Is it better to sell before you buy?
Selling your home first, then looking for a new one is less stressful and risky than buying and selling at the same time.
Selling first means you have freed up any equity and have a good idea of your budget for your next home. You’re also a cash buyer and will have an advantage over anyone who is making an offer conditional on selling their own property. If you can negotiate a long settlement period when you sell, you’ll have more time to find your next property without having to rent or move twice.
Renting or storing belongings between moving out of one home and into another will add to your costs. It may also be time consuming finding and moving to temporary accommodation and potentially disruptive, especially for children.
If you’ve already found your next home and need to sell your current home to finance it, you can make your offer to buy conditional on selling your home. If the seller accepts your offer with that condition, you’ll have time to sell your home within the time-frame set out in the condition. Sellers are likely to find unconditional offers more attractive, so consider this before deciding whether to sell your own home first.
You can talk to your bank or lender about bridging finance, which is a short-term home loan that can help you purchase a new property before your existing home is sold. There is a risk of more bridging finance debt than you planned if your sale takes longer than expected or if you get less than you hoped when you sell your house. If it takes longer to sell your existing home than expected, you may find yourself owning two properties for a while with the associated home loan, insurance and rates costs to pay.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.1% Yes
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13.4% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
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What is it that when given one, you’ll have either two or none?
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Today's Riddle: Guaranteed Brain Stretch!
What bird is the strongest of them all?
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