Buying a house with family or friends

Teaming up with siblings, friends, or flatmates could be a way for you to buy your first home as co-owners and get on the property ladder sooner.

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Combine savings to buy your first home

When you team up with family members or friends as co-owners, you can pool your savings to save for a deposit faster. And with the combined power of your incomes, you could all borrow more toward a house, to help with buying the type of home you’ve been looking for.

You can also share the costs of bills and other expenses like rates, insurance, and maintenance while living together, to help make home ownership more affordable.

What to think about

If you’re considering a co-owning arrangement, go into it with people you trust, and have open and honest conversations with one another early on.

Choose your co-owners carefully

Talk about how much each person could contribute to the deposit and to the mortgage repayments, long-term goals, and scenarios like what to do if somebody wants to move out in the future.

Create a property sharing agreement

This is a formal document that sets out the rights and responsibilities of all co-owners. It’ll help ensure you’re all on the same page, and can help you work through potential scenarios before they come up.

More about property sharing agreements

Get professional advice

It’s usually a good idea to speak to a lawyer and financial advisor for more information before committing to any agreement.

How it works

Apply for a home loan

Applying for conditional approval will help you work out how much you may be able to borrow as a group, and what types of properties you could afford. We’ll need to know information about your income, expenses and any debts you may have.

How to apply

Choose your home loan structure

Decide together how you want to structure your mortgage.

Our home loan types

Managing your home loan

You’ll be individually and together liable for the entire mortgage, which means any one of you could be responsible for the loan if payments aren’t kept up.

Ways to manage your loan

Case study: Bridget & Maddie

How two sisters teamed up to get on the property ladder by buying their first home together.

Explore other options

Shared ownership

We’ve teamed up with organisations that provide shared ownership programmes to help first home buyers with a low deposit.

More about shared ownership

New builds

If you’re buying a new build, or buying a property off plans (still under construction), deposit requirements can be flexible.

More about buying a new build

Help from parents

Your parents might be able to help by gifting or loaning money towards a deposit, or acting as guarantors or co-borrowers.

More about getting parental help

Get in touch

Talk to a Mobile Mortgage Manager

Mobile Mortgage Managers cover both city and rural areas across New Zealand. We’re available seven days a week, and can come to you, where and when it suits.

Find a mortgage manager

Get a call back from a home loan expert

One of our loan experts can give you a call to talk you through your options. Contact us online, or through Internet Banking or the BNZ app.

Arrange a call back

Home loans help and support

If you need some help call 0800 275 269.