You're relying on the KiwiSaver provider's administration team to arrange your house financing effectively - the provider may say '10 working days' as a guideline to receive your money but holdups so happen. Stress levels will be raised if you're chasing up your provider as settlement date approaches.

Get yourself organised, make contact with your KiwiSaver provider and get all the documents you need and forms filled out while you await settlement. 
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When settlement date occurs, you are now a homeowner and therefore your KiwiSaver money cannot be paid out. To avoid all of the hassle and potential of being short to cover your home purchase, plan in advance. If the vendor wants to settle in 2 weeks, it's unlikely you'll be able to access your KiwiSaver money so you will need alternative financing. 

This is the safest option to avoid disappointment. If you're relying on your KiwiSaver funds just to meet the lending criteria, this doesn't leave you a lot of room if the price of the home you want to buy costs more than you anticipated.

For example, if you are looking at a $500,000 home and require a 10% deposit to get a mortgage, you'll need $50,000. Rather than relying on your KiwiSaver balances, you can prioritise putting together the $50,000 and let the KiwiSaver funds be an added bonus. The more deposit you can put together, the chances you'll be able to secure a lower interest rate as you are a lower risk to the lender. Don't over-extend your finances in the case of a home that you will be struggling to pay for when you own it. 

If you've owned the property for less than six months and rent the entire place out, you may find yourself in breach of KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal terms and conditions. The Government and lenders make sure you're abiding by what you signed up to, as reported in this Radio NZ story, with checks such as:

• Phone calls from your lender to ask about the living situation, whereby it is reasonable to expect the lender is looking for consistent information between phone calls. Any irregularity may be investigated as renting the entire property to tenants can often be a breach of a homeowners' mortgage agreement.  
• If you do rent your home, you'll have to register the tenants' bond with the ​Department of Housing, who administered the grant initially. This may cause a red flag. 
• The IRD will be able to determine income from renting a property, which needs to be explained if it is for the entire home.  

Renting out a room or two is fine, but you need to ensure the property remains your primary residence. 
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If buying a home is on the horizon, you can give yourself a boost by upping your voluntary contributions - this will be especially useful if you need some help with achieving your saving goals. 

If you are looking to buy a home and want to ensure that your KiwiSaver fund balance doesn't fall, a conservative fund which invests in bank deposits and bonds is less risky than a growth fund that is exposed to overseas share markets. The only downside is that it may mean a lower return in the short term while you divert salary into savings. 

If you are co-purchasing a property with your partner or friends, every person with a share in the property is eligible to withdraw their KiwiSaver fund. Best of all, you can withdraw as little or as much as you want as different people will have different KiwiSaver fund balances. 
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This recent change means you can put your KiwiSaver savings towards the deposit while your sale and purchase agreement is still conditional. Make sure everyone is on the same page when you proceed; after talking to your KiwiSaver scheme, you will need to work with your solicitor to complete and submit your KiwiSaver first home withdrawal application, along with the required documents, at least 15 business days before your deposit is due.

As a previous homeowner, you may still be eligible to withdraw your KiwiSaver fund - talk to your KiwiSaver provider about your situation well in advance of looking at properties so you have more of an idea of your position and budget.

The process is entirely different for both applications, so you'll need to plan carefully and schedule in followups to ensure you get the money you're entitled to. Be prepared to chase your KiwiSaver provider to keep in line with the 10 working day payment timeline.

MoneyHub argues that getting your fund paid out should take a maximum of 2-3 working days but until things improve you're responsible for keeping everything on track. 
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