Dream first home purchased during covid-19 against all odds

Shannon Taylor, Health and Safety Officer

Since I joined the Fund 2 years ago, I have been saving and keeping a close watch on both the financial and housing markets waiting for the right opportunity to buy my first home. Despite having all odds against me due to COVID-19 hitting the markets, I found my ideal perfect first home and managed to buy it just after lockdown.

When I first joined NZAS I worked as a contractor and after 5 months I moved into a permanent position where I joined the Fund. I spoke to quite a few people about their experiences of being a member in the Fund and how it works. Buying a first home was already my savings priority when joining, and I had a few questions as I already had an external KiwiSaver scheme and wanted to still be able to contribute towards that as well as the Fund. I spoke with a financial adviser about my personal situation and happily went with the recommendations given to me.

When COVID-19 hit, there were a few more houses on the market, but no big change in market prices, which didn’t deter me from looking. The Fund kept me well informed about my investments and I felt confident that, despite an initial fall, over time they would bounce back, as I had seen over time how quickly my money grew being in the Fund – which is exactly what happened! I found my dream home which has everything I wanted it to have – in the middle of a pandemic! It was a great reassurance to have my money in the Fund, and know that money was there to help towards a deposit. There were a few delays in hearing back from the banks due to COVID-19 which was a stressful waiting game, but the overall process with applying through the Fund was seamless and far easier than expected.

 I got my keys to my house end of June and moved in! It’s an even prouder moment to know that I was able to buy this house all on my own without any other help other than from my own saving with help from the Fund and KiwiSaver.

Looking ahead my saving goals are to keep putting money into the Fund and see how quickly the balance grows and invest in my future. Now is the time to keep putting money away – it’s easy, it happens automatically and you don’t have to worry about it. I’m happy to have it in there and I’m thankful for the Fund so I can focus on doing things I enjoy outside of work like hiking, exploring Southland, visiting family in Queenstown and volunteering with the fire brigade as a qualified fire fighter.