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Bank statements supplied to the lender showed "extensive" Google Pay purchases on the borrower's credit card. Photo: Unsplash / Blake Wheeler A borrower who did not reveal he had a problem with gambling has had his complaint about "unaffordable" loans turned down - but mortgage advisers say it highlights a problem lenders face. The man borrowed $11,000 in 2015 to repay an overdraft. Over the next eight years, he topped up his loan 10 times, most recently in May last year for house renovations. In November, he was made redundant and in February this year he asked his lender for hardship relief because he was struggling to make his payments. His loan payments were deferred until 3 June. He went to a financial mentor for help and revealed his problem with gambling. The mentor looked into t...

Photo: 123RF The average asking price for Auckland property has dropped below $1 million for the first time in close to four years. New Trade Me Property data shows in August 2024 the average asking price was $986,750, down 1.3 percent from July - the first time since September 2020 it has been less than $1 million. Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd said August marked the fifth consecutive month of falling prices for Tāmaki Makaurau. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens to prices over the next month as we come into spring," he said. "September results should be able to give us an indication as to whether we've just endured a difficult winter, or if drops are as a result of a more structural weakness in the housing market." Nationally, the average asking price f...

A "large jump" in personal receivership appointments has been seen this year. File photo. Photo: 123RF Business owners who put up their own assets as security for lending are being put into personal receivership in increasing numbers. Keaton Pronk, an insolvency practitioner with McDonald Vague, said there had been a "large jump" in personal receivership appointments, which started in June last year and has sped up considerably this year. There were 30 last year, two-thirds of which were after June. In August there had already been 31. He said most had been driven by a small number of business lenders promoting themselves on "quick and easy access to funds often at higher interest rates, with even higher penalty rates, than those available through traditional lending means". As with a c...