When John and Liz van Winden moved into the large, purpose built New Zealand Home Loans building in Manukau Road earlier in February of this year, they would never have dreamed that by the end of the following month, that new office would be shut due to nationwide lockdown, as the result of a global COVID-19 pandemic and that everyone on the office would be working from home.
“It’s somewhat surreal, and hard to imagine for any New Zealander really. It illustrates the importance of being prepared for any eventuality especially when it comes to insurances and mortgages” says John.
The van Winden’s who live locally and have been helping locals with financial planning since 2002 recognise the current uncertainly for many and encourage people not to put off looking at how the Covid-19 outbreak will impact them in the immediate, short term and long term.
“The government has announced a Wage Subsidy for employers that are affected by this challenging situation. This will assist the employer financially with the cashflow to keep paying the wages and to keep their loyal team employed. In turn this will assist the employees to manage their bills and living cost as well as the mortgage and all other related bills. This subsidy applies to all New Zealand employers, contractors, sole traders, self-employed people, registered charities and incorporated societies.”
The amount of information that is being thrown at New Zealanders on a regular basis and the speed with which the situation keeps changing concerns John.
“Decisions concerning mortgages and other financial decisions relating to insurance, business and personal goals are complicated as it is. With the level of alarm and uncertainty in the market at the moment, it worries me that people will not have access to the right information in a timely manner and either delay or make a decision that doesn’t best suit them or their families. My team and I are fully trained to sift through the information to find the most relevant for our clients. Whilst the packages released are sound, they may not suit everyone and people need to be fully au fait with all the aspects of what is available to them in a time like this.”
From mortgage protection insurance, to home, health, contents, car, trauma, life insurance and everything in between, the team at NZHL Pukekohe is experienced and incredibly knowledgeable about making your finance work at its best for your future whilst having the right protection – Insurance plan – in place. Better still they are still able to provide all this right now, without the needs for face to face meetings, thanks to email, skype and virtual meetings from your home office to theirs. The NZHL DebtNav online planning tool can also assist our clients.
With NZHL, you no longer have to navigate the many options available in terms of financial planning. Instead you will be given a dedicated consultant, committed to making the process as easy as possible for you.
The couple, who have lived locally for many years and have a strong bond with the community, began helping clients in 2002 and pride themselves on maintaining a friendly rapport with every single one of their customers, some of which have been part of the NZHL experience since the couple first began offering financial advice over 17 years ago. “They are not just our customers. After a short period of time, we become very close friends and we often find that those clients who first signed up with us all those years ago are now sending their children in to start planning for their first homes.
“We don’t farm you out to another bank with the best deals at that time, like most mortgage brokers, instead we will give you the best option we can, and you will remain dealing with us from then on.
“We will also keep in touch with you about any changes that might happen in the future. This also means that everything is branded with the NZHL mark of approval and all banking is done under the same umbrella,” says Liz.
The team at NZHL acknowledge that this is a very vital and trying time for many in our community and remain focused on serving the community now as they have for nearly the last 18 years. Whilst they are not able to sit down over a coffee and chat with you in their new offices right now, they would hope that there would come a time that they can. But that in the meantime, they encourage you to get in touch, and they will help you to check out your options, and provide a service that will see you continue to be assured in your financial planning for the future.