Insights from the Trebla team
Plain English answers to the questions our clients ask most. General information to help you understand your options, not advice for your specific situation.
Rates & Structure · 14 September 2026
What an interest-only period changes, what it leaves exactly where it was, and why the bank assesses you as if it has already ended.
Read more →First Home Buyers · 10 September 2026
Why one income does not borrow half of what two borrow, which lending gate actually stops a solo buyer, and the one lever that is weakest exactly when you need it most.
Read more →Rates & Structure · 8 September 2026
Why there is no single forecast, why some of the tables still ranking were written before the increases that have already happened, and what a forecast is genuinely useful for.
Read more →Rates & Structure · 3 September 2026
Why floating rates moved on the full increase while fixed rates did not budge, why fixed pricing responds to surprise rather than direction, and which borrowers actually have something to decide.
Read more →Insurance · 2 September 2026
Why you are insured against a policy definition rather than a disease name, what standalone and accelerated cover really cost you, and the two features that separate policies that look identical on price.
Read more →Insurance · 2 September 2026
Why ACC does not cover illness, how wait periods and benefit periods change what you would actually be paid, and the agreed value question that catches people at claim time.
Read more →Borrowing Power · 31 August 2026
What the debt to income limits require, why an unused credit card limit still counts against you, and why DTI is the one lending gate that does not move when interest rates do.
Read more →Local · 21 August 2026
Why the title type decides the lending question before the price does, why the lease clock is read against your loan term rather than today, and what that means for your deposit.
Read more →Local · 20 August 2026
Why the suburb sales figures are too thin to plan on, why an apartment building is assessed as closely as the borrower, and why body corporate levies are a borrowing power number rather than a running cost.
Read more →Borrowing Power · 17 August 2026
The Reserve Bank held the LVR settings in August. Why the speed limit is a quota on the bank rather than an entitlement you hold, and which lending never joins the queue at all.
Read more →Local · 13 August 2026
Why the suburb median is a poor planning number, why the grammar zone line runs through Remuera rather than around it, and why the title on an older property does as much lending work as the price.
Read more →Moving House · 10 August 2026
Why the gate is peak debt rather than equity, why the bridging clock runs to settlement rather than the accepted offer, and the one cost that outlives the bridge.
Read more →Refinancing · 7 August 2026
Why the break fee is biggest exactly when switching looks best, how a cash contribution restarts a clock you already paid for, and the term reset nobody prices.
Read more →Borrowing Power · 3 August 2026
Why the income figure a lender assesses is deliberately small, often nearly two years old, and rebuilt differently by every bank, and what actually helps.
Read more →First Home Buyer · 3 August 2026
What the bank needs when family helps with your deposit, and why the same money is judged very differently by the lender, by relationship property law, and by Work and Income.
Read more →First Home Buyer · 27 July 2026
Buying with less than 20% outside the government scheme comes down to three separate doors: a high-LVR bank loan, a new build, or a family guarantee. What each needs, and why the door you use changes the cost more than the rate does.
Read more →First Home Buyer · 24 July 2026
Deposit, borrowing power, the First Home Loan, and KiwiSaver, and how they interact. The hub guide with what actually changed in 2026 (the Grant is gone) and a link to the detail on each part.
Read more →Rates & Structure · 23 July 2026
Fixed buys certainty, floating buys flexibility. How to think about the choice, how long to fix for, why break fees are asymmetric, and how to size a split.
Read more →Local · 23 July 2026
What buying in a $1.79m median suburb actually demands of your lending, why finance comes before the auction, and how Trebla's Financial Advisers compare the main NZ banks from two bays away.
Read more →Comparison · 22 July 2026
Should you use a mortgage adviser or go direct to your bank? A neutral, side-by-side comparison of cost, choice, and which path suits which situation.
Read more →Local · 22 July 2026
Trebla is a mortgage and insurance adviser based right in Kohimarama, at 105a Allum Street. What a local broker does, and how our Financial Advisers work across the main NZ banks in the eastern bays.
Read more →Local · 16 July 2026
What a mortgage broker in Auckland does, what it costs, and how Trebla's Financial Advisers work across all the main NZ banks from our Kohimarama office in the eastern bays.
Read more →Rates & Structure · 13 July 2026
The Reserve Bank sets one number, but it hits floating and fixed loans differently. How the OCR mechanism works and what this month's hike to 2.50% means for your next refix.
Read more →Rates & Structure · 8 July 2026
The Reserve Bank lifted the Official Cash Rate on 8 July 2026 and signalled more increases could follow. What the decision means if you are weighing fix, float, or refix.
Read more →First Home Buyer · 6 July 2026
The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan can get eligible buyers into a home with a 5% deposit. Who qualifies, the income caps, and how it compares to a standard low-deposit bank loan.
Read more →Mortgage · 2 July 2026
Most calculators give one number. The real answer is the lowest of three limits: your deposit, the DTI ratio, and the bank's servicing test. Here is how each one works.
Read more →KiwiSaver · 29 June 2026
For most first home buyers, KiwiSaver is the biggest piece of the deposit. Who qualifies, how much you can take out, and the timing that catches people out.
Read more →Mortgage · 27 June 2026
Pre-approval tells you how much a lender will lend before you start house hunting. Here is what it means, how long it takes, and what you need to have ready.
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