Sarah Hood is North Shore-based, working with a number of clients across Takapuna, Devonport, Milford, Northcote, Birkenhead, Glenfield, Albany, Browns Bay, Torbay, Long Bay and the wider North Shore.
She helps clients work out how much they can borrow, and compares different mortgage options by looking at lending criteria, rate/cashback offer and bank products across multiple banks and lenders.
Apartments, cross lease homes, coastal properties and newer townhouses all have different factors to consider.
Cross lease homes are common in suburbs such as Northcote, Birkenhead, Glenfield and Milford. If an extension, deck or garage has changed the building footprint but the flats plan was not updated, a lender may ask for further information. Sarah checks the lending position, while your lawyer reviews the title and flats plan.
For an apartment or unit title townhouse in Takapuna, Albany or Long Bay, a lender may look at the floor area, construction, title and body corporate/resident society fees. We compare the relevant policies and explain if a valuation, larger deposit or further documents may be required.
Your lawyer will review the LIM and property files. It’s important that you get an insurance quote for the property to confirm there are no exclusions. If there has been any previous damage or hazards, get evidence of the repairs done.
We look at your savings, any eligible KiwiSaver first home withdrawal and acceptable gifted funds, while also allowing for the costs associated with buying property.
A mortgage pre approval can give you a conditional budget before you make an offer. Pre approvals are commonly valid for 90 days and can often be extended or renewed if you are still house hunting. For a smaller deposit, we explain the lender criteria and possible costs of low deposit home loans.
We calculate whether or not you have sufficient equity in your current property(s) to purchase another property.
Our investment property loan advice considers your usable equity, existing debt, expected rent, cash flow and the way each lender assesses the application. Your accountant and lawyer advise on the tax and ownership position.
We compare staying with your current lender vs changing banks. We calculate the interest difference, cashback, break fees, clawbacks and legal costs with you.
From your first numbers to settlement and beyond.
Book a Free ChatWe review your income, deposit, debts, regular spending and plans, then show you a borrowing range and repayments to consider.
We compare rates, features, lending criteria and loan structures across multiple banks and lenders, then explain the recommendation.
We organise the documents, prepare the application and handle lender questions on your behalf.
We help you complete the lender’s conditions and work alongside your lawyer through settlement. After the loan is in place, we remain available for future refix and restructure reviews.
Sarah was a teacher before moving into mortgage advice. She takes the time to understand your circumstances, explains how lenders reach their decision and answers any questions that can come up while you are in the process of buying.
Sarah is an Excellence Awardee at the New Zealand Mortgage Awards three years running: 2024, 2025 and 2026. She was also named in NZ Adviser’s Elite Women 2026 and received the NZ Adviser Rising Star 2026 award.
“Sarah is super helpful and easy to work with, she actively communicated and answered all of my silly questions quickly. Highly recommend her for first home buyers and buyers in general. Great to work with and very informed!”
Sarah is super helpful and easy to work with, she actively communicated and answered all of my silly questions quickly. Highly recommend her for first home buyers and buyers in general. Great to work with and very informed!
Sarah was absolutely amazing in guiding us through the process as first home buyers. She truly went above and beyond, taking the time to answer all of our (sometimes silly!) questions and making sure we felt supported every step of the way. She was always available to help, even on weekends, whether by call or text, which made such a stressful process feel so much easier. We would highly recommend Sarah and couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
Sarah been amazing to deal with! She has helped my partner and I get into our first home. She answered all our thousands of questions! Which really helped us understand the process :) (thanks Sarah!!)
I had the pleasure of working with Sarah as my mortgage advisor for purchasing my first home, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her support throughout the process. From the very beginning, she was extremely helpful and transparent, explaining every detail in a way that made everything clear and easy to understand. I thought it would be a stressful and overwhelming experience but it was smooth and straightforward thanks to her guidance. She made the whole journey feel effortless. I would highly recommend Sarah to anyone looking for a reliable and supportive mortgage advisor.
Sarah has gone above and beyond for us and has been an amazing support while we were buying our first home! She was always available to answer any of our weird and wonderful questions and was super knowledgeable about all aspects of the process. We cannot thank her or recommend her enough! Thanks Sarah :-)
Sarah was awesome to deal with and helped us get into our first home :) She was super flexible with meeting times and uses google meets so that we could take the meeting from anywhere. Sarah is super friendly and no question was a dumb question for her, which made us feel really comfortable. She explained each step of the process really clearly and helped us apply for a home loan with the banks, fix our home loan and will be following us up when its time to re-fix. 10/10!
You can apply directly to your bank, but you will only see that bank’s products and lending criteria. We compare multiple banks and lenders, including how much they may lend, the rates and features available, and how they assess your income and chosen property.
If your current bank still suits your circumstances after the comparison, we will say so. You make the final choice after seeing the reasons, conditions and costs.
A 20% deposit is the usual benchmark, but it is not your only option. Eligible first home buyers who meet Kāinga Ora and lender criteria may be able to use a First Home Loan with a 5% deposit. A 1.2% lender’s mortgage insurance premium applies to that loan.
Other low deposit options depend on your income, debts, credit history and the property. We give you one figure for the deposit and a separate allowance for legal fees, a valuation and any low equity margin or premium.
Yes, many lenders finance cross lease homes. What matters is whether the title documents match the property and if any alterations appear on the flats plan. A deck, extension or converted garage that is missing from the plan may lead to further questions or approval conditions.
Sarah checks the lending requirements, while your lawyer reviews the title, flats plan, lease and any legal issues before you commit.
Yes, but the answer depends on the apartment and the lender. Banks may consider the unit’s floor area, construction, title, body corporate records, ongoing levies and the size of your deposit. Their minimum requirements are not all the same.
Send us the listing or address before applying. We can compare the relevant policies and tell you which documents or valuation the lender is likely to request.
Start with a current LIM and property file, then ask your lawyer to review the natural hazard information, storm records, building consents and any reports about remedial work. Check the exact address in Auckland Council’s Flood Viewer or GeoMaps and arrange an insurance quote before bidding at auction or going unconditional.
If an issue is recorded, we ask the lender exactly what it requires. Your lawyer and insurer advise on the property risk and insurance terms; we explain how those findings affect the lending.
Yes, absolutely. Being self-employed does not stop you getting a mortgage, but a lender will usually assess the business behind your income rather than relying on payslips alone.
One lender may accept the latest financial statements prepared by your accountant or recent Inland Revenue returns, while another may ask for two years of annual accounts. We review what you have, tell you what is missing and compare the loan options and rates available from lenders whose rules fit your trading history and income.
Your accountant prepares the accounts, whereas we prepare and manage the lending application itself.
In most cases our advice costs you nothing. We're paid by the lender you choose. In a small number of situations a fee applies, and we'll always tell you before any work starts. It's all set out in our disclosure statement.
We're paid much the same whichever lender you go with, so the recommendation is about the loan, not the commission.
Tell us what you are planning and what you need help working out. Sarah will explain the options and what needs to happen next.
