Important Update: BNZ Announces Sweeping Changes to Lending Policies Making It Harder to Get Lending | Ep. 249

In this episode, we discuss the BNZ's recently announced changes to its lending policy. These policies govern how much the retail bank is willing to lend on different property types. 

Most interesting for property investors, the bank will only lend a maximum of 70% of a property's value for any investment property. This includes any properties that would have been exempt under the previous LVR rules, like new builds and the dollar for dollar exemption. This will make it more expensive and challenging for investors to purchase a property if using BNZ. 

Similarly, any flatmate and boarder income is not being used to calculate a borrower's servicing ability. That means that marginal borrowers who needed additional income to pass the bank's lending tests will now struggle to meet the minimum requirements. 

We wrap up the episode by discussing our upcoming property investment webinar. You can sign up to attend by clicking the link above.