About Us


A fresh team approach

Tracey Eales

Financial Advisor
 027 255 9023
 Privacy Statement
 Disclosure Guide

Kerry Kelly

Personal Assistant
 027 282 1133

27 Eliot Street
New Plymouth

The Mint team specialise in Home Loan Mortgage Finance. They do all the hard work of approaching each lender and negotiating the best rates and terms to suit the customer and their individual situation, saving both time and money. Anyone seeking a home loan can use their Mortgage Adviser service at no cost to the customer - all fees are covered by the bank.

They have a wealth of experience, expertise and knowledge between them. They believe that integrating their ideas and pooling their resources provides a unique opportunity for their customers to achieve the best result possible in financing their home loan.

With more than 50 years’ combined experience and over 175 million dollars settled in loans, this duo work together to ensure you get the right home loan

With such a wealth of experience, expertise and knowledge between them they believe that integrating their ideas and pooling their resources provides a unique opportunity for their customers to achieve the best result possible in financing their home loan.

Spend the next few minutes scrolling down the page and learning a thing or two about just what goes into a mortgage and why Mint is right for you.

Testimonials


Some words from happy homeowners

Huhana and Matt

We have brought two houses in the space of 10 months and Couldn't have done it without Tracey's help.

We were first house buyers trying to navigate getting into the property market and then when our dream property came onto the market 9 months later Tracey was the first person I contacted. Tracey was there every step of the process to answer questions and is super fast at getting back to you especially during a stressful time dealing with agents, lawyers etc.

Tracey was able to give us multiple options of how to customise our home loan to match our goals so that we could make an informed decision.

Highly recommend Tracey, she 100% makes dreams come true!


Phil, Fflur, Grayson and Mr Ming

Fflur and I have been trying to buy a house for years without success, both on our own and with other mortgage brokers. At our wits end I remembered that my classmate Tracey, from a couple of years ago (ok more than a couple), was a mortgage broker and had her own company!

I dropped Tracey a line and she got back to me right away. Tracey knew she could help us finally achieve our dream of owning a home, and we were able to buy in Feb 2021. Frankly, I don't think we would have made it without Tracey and the team at Mint Home Loans. That's the difference having someone like Tracey in your corner makes.

Tracey was always relentlessly positive, ultra responsive (even replying to my emails while she was on holiday!), patient (answering my endless questions) and shockingly knowledgeable about the process.

Thank you Tracey and Kerry for making our dream possible. I cant talk you up enough and will recommend Mint Home Loans to everyone I know. This isn't blowing smoke, if you have doubts Tracey is more than welcome to give you my phone number and I will tell you the same thing over the phone :)

Thanks so much Tracey and Kerry!


Sonya and Matt

After several fruitless and frustrating weeks trying to get sufficient finance from a bank’s lending advisor and missing out on a couple of properties through the bank’s lack of urgency, we decided to change tack and try another option.

Fortunately, we were advised by a friend to try Tracey at Mint Home Loans. Talk about ‘chalk and cheese’ compared to the bank! Tracey was always available for advice and was quick to respond to any and all of our requests. She made us feel at ease, especially when time was of the essence and documents needed to be quickly sent, signed and returned between us and lawyers and banks and vendors.

Thanks to Tracey’s diligence, perseverance and professionalism, we were successful in purchasing a property – and couldn’t be happier with our choice to go with Mint.

We would absolutely recommend Tracey and Mint Home Loans to be the place to call when you want to secure finance for that property you’re dreaming of.


Haidee and Matt

Tracey was absolutely fantastic to deal with in getting our mortgage. She is super prompt, answers any questions and gets the best deal! She made the process so easy and stress-free. This is the second time we have dealt with Tracey and would definitely work with her again in the future and highly recommend her to others.

Thanks again for all your help getting us into the new place! :)


The Process


We keep it simple

The Approval Process

A pre-approval allows you to apply for a loan and have the lender make an initial assessment of your financial position before you have found a specific property that you intend to purchase. The lender will consider most aspects of your application including your income, equity, savings history, employment status and credit history.

The biggest advantage of a pre-approval is that you are more aware of your lending position and have confidence when negotiating through the purchase process. It also means that the ball is already rolling so you are more likely to meet a shorter settlement time and have less stress through the approval process. The application process is straightforward and requires only a few simple forms to be completed. Arranging a pre-approval saves you time and allows you to focus on purchasing the property that meets your needs. Talk to your Mint adviser or scroll down to the bottom of the page to arrange a pre-approval.

Deposit


What you'll need to start

Loan Deposit

A loan deposit is the difference between the purchase price and the loan amount; specifically the borrower’s contribution to qualify for a loan. All lenders are slightly different, however most have loan products to borrow up to 90% of the property value; this is often referred to as the loan to value ratio (LVR). A 90% LVR would mean that the borrower is contributing the other 10%.

Reserve Bank regulations allow for only 10% of a lender’s home loan customers to have an LVR of over 80%. If you are looking to borrow more than the 80% threshold, you should speak to your Mint adviser. This type of situation is not always straight-forward, and professional advice will help outline the full range of options available to you, such as the way you structure your loan, or using different lenders.

Interest Rates


Repayments which work

Choosing the right interest rate makes a big difference in managing your mortgage repayments. We will help you select the option which is right for you.

Standard Variable (Floating Rate)

The advantage of a variable rate loan is that you have more flexibility with the loan; for instance, you can make extra repayments without penalty. The disadvantage is that your loan interest rate can vary up and down which will affect your repayments and is more difficult to budget for. The Interest rate fluctuates over time due to changes in the Official Cash Rate made by the Reserve Bank.

Fixed Rate

Your interest rate is fixed for a set period of time that you nominate (generally 1-5 years) so your repayments will remain the same irrespective of economic cycles; therefore fixed rate loans provide you with more certainty. While it is easy to budget your repayments, you may also have restrictions regarding changing the loan, including making extra repayments. It’ is also worth reviewing your loan when your fixed term expires as usually the interest rate will revert to a standard variable rate which is often higher than other available variable rates.

If you repay a Fixed Rate loan early – you might sell your home – then you may have to pay an early repayment fee. Your Mint adviser can help you with eliminating or minimising the impact of early repayment fees.

Line of Credit (Revolving Credit)

This is a flexible, floating interest rate loan similar to an overdraft. As the borrower, you are able to withdraw funds up to a pre-approved credit limit. Interest is only paid on the amount of funds that you have used in any particular period.

This type of facility is useful for people who earn bonuses or commissions and self-emlpoyed people with irregular income and expenses. These clients can use the revolving credit facility to reduce the principal owing on their mortgage and the interest rate they are charged each month.

See your Mint adviser to find out how you can benefit from this type of loan facility.

Non-Conforming

These are interest rates for people who may have a poor credit history, may have been bankrupt or don’t fit the normal lending criteria of the major banks. The interest rate is usually higher and the loan restrictions are greater. However there may be a short term lending solution that suit your needs if other lenders won’t meet your funding requirements. Your Mint adviser does have access to lenders who specialise in providing solutions for clients who find themselves in this situation.

Loan Options


We can help

Whether you are buying your first home, second loan, rental investments, refinancing, debt consolidation, reverse equity mortgage, commercial, construction, the team at Mint has you covered.

Loan Term

This refers to the length of time the loan will exist. A 30 year loan term is now standard; a shorter loan term will increase your ongoing repayments as you’re committed to repay the loan off more quickly.

Principal & Interest

This refers to how your repayments are made; specifically, that over the term of the loan, repayments of the interest plus the reduction of the actual loan (principal) are made. Therefore over time, the loan is reduced to zero. With additional or more regular repayments, the principal is paid off faster and therefore less interest is paid.

Interest Only

With most lenders, there is the option to not reduce your debt and simply repay only the interest on the loan. This might be suitable for investors wishing to maximise their tax deductions or to assist with managing cash flow. This option can be available for a nominated period (i.e. 1 to 5 years) which reverts to P&I following the IO period.

Lo Doc

This is a lending option where traditional income documents are not required. Most Lo Doc loans are designed for self employed persons who have the income to service a loan but their financial documents (ie tax returns) are not available as evidence of income. Instead, the borrower is required to declare their employment status and sign a declaration that they have the income to service the debt. While initially this seems risky, the borrower is required to contribute far more equity/cash towards the purchase than the traditional borrower.

Split Loans

Variable and Fixed Rate loans both have benefits and disadvantages and in many cases it’s suitable to split the loans to have both types jointly. This means that you gain from the flexibility of a variable loan and the stability of a fixed rate loan, without being overexposed to the disadvantages of each. A split loan does require management of two or more loans and your Mint adviser will be able to help you how to best structure your loan.

Bridging Loans

In some cases, a person may wish to buy a new house before they have sold their existing one. With Bridging finance, the lender will fund the purchase of the new home until the old home has been sold. This overlap is known as the bridging period and upon selling the old home, the bridging period is finalised and any extra bridging funds are repaid. As the timing of property transactions may be difficult, Bridging Loans are a convenient way to ensure you can secure a new property. This loan option is a little more difficult to set up and it is important that borrowers have a comprehensive understanding of what is required.

Construction

This option is generally available with most standard variable loans. When building a house, a lender will make a series of ‘progress payments’ throughout the construction process, rather than handing all of the funds to the builder up front. With each progress payment, the debt accrues until the loan is fully drawn down on completion of construction. Borrowers are usually required to make Interest Only repayments during this construction period which then revert to a standard loan upon the final progress payment.

Guarantees

There are three types of housing guarantees; Security, Servicing and a combination of the two. These are where a person or entity other than the borrower allocates a portion of their equity (ie home) or their income towards a loan. The most common example is a parent offering to guarantee a loan for a purchase of a property in their son or daughter’s name. There are many scenarios to consider with guarantees so it is highly recommended to discuss this with your Mint adviser.

There are many other options including Offset Accounts, Redraw, Additional Repayments, Direct Salary Deposits, Loan Increases, and Product Switching which your consultant can comprehensively discuss with you.

Get Started


It only takes seconds

Get Started Here

Tell us who you are and we can start the process. You can expect to hear from your new Mint adviser within the next couple of business days.





Tracey Eales

Mortgage Adviser
 027 255 9023
 Privacy Statement
 Disclosure Guide

Kerry Kelly

Personal Assistant
 027 282 1133