Jenny had signed an agreement to purchase her first home.  She didn’t have any funds available to pay the deposit but had presumed she could use the funds from her Kiwisaver towards that deposit.  The deposit was to be paid upon confirmation of the conditions in the agreement. 

She was wrong to presume this, as most Kiwisaver providers will only release funds after an agreement has been confirmed (become unconditional).

If you are:

• a first home buyer;
• buying a home to live in (not an investment property); and
• a member of Kiwisaver for three of more years

you may be eligible to draw down from your Kiwisaver savings and put these funds towards buying your first home. 

However before you sign an Agreement for Sale and Purchase be aware of timeframes required to have the funds released.

From receipt of the appropriate paperwork (after an Agreement has been confirmed unconditional) it can take Kiwisaver providers up to 10 working days to process the application and make the funds available to you.  This is important when agreeing to payment of the deposit and working out settlement dates because if you do not provide sufficient time you may be left unable to pay the deposit when it is due or be unable to settle.  At worst, non payment of a deposit can mean that the agreement will be cancelled by the seller.

If you are unsure, you should talk to your lawyer first.