Lower interest
Take advantage of home loan interest rates, which are usually lower than a personal loan or a credit card.
Home loan top-ups
Need to renovate, fix up your garden, add extra space for a new family member, or make your home more energy-efficient? Topping up your home loan may be an option.
Low interest top-ups for sustainable upgrades
You could borrow up to $80,000 at a 1% p.a. 3 year fixed rate, to pay for eligible upgrades to your home or for electric transport options.
Benefits of topping up
Pay for what you need
People often use a top-up to pay for home renovations, however, you can also apply for one to pay for a car.
Flexible terms
Structure your top-up to suit you. Choose how long you’d like to pay it off over, at either a fixed or floating rate.
Apply at any time
You don’t need to wait until your mortgage rollover date. Apply for a home loan top-up whenever you need it through Internet Banking or the BNZ app.
How top-ups work
A top-up means that you borrow money on top of your home loan using the equity in your home. It can either be:
- consolidated with your existing home loan
- taken out as an additional loan.
How much you can borrow
The amount you are able to borrow depends on:
- what the top-up is for
- how much of your home loan you’ve already paid off
- the value of your home and what your Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) is
- whether you can still afford the repayments once your top-up is added.
Choose a fixed or floating rate
When applying for a top-up, you can choose either:
- a fixed interest rate, so you know exactly what your repayments will be
- a floating interest rate, so you can make additional lump sum repayments or change your repayment amount. This could shorten the time you have to pay back the top-up and get debt-free faster.
Renovations
If you want to use your top-up to do major renovations to your home, which may need a building consent, there’s additional information we’ll need.
Once we know what your plans are, we might ask you for:
- copies of the building plan
- a building contract
- a council consent
- a new registered valuation of your property. We will order this valuation, but you may need to pay towards the cost.
How to apply for a top-up
Internet Banking
Log in to Internet Banking and select Apply now, then choose Apply for a home loan top-up.
BNZ app
Log in to the BNZ app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines in the top left corner). Select Apply now, tap Loans, and choose Apply for a home loan top-up.
What to expect next
We’ll review your application
We’ll be in touch if we need more information, and if you’ve applied for the top up with someone else, we’ll contact them too.
We’ll get in touch
We’ll be in touch about your application. If your top-up is approved, we’ll confirm the details (like loan structure, interest rate, and any other conditions) and send your loan documentation for you to sign.
Access your top-up funds
Once we receive your signed documents, we’ll organise your funds and let you know when the money is available in your account.
All home loans are subject to our lending criteria (including minimum equity requirements), terms and fees. Interest rates are subject to change. An establishment fee of up to $150 may apply. Not for business purposes.
Loans to purchase or finance other property or lending involving new and/or exchanged security are not considered home loan top-ups. Top-up fee applies and subject to lending criteria. You’ll be charged a fee of up to $100 to top up your home loan.
Subject to lending criteria (including minimum equity requirements), terms and fees. An establishment fee of up to $150 for new customers may apply. For existing customers, a top-up fee of up to $100 may apply.
Must be a BNZ Standard home loan. Not for business purposes or restructuring existing lending. Not eligible for any cashback. This rate may not apply to some packaged offers. A ratelock break fee and early repayment charges may apply. Offer, interest rate, and fees subject to change.If your application for a top-up is successful, we will combine the top-up amount and the balance outstanding on your existing loan into a new loan agreement. You will need to sign the new loan agreement. If you have a fixed rate loan, an early repayment charge may apply.
You may need to get a new valuation of your home to calculate what your current LVR is.
Subject to lending criteria (including an affordability check). Low equity interest rate premium may apply if the amount of your loan increases the LVR of your home loan to 80% or over.