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Evidence · Home lending

The questions and original answers

Explore every question and captured response in the home-lending study, including answers asked nationally and from four cities.

questions
193
captured answers
1,094
AI platforms
4
collected
11 October 2026

01

Every question, with its answers

Each question was written as a voter would ask it and went to all four assistants. Some were also asked from a town. Open a question to read every answer to it in full.

Showing 20 of 193 questions

Show all 193

02

The tables behind the study

Every figure on the study page comes from these tables. They are CSV files, which open in any spreadsheet.

  • Question catalogue

    questions.csv

    One row per question.

    Question ID, borrower, exact question, group and collected answers

    193rows

    Download question catalogue (CSV)

  • Answers

    answers.csv

    One row per answer, with its full text.

    Answer ID, question ID, borrower, assistant, city, words, coded recommendations, showed a link and full text

    1,094rows

    Download answers (CSV)

  • Sources by answer

    sources.csv

    One row for each website recorded as a source of an answer.

    Answer ID, question ID, assistant, city, website and publisher type

    4,574rows

    Download sources by answer (CSV)

  • Checks against official sources

    checks.csv

    One row per statement checked.

    Check, answer ID, assistant, what the answer said, verdict, what the source says, source and date

    4rows

    Download checks against official sources (CSV)

  • Recommendation coding

    recommendation-coding.csv

    One row per coded national loan-choice or support answer.

    Answer ID, question ID, borrower, assistant, question group, recommended lenders and supporting passages

    360rows

    Download recommendation coding (CSV)

  • Platform comparisons

    platform-recommendation-counts.csv

    One row per platform, lender and question group.

    Matched panel, recommended answers, denominator and supporting answer IDs

    105rows

    Download platform comparisons (CSV)

  • City comparisons

    city-recommendation-counts.csv

    One row per city, lender and question group.

    Matched panel, recommended answers, denominator and supporting answer IDs

    112rows

    Download city comparisons (CSV)

Use these tables to trace findings back to the original questions and answers. The full text of each answer is also on this page, under its question.

03

Read in full and checked

Some answers were read in detail or checked against official sources. Those appear on the study page, beside the findings they support.

ChatGPT · National

Our income has dropped and we're trying to lower our mortgage payments. If we spread the loan over longer, how do we weigh the breathing room now against the cost later?

When your income drops, extending your mortgage term can be a sensible way to ease financial pressure. The key is to think of it as buying breathing room now in exchange for potentially paying more interest later — and to check whether you can keep the flexibility to pay the loan off faster when your income recovers.

In New Zealand, you generally have a few options: extend the remaining mortgage term, temporarily switch to interest-only payments, or negotiate a short-term repayment reduction with your lender. The right choice depends on how much your payments need to fall, how long your income may be lower, and how much extra interest you can afford over the life of the loan.

1. What extending your mortgage term actually changes

  • Your required repayments fall. You spread the remaining principal over more years.
  • You repay the principal more slowly. More of your early repayments go towards interest relative to reducing the balance.
  • Your total interest usually increases. This is especially true if you keep the loan for the full extended term.
  • You gain immediate cash-flow flexibility. That can help you cover essential expenses and avoid falling behind on your mortgage.

The important distinction is that a lower repayment isn't necessarily a saving. It's primarily a way of changing when you pay.

2. A worked example: what could the trade-off look like?

Imagine you have a mortgage balance of $500,000, with 20 years left and an interest rate of 5% that stays unchanged throughout the calculation.

Illustrative figures · principal and interest · monthly repayments

Keep 20 years

$3,300

per month, approximately

Extend to 30 years

$2,684

per month, approximately

Monthly breathing room

~$615

Extra interest over the full term

~$174,000

These are rounded estimates, not a lender quote. They exclude fees and assume the interest rate remains 5% for the entire period. Actual mortgage rates will change when fixed-rate periods expire.

That extra $615 each month could make a real difference to groceries, bills and other essentials. But the additional interest is substantial if you keep the mortgage for the entire 30 years.

The crucial point: you don't necessarily have to keep the mortgage for the extended term. If your income recovers and your loan allows extra repayments without significant fees, you may be able to increase your payments again and reduce the additional interest.

3. Compare your options before committing

Option Immediate benefit Main drawback
Extend the term Lower regular repayments More interest if you repay over the longer term
Temporarily go interest-only Potentially a larger payment reduction You make no progress on the principal during that period
Payment holiday Immediate short-term relief Interest may continue accumulating while payments are paused
Keep the term and reduce other costs Avoids extending the debt May not provide enough relief if the income drop is substantial

These are options to discuss with your lender; approval and the terms available depend on your circumstances. How to manage your mortgage and pay off your home loan early » SortedTypes of mortgages in New Zealand, and how to choose » SortedPayment problems

4. How I would weigh the decision

I'd work through these four questions in order.

  1. How much breathing room do you actually need? Work out the monthly shortfall after essential expenses. If you need $300 extra per month, extending the term enough to free up $600 may be more than you need.

  2. Is the income drop temporary or ongoing? If you expect your income to recover within a year or two, ask about a temporary arrangement before permanently lengthening the loan.

  3. Can you make extra repayments later? Ask your lender about limits on additional repayments, early repayment charges on fixed-rate loans, and whether you can shorten the effective repayment period once your finances improve.

  4. What will the total cost be under each option? Ask the bank to show you the new repayment amount, total interest, fees and outstanding balance after one, three and five years. Compare the options using the same interest-rate assumptions. Sorted's mortgage calculator can also help you compare repayment terms and total interest. How our calculators and tools work » SortedHow to refinance your mortgage » Sorted

One further point: if your income has fallen enough that you're struggling to meet repayments, contact your lender early. In New Zealand, you may be eligible to make a formal hardship application to request a longer repayment term, a payment holiday, or both. Free, confidential support is also available through MoneyTalks. ​​Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance ActPayment problems

5. Let's work out what makes sense for your mortgage

I can help you compare the cost of keeping your current term against extending it, using your actual numbers rather than the illustrative example above.

Your mortgage comparison

Estimates only. Enter approximate figures if you prefer.

The aim isn't necessarily to minimise interest at all costs. It's to find the lowest-cost arrangement that gives your household enough breathing room to stay financially secure now, while keeping a realistic path to paying off the home later.

Ask anything

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

Captured 11 October 2026

Gemini · National

Our income has dropped and we're trying to lower our mortgage payments. If we spread the loan over longer, how do we weigh the breathing room now against the cost later?

When household income drops, reducing your mortgage outgoings is often an urgent priority to protect basic cash flow and avoid arrears. Extending your loan term (for example, resetting a remaining 15 or 20-year term back out to 30 years) is a common lever provided by New Zealand lenders to create immediate breathing room.

Weighing the immediate relief against the long-term cost requires evaluating both the mathematics and your family's financial resilience.

1. The Immediate Relief: Lower Monthly Outgoings

  • What it does: Spreading the remaining balance over a longer period shrinks the size of your mandatory monthly or fortnightly table-loan repayments.
  • The Benefit: It frees up immediate cash to cover essentials (groceries, utilities, insurance) and lowers the risk of defaulting on your home loan during a period of underemployment or income transition.
  • The Psychological Factor: Lower mandatory commitments significantly reduce acute financial stress, giving you the mental bandwidth to focus on securing new income sources, retraining, or adjusting your wider household budget.

2. The Cost Later: Compounding Interest and Slower Equity

  • What it does: Because your principal balance reduces much more slowly, a significantly higher proportion of every payment you make in the early years goes toward interest rather than paying down the debt itself.
  • The Long-Term Impact: Over the full life of the loan, you will pay substantially more total interest to the bank (often tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars extra, depending on your loan size and interest rate).
  • Opportunity Cost: Slower principal reduction means your home equity grows at a much slower rate, delaying your overall net worth building.

A Practical Framework: How to Balance Both

Instead of viewing term extension as an all-or-nothing permanent decision, you can treat it as a short-term triage tool paired with a reverse strategy for later.

  1. Use the extension as a temporary safety net: If your income drop is expected to be temporary (e.g., job hunting, parental leave, or business turnaround), resetting the term can prevent immediate financial distress.
  2. Commit to voluntary over-payments when income recovers: Your bank will enforce the minimum payment based on the new 30-year term, but most standard table-loan structures in New Zealand allow you to make extra lump-sum payments or increase your regular repayments penalty-free (especially if you are on a floating rate or during allowed fixed-term thresholds, or up to certain caps on fixed rates).
  3. The "Virtual" Shorter Term: You can take the 30-year term to get the low mandatory payment for safety, but budget to pay what you used to pay (or somewhere in between) whenever cash flow allows. This gives you legal safety if things get tight, but keeps you on track to pay off the debt faster when things improve.

Alternative Options to Explore First

Before altering your core loan term, talk to your lender or a registered mortgage adviser about other levers:

  • Interest-Only Period: Some banks allow you to switch to interest-only repayments for a temporary window (e.g., 6 to 12 months). This drops your payments to the absolute minimum because you aren't paying down any principal at all. Note that this doesn't reduce the debt, but provides maximum short-term relief.
  • Partial Term Extension or Splitting: Rather than pushing the whole mortgage out, you could restructure parts of it or split your loan so only a portion gets breathing room while the rest stays on a tighter schedule.
  • Hardship Variations: If your income drop is severe and sudden, New Zealand lenders have formal hardship provisions under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) to temporarily adjust your terms.

Are you looking at this extension to manage an immediate income drop right now, or are you planning ahead for an upcoming fixed-term renewal?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

Captured 11 October 2026

Google AI Mode · National

Our income has dropped and we're trying to lower our mortgage payments. If we spread the loan over longer, how do we weigh the breathing room now against the cost later?

Extending your mortgage term is a classic lever to lower your monthly repayments and create immediate financial relief, but it fundamentally shifts the geometry of your loan. Weighing today's breathing room against tomorrow's total cost comes down to a balance between cash-flow survival and long-term wealth erosion.

Here is how to break down the trade-offs:

  • Immediate Cash-Flow Relief: Spreading the remaining balance over a longer term (for example, resetting a remaining 20-year term back to 30 years) immediately reduces your required minimum monthly payment. This lowers your household's baseline break-even point, reducing default risk and freeing up cash for essentials while your income is constrained.

  • Massive Increase in Total Interest: The longer money is borrowed, the more time interest has to compound. Even if your interest rate stays identical, stretching the term means you will make years of additional interest payments. Over a 10-year extension, the total dollar amount paid back to the bank can increase by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on your loan size.

  • Loss of Equity Velocity: A smaller portion of each mortgage payment goes toward the principal reduction in the early years of an extended term. This slows down how fast you build home equity, leaving you more vulnerable if property values fluctuate or if you need to refinance later.

  • Opportunity Cost vs. Necessity: When income drops drastically, immediate survival trumps long-term optimization—avoiding foreclosure or severe budgeting distress has infinite value compared to future wealth. However, if the breathing room is used for lifestyle maintenance rather than survival, you are paying a very high long-term price for short-term comfort.

A Strategic Way to Navigate This

You don't necessarily have to lock yourself into a permanent high-cost structure. Many lenders allow flexibility:

  • Use a temporary fix: Ask your bank about a temporary interest-only period or a short-term restructure rather than a permanent full-term extension.

  • Keep the ability to overpay: If you extend the term to lower the mandatory minimum, structure your budget so that whenever your income ticks back up, you voluntarily pay what you used to pay. Most standard floating and fixed structures allow extra payments or lump sums, letting you capture the safety net of a low mandatory payment without suffering the full interest penalty long-term.

If you'd like to share:

  • Your approximate remaining loan balance
  • Your current interest rate and remaining term
  • Whether your loan is currently fixed or floating

I can use the calculation tools to show you the exact dollar difference in monthly savings versus total long-term interest.

Ask anything

Captured 11 October 2026

AI Overviews · National

Our income has dropped and we're trying to lower our mortgage payments. If we spread the loan over longer, how do we weigh the breathing room now against the cost later?

AI Overview

Extending your mortgage term reduces your monthly cash strain but increases the total interest you will pay over the life of the loan. When household income drops, stretching your loan back out to a 25- or 30-year term is a common strategy used in New Zealand to secure immediate financial breathing room.

Here is how to weigh the short-term relief against the long-term costs.

⚖️ The Trade-Off: Now vs. Later

Feature Short-Term Impact (The Benefit) Long-Term Impact (The Cost)
Repayment Amount Lower minimum payments immediately, freeing up cash for daily essentials. No change to your principal balance ; you still owe the same base amount.
Interest Paid Slower principal reduction , meaning interest is calculated on a larger balance for longer. Massively higher total interest cost over the life of the loan.
Financial Flexibility Reduced financial stress while your income is temporarily lower. Delayed financial freedom and potentially carrying debt into retirement.

🔍 How to Evaluate the Decision

To decide if this move is right for your current situation, look at it through three lenses:

  • The Urgency of Your Cash Flow: If you are struggling to buy groceries, pay utilities, or cover basic costs, immediate survival trumps long-term interest costs. You can always reverse this decision later when your income recovers.

  • The "Temporary vs. Permanent" Outlook:

  • If this income drop is temporary (e.g., parental leave, redundancy transition, temporary contract gap), extending the term is an excellent temporary safety net.

  • If the drop is permanent (e.g., a career change or downshifting hours permanently), extending the term is just a band-aid. You may eventually need to look at downsizing or structural lifestyle changes.

  • Your Age and Retirement Timeline: If extending your loan means you will still be paying it off in your late 60s or 70s , you need to weigh how you will service those payments without a full-time salary.

🛠️ Alternatives to Discuss with Your Kiwi Bank

Before permanently re-extending your loan term, ask your lender about these alternative hardship and relief options:

  • Interest-Only Payments: You pause paying off the principal entirely and only pay the interest for a set period (usually 6 to 12 months). This drops your payments significantly without permanently changing your loan contract term.

  • A Mortgage Holiday (Repayment Deferral): You pause all payments entirely for a few months. Warning: The interest still accumulates and gets added to your loan balance, meaning your mortgage will grow larger.

  • Switching to a Fixed vs. Floating Split: If part of your loan is on a floating rate, splitting it or fixing it might offer slight payment predictability, though breaking fixed terms early can incur fees.

To help look at some rough numbers or options, could you share your approximate current mortgage balance , your current remaining term , and which New Zealand bank you are with?

Ask anything

Captured 11 October 2026