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 Welcome to our newest feature on nzgirl! We have our very own mortgage doctor, the fabulous and very money savvy Jodi Cottle.
A mortgage broker at Sable Mortgages, Jodi is here to answer all your mortgage questions! She developed a passion for property investment from an early age and has built a solid career in the finance industry both here and in the UK mortgage markets.
We've got five copies of Jodi's book, Young & Singles Guide to Property Investment to give away to some lucky nzgirls! Read on to find out how to get your name in the draw! If you need a bit of advice and direction, just drop Jodi an email here! 
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QUESTION:
 Dear Jodi,
My partner and I are thinking about having a baby next year BUT that means me stopping work for a while. I earn more money than him and without my wage for potentially six months, I don't think it would be possible to cover the mortgage, bills and new baby costs. What kind of options do I have with my mortgage? Should I go onto interest only? But I think that will only reduce the amount I pay each month by a few hundred dollars.
Don't I need it cut by almost half? Should I try negotiating a new mortgage with another bank? Should I just tell my current bank? Or do I wait a few more years before attempting to 'have it all'?
Clucky
ANSWER:  Hi Clucky,If you are on a fixed rate term, the option of just going on interest only requires a re-structure of the loan, and with this might come additional costs for breaking out of the contract. Therefore this might not be an option and also, as you say - it will only save you a few hundred a month. To overcome this issue I have a couple of options that I would suggest: 1: A Loan Repayment Holiday Depending on the lender you are with; a loan repayment holiday can be taken for up to three months. At the end of the repayment holiday, you can simply extend your current term, increase your repayments or make a lump sum payment, to make up the payments that were missed. The important thing to note with this is that while you are taking a 'break', the interest on the loan will continue to accumulate. If this is something you could possibly look at – it would be a good idea to put money aside before you finish work to make up the other three months whilst you are off with baby. 2: Take out another small mortgage with your existing lender Depending on the equity you have in your home there is no reason why we can’t organise a second (top up) mortgage before you go on maternity leave. This can be structured on a revolving credit facility which allows you to only take what you need as you need it, therefore only paying interest on the portion that you need and not the whole second mortgage amount. We could structure it so you could actually do a combination of the two options if they are both possible. Both of these options have conditions that apply and your situation would need to be looked at further to ascertain if this would be viable. Jodi
To be into win one of five copies of Jodi's book, 'Young & Singles Guide to Property Investment', all you have to do is answer this simple question: What is one tip Jodi offered to Clucky? It's full with loads more advice on how to start your very own property portfolio, safely and surely!
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