Kainga Ora - Brooksfield Townhouses

First Home Partner is a shared ownership scheme to help aspiring first home buyers whose deposit and home loan aren’t quite enough to buy a home that meets their needs, purchase a home together with Kāinga Ora.

What is Shared Ownership?

Shared ownership means that you initially share ownership of the home with a third party who purchases the home with you (in this case Kāinga Ora). You are the majority homeowner and occupier, but we will own a share in the home, that you will buy out over time.

The make-up of shared ownership will be determined by several factors, including:

How much of a deposit you have
How much a participating lender is willing to lend you
How much contribution Kāinga Ora will make towards purchasing the home with you.

For example, you may have saved 10% of the purchase price of a home and a participating bank is willing to lend you 75%. Kāinga Ora then contributes 15% to purchase the home with you in return for a 15% share of ownership in the home.

Eligibility Criteria

Be over 18 years old
Be a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident, or a resident visa holder who is “ordinarily resident in New Zealand”; OR be applying with someone who meets the citizenship or residency requirements, and you are married to or in a civil union or de facto partnership with that person
Have a total household income before tax of no more than $130,000
Have a good credit rating (subject to a credit report)
Be a first home buyer
Not previously received shared ownership support from Kāinga Ora

You must be buying the home for you to live in and commit to living there as your primary place of residence for at least three years from your settlement date.

How do you apply?

1. Check you are eligible
If you haven’t already, check to see if you meet the eligible criteria.

2. Gather your documents
You will need electronic copies (for example, PDFs) of all of these documents to submit as part of your online application. The documents include: Photo identification, Proof of income, Copies of your bank accounts and evidence of deposit and Statutory Declaration.

3. Submit your application
You will receive an automated email acknowledging your application.

Success Story

“The First Home Partner scheme offered by Kāinga Ora expanded our options as first home buyers. Without the scheme, we would not have been able to get on the property ladder.

Brooksfield Townhouses are very friendly to first home buyers. They have been very accommodating throughout the First Home Partner process and were more than willing to make the necessary adjustments to suit us and Kāinga Ora’s requirements. We especially appreciated that with Brooksfield we were able to put the property we loved on hold, while we worked through the Kainga Ora process.

We would recommend any first home buyers to consider using the First Home Partner Scheme in conjunction with Brooksfield Townhouses.”

– Liam Potts & Georgina Mansfield