Meet Joe, home loan specialist

With 25 years' experience, Mobile Mortgage Manager Joe Tongatea has supported generations of Kiwi with their home ownership goals. She’s passionate about helping Kiwi navigate this huge - sometimes daunting - financial decision.
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How a passion for customer service led to a career in home lending

Following her role in On the Ladder with Kiwibank, we asked Mobile Mortgage Manager Joe Tongotea to share her insights, and what it takes to achieve your property goals. This is helping Kiwi on the ladder.

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Kia ora Joe, what drew you to a career helping Kiwi on their home ownership journey?

Before starting my first semester at teachers’ college, I got a summer job at a post office. That’s where I found my passion for interacting with customers – chatting about their lives, dreams, and aspirations. This ultimately led me to a career in lending instead of teaching.

Lending is a way for me to help people achieve their goals of home ownership, which is something that aligns with my personal values. I want to demystify the process of home ownership and show how easy it can be to own.

I’ve been working in lending so long I’ve helped returning customers and their families – in fact three generations of families – into their own homes. It’s very exciting to be part of making those families better off.

Joe's tips for Kiwi buying a home

  1. 1
    Tahi

    Get started by gathering information

    Empower yourself with the many helpful resources available. You might like to do some reading to understand the market outlook, or get a gauge of property prices in different areas.

  2. 2
    Rua

    Understand your true financial position

    Develop a detailed budget to guide your home purchase. Working with a home loan specialist can give you added confidence that your financial plan is solid.

  3. 3
    Toru

    Don’t rule anything out

    You might have a vision of your ideal home, but sometimes you'll need to work your way up to that. Be realistic and be prepared to reach your goals over time.

  4. 4
    Whā

    Work out your 'why'

    Understanding why you want to buy your next home can keep you focused on what matters and help you maintain momentum along the way.

What are your tips for those who may be struggling to get into their first home?

Often, we play out scenarios in our heads, convincing ourselves of the many reasons why home ownership isn’t possible. But the reality is, you won’t know what's possible until you take that first step and ask the necessary questions. The best thing you can do it talk to a home loan specialist about your situation and the options available.

At Kiwibank, we focus on finding a pathway to yes, rather than saying no. Sometimes we might need to say, ‘not right now’, but we always identify the steps needed to achieve that home ownership goal.

There’s a fallacy out there that you can only buy with a partner or on your own, but there are so many other creative ways to make owning a home a reality. I hope On the Ladder with Kiwibank gets people excited about those possibilities.
Joe Tongotea, Mobile Mortgage Manager at Kiwibank

What’s your fondest memory of helping someone into their first home?

Following a first home buyer seminar, I was approached by a mature couple with children who were renting in a nice area of Auckland.

We had a good conversation about the possibility of home ownership and their concerns about being in significant debt. They didn’t have a deposit for what they wanted to buy, so we developed a plan to help them reach their goal and started having quarterly financial check-ins for the next two years.

They made big sacrifices to get their deposit together, but they were committed to the goal because owning a house was important to them. After two years they had paid off their debt and generated some savings. They managed to buy their first home. It’s paradise for them, and a stable home for their autistic son.

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