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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

Which bank is best for someone paying a mortgage on their own after a separation?

If you're in New Zealand and have recently separated, with the mortgage now needing to be paid from one income, the best bank is usually the one that will work with your new financial situation, not necessarily the one offering the lowest interest rate.

You may be trying to keep the family home, take over the mortgage in your own name, or simply make the repayments manageable on one salary. Those situations can call for quite different solutions.

I'd compare banks on four things:

  • Affordability: whether the repayments are realistic on your sole income, after living costs and other debts.
  • Mortgage flexibility: whether the bank can restructure repayments, extend the loan term where appropriate, or consider a temporary interest-only arrangement.
  • Separation support: how it handles removing your former partner from the loan and assessing whether you can service it alone.
  • Total cost: interest rate, cash contributions, legal and refinancing costs, and any break fees on a fixed-rate mortgage.

Which New Zealand banks would I look at first?

These would be my starting shortlist, particularly if you're worried about making repayments on one income.

  1. BNZ — worth contacting first if affordability is tight

BNZ explicitly lists the end of a relationship as a reason someone may experience financial difficulty. It offers hardship applications and options for reviewing home-loan repayments. Financial hardship applicationWhat you can do if you’re having trouble with home loan repayments

Best starting point if you need to discuss repayment relief.

BNZ financial difficulty support

  1. ANZ — worth considering if you need to restructure

ANZ lists relationship breakdown as a potential reason for hardship assistance. Depending on your circumstances, it may offer short-term relief or restructure your home loan. Apply for financial hardship assistanceHelp with financial difficulty

Best to investigate if you need a temporary adjustment or a new repayment structure.

ANZ hardship assistance

  1. Kiwibank — another option for reducing repayments

Kiwibank outlines options including extending the loan term, restructuring the mortgage and temporary interest-only repayments. Having trouble making payments | Home loans

Worth comparing if your priority is making monthly repayments manageable.

Kiwibank mortgage payment support

These are starting points, not a ranking of approval likelihood or interest rates. If you're applying to take over a joint mortgage in your sole name, each bank will assess whether you can afford the debt on your own.

What I would do in your position

  1. Speak to your existing bank first about keeping the home and adjusting the mortgage.
  2. Ask a mortgage adviser who works with multiple lenders to compare whether refinancing elsewhere could improve your options.
  3. Get advice about the property settlement and ownership arrangements before signing anything. If the mortgage is joint, your former partner generally remains liable to the bank until the bank agrees to release them or the joint lending is repaid. Relationship breakdowns and banking

If the mortgage is becoming difficult to afford because of the separation, contact the bank early. New Zealand borrowers may be able to apply for a formal hardship variation, although approval isn't guaranteed. Hardship applicationsHardship and financial difficulty

Can I narrow it down to the best bank for you?

There are two details that would make the biggest difference to my recommendation.

With those answers, I can give you a more targeted recommendation rather than simply listing banks.

Ask anything

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

Captured 11 October 2026

Gemini · National

Which bank is best for someone paying a mortgage on their own after a separation?

When transitioning to a single income after a relationship separation, there is no single "best" bank for a mortgage because all major New Zealand banks (such as ANZ, ASB, Westpac, BNZ, and Kiwibank) operate under the same core regulatory frameworks, credit criteria, and lending restrictions set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ).

Instead of looking for a specific brand, the "best" bank is your current lender if you need to restructure, or the one that offers the most flexible hardship and refinancing support for your unique situation.

Navigating a mortgage alone requires focusing on specific lender policies, support mechanisms, and financial strategies:

1. Staying With Your Current Bank vs. Refinancing

  • Staying Put (Restructuring): If you already have a joint mortgage with your bank, restructuring the loan into your sole name (via a application to assume the mortgage and a separation agreement) is often much easier than applying for a brand-new mortgage elsewhere. Your existing bank already has your history, and avoiding a full refinance can save on legal and discharge fees.
  • Switching Banks: If your current bank declines your single-income affordability test, you can shop around. State-owned Kiwibank or regional/smaller lenders are sometimes perceived as having slightly different operational flexibility, though all must legally adhere to the same Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) affordability rules.

2. Key Features to Look For on a Single Income

When managing a mortgage alone, cash flow and flexibility are your highest priorities:

  • The Ability to Split Your Loan: Splitting your mortgage into multiple portions allows you to fix a portion for predictable budgeting while keeping a smaller portion floating or linked to an offset account.
  • Offset or Revolving Credit Facilities: If you have any remaining cash settlement or savings from the separation, linking them via an offset mortgage reduces the principal on which daily interest is calculated, lowering your monthly repayments without locking your money away.
  • Low or No Fee Restructuring: Ask potential or current lenders what fees they charge to change loan ownership titles or alter fixed terms due to a relationship property agreement.

3. Immediate Support Options Available From NZ Banks

Major New Zealand banks have dedicated separation and hardship assistance teams. If dropping to a single income makes your current repayments unmanageable, you have legal rights under the CCCFA to apply for temporary hardship relief:

  • Interest-Only Periods: Temporarily switching your mortgage to interest-only can lower your monthly outgoings while you sort out asset divisions.
  • Extending the Loan Term: Spreading the remaining debt over a longer term (e.g., resetting back to 30 years) reduces your compulsory monthly minimums.
  • Repayment Deferrals (Holiday): A short-term pause on payments, though interest will continue to accrue.

Recommended Next Steps

  1. Talk to Your Current Lender First: Contact your bank's specialized separation or mobile mortgage managers. Ask them what paperwork (such as a signed separation agreement or formal valuation) they require to remove your ex-partner from the title and loan.
  2. Consult a Mortgage Adviser: Independent mortgage advisers in New Zealand are free for borrowers to use (they are paid commission by the lender) and can simultaneously test your single-income borrowing capacity across multiple banks to see who will greenlight a sole-name mortgage.
  3. Seek Free Budgeting Guidance: If cash flow is tight, organizations like MoneyTalks (0800 345 123) offer free, confidential financial mentoring to help you restructure your household budget.

Are you currently trying to buy out your ex-partner's share of the home, or are you looking to sell and buy a new property on your own?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

Captured 11 October 2026

Google AI Mode · National

Which bank is best for someone paying a mortgage on their own after a separation?

When managing a mortgage alone after a separation, there is no single "best" bank for everyone, because affordability and lending criteria depend entirely on your sole income , your expense profile , and the amount of equity you need to refinance.

To take over a mortgage by yourself, you must re-qualify for the loan as a single applicant. This new or restructured loan needs to cover the remaining joint debt plus whatever funds are required to buy out your ex-partner’s share of the equity. [Home Loan Factory]

Key factors to weigh when choosing or negotiating with a New Zealand lender in this situation include:

  • Offset Facilities (e.g., BNZ Total Money): Lenders offering flexible offset accounts allow you to link everyday and savings accounts to your mortgage, reducing the daily interest charged—which can be a powerful tool for managing a household on a single income.

  • Refinancing Incentives & Cash Contributions: Some major providers and New Zealand-owned banks (such as Kiwibank) offer competitive refinancing packages or contributions to help cover legal and administrative costs when switching or restructuring a home loan. [Reddit·r/PersonalFinanceNZ]

  • Customer Satisfaction & Support: Locally owned institutions like The Co-operative Bank consistently rank high in customer satisfaction awards for home loans, which can matter greatly when you need empathetic and navigable service during a life transition.

  • Credit Policies and Flexibility: Major lenders (including the major Australian-owned banks like ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac) have varying internal stress-test formulas for living expenses and single-income debt-to-income (DTI) ratios.

Because serviceability rules differ significantly from one bank to another when moving from a dual-income to a single-income application, working with an independent mortgage adviser is often more effective than approaching a single bank directly. An adviser can run your numbers across multiple lenders to see which institution will greenlight the highest borrowing capacity for your specific salary.

If you'd like, let me know:

  • Roughly how much the remaining mortgage and property equity buyout are
  • Whether you are relying on a sole salary/wage or self-employed income

I can give you a clearer idea of how lenders evaluate single-income affordability or what financial structures might help.

Ask anything

Captured 11 October 2026

AI Overviews · National

Which bank is best for someone paying a mortgage on their own after a separation?

AI Overview

There is no single "best bank" in New Zealand for managing a mortgage alone after a separation, as the right lender depends entirely on which one approves your standalone borrowing capacity ("serviceability") based on your sole income.

When going from two incomes to one, the primary challenge is proving to a bank's lending criteria that you can afford the home loan by yourself. Different major retail banks look at sole-parent variables—such as Child Support, Working for Families tax credits, boarder income, and part-time employment —in very different ways.

How the Major NZ Banks Differ for Sole Borrowers

If you are trying to take over an existing mortgage or refinance to buy out an ex-partner, banks evaluate your single income using different internal rules:

  • ASB Bank: Generally recognized for robust digital support and tools like ASB Support Finder, which helps sole parents identify government benefits they qualify for. They are thorough with serviceability but look favorably on stable, long-term government assistance as secondary income.

  • ANZ New Zealand & Westpac NZ: Both have specialized mobile mortgage managers who can manually assess relationship property agreements. They are highly competitive on fixed rates, but they heavily stress-test your single income against simulated high interest rates to ensure you aren't exposed to financial hardship.

  • Kiwibank: Often presents a flexible option for everyday Kiwis and can sometimes be more accommodating with lower deposit requirements or equity limits if you are trying to keep the existing family home without a full 20% equity buffer.

  • Non-Bank Lenders: Brands like Resimac, Pepper Money, or Liberty Financial are critical if the mainstream banks say no. They feature more flexible credit policy rules for single incomes or those newly returning to the workforce, though they typically charge higher interest rates.

Strategic Steps to Secure a Solo Mortgage

  • Work with a Mortgage Broker: Instead of applying blindly to one bank, use a registered New Zealand mortgage adviser. They know exactly which bank's calculator is most generous toward your specific income mix (e.g., how much weight they give to Child Support).

  • Finalize the Separation Agreement: Banks will rarely approve a new sole mortgage without a legally binding Relationship Property Agreement (Section 21) signed by both parties and their lawyers.

  • Ask for 'Interest-Only' Terms: If cash flow is tight immediately following the split, ask your current bank to temporarily switch the loan to interest-only repayments. This reduces your monthly outgoings while you adjust to a single-income budget.

To help me narrow down which lender or strategy fits your situation best, could you tell me:

  • Do you want to keep the current house by buying out your ex, or buy a new property entirely?

  • Will your income include secondary sources like Child Support or Working for Families?

  • Is your current mortgage fixed or floating , and how long has it been active?

Ask anything

Captured 11 October 2026