home Buyers


NZ Mortgage Startup to Help First Home Buyers

14 December 2016

Two young Aucklanders demoralised by the difficulty and expense of buying their first homes have launched a mortgage rate comparison website to help others save thousands of dollars.

MortgageHub.co.nz went live today after five months of development and refinement.

The free platform helps users compare mortgage rates with just a few clicks, and get all the information they need about buying a home. They can save many thousands of dollars by ensuring they get the best rate suited to them.

The site’s lending calculator displays the lowest current rates available, and works out how much users might be eligible to borrow. It also calculates the various amounts they’d have to pay back based on which provider they go with, and how quickly they want to repay the loan.

It’s a completely free service, and if users want to discuss their mortgage options in depth, the platform can connect them to some of the country’s top mortgage brokers.

“Our goal was to build a one-stop-shop for people entering the housing market. Our platform gives them the clearest comparison of lending rates from the country’s top providers, as well as all the other information they need to know about buying property,” 23-year-old co-founder Prashant Trivedy says.

“I’m so lucky to have been in a position to buy a house, but I could have made it a lot easier on myself by not becoming indebted to the teeth. I took the first mortgage rate offered by my bank but have since realised there were far better rates available and that’s cost me thousands of dollars in potential savings.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“I don’t want any other young person to make the same mistakes I did.”

Mortgage Hub’s other Co Founder Santham Kusam, also 23, had a different but equally painful experience when trying to enter the housing market.

“I went to multiple banks, had to fill out what felt like a few trees’ worth of paperwork, and then waited hours, if not days, before receiving quotes,” he says.

“When we did finally get the quotes, there was no way of easily comparing them because it was like trying to compare apples with oranges."

Being software engineers with a passion for solving problems with programming, Trivedy and Kusam brainstormed a better solution.

“Santhan and I have both worked in the technology team at a large bank so we have an in-depth understanding of the mortgage process. All other mortgage comparison tools are dated and don’t work well,” says Trivedy.

“We’ve pulled the mortgage lending industry out of the dark ages and into the 21st Century.”

With $4b in lending to owner-occupiers and first home buyers in the month August, the hope is to be facilitating $40m of lending through the platform every month, within the next 12 months.

“It’s ambitious, but this industry is just waiting for a technological shake-up, and we’re confident we’re it,” says Kusam.

“Our ultimate goal is to disrupt the financial services landscape more generally by developing innovative digital solutions in other spaces. So much in the financial world feels inaccessible to Joe Bloggs because there’s an old school protective attitude prevailing in the sector that shuts people out.

“We’re here to give everyone the tools they need to make important financial decisions easily, and ultimately help save them money.”

ENDS


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.