What if the home you’ve worked so hard to pay off could do more for your family’s future?
That was the conversation sparked by Unlock the Wealth, an innovative new workshop in Ōtara designed for Pasifika families who already own their homes and backed by the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board.
Unlike first-home buyer programmes, these workshops start with families who have already made that journey and ask what comes next.
Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia explains why the Local Board supported the workshop.
“Many families in our community own larger sections, and changes to planning laws may create new opportunities or decisions about how that land is used,” he says
“This workshop is about giving families practical information about the options available to them. Perhaps an option could help them become mortgage-free sooner or give them and their family more financial choices. Or maybe they want to build on their property so their children and moko (grandchildren) can live together.
“That’s what these workshops are about - understanding the options, knowing what’s possible, and starting conversations within our families so we can make informed choices.”
The workshop was supported through the local board’s Capacity and Capability Training of Diverse Groups funding programme, bringing families together for practical information about property, mortgages and home equity.
Delivered in Samoan, Tongan and English, the workshops were led by Ray White Papatoetoe and Loan Market Manukau, with mortgage advisers available to answer individual questions. Bluespur Consulting and and faith-based Papatoetoe EFKS also helped bring the workshop together.
For Pasifika families, understanding the equity they have built in their homes can be an important conversation.
Pacific people continue to face a significant wealth gap. For those who have become homeowners, understanding the asset they have built - and learning how to make informed decisions about it- can be an important step towards greater financial security and intergenerational wealth.
Gillianne Ray, Specialist Advisor, Community Programme Delivery South, says creating more opportunities for these conversations is important.
“Many of us have been taught to buy a home, pay off the mortgage and pass it on to our children, without realising the equity we build can be a powerful tool for creating generational wealth much earlier.
“I’m grateful to Bob Lemalu and Vili Vaea, co-owners of Ray White Papatoetoe, and Sanjeev Jangra of Home Loan Markets for coming on board. This hasn’t been done in our area before. EFKS Papatoetoe and East Tāmaki Tongan Methodist Church opened their doors, creating an opportunity for our community to learn, ask questions and think differently about wealth creation.”
The first workshop was held in Samoan with 80 people in attendance, with a second session in Tongan and English seeing 55 in attendance.
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