April 6, 2025 • 12 mins
Meet Tapere Hewett
Tapere Hewett, a Cook Islander born and raised in Aotearoa, is an award-winning professional in the mortgage and financial advisory industry. As the Director and Senior Mortgage Adviser at Hewett Mortgages, Tapere brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for helping clients achieve their dreams of homeownership, financial stability, and wealth creation.
Tapere holds an MBA Degree and a Level 5 Financial Advice Qualification, which complement her extensive expertise in the field. A seasoned property investor herself, she has held numerous leadership roles in both multinational organizations and Local Government, primarily focusing on finance and compliance. Her extensive background and expertise make her a trusted adviser to clients seeking to navigate the complexities of the property market. At Hewett Mortgages, Tapere and her team are committed to the mission of the company, “to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives through homeownership.”
Our objective is to empower clients to live life on their own terms, free from the constraints of renting. By providing personalized mortgage solutions and financial guidance, Tapere helps clients realise their aspirations of owning their own homes and achieving long-term financial success. Outside of her professional life, Tapere is a devoted mother of three and wife to Shane Kaulima who is also her business partner. Her personal experiences and values deeply inform her professional ethos, driving her dedication to helping families secure their futures through informed financial decisions.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Podcast Unite our voices.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We respectfully acknowledge the art far to our RK people
of Tamiki Makoto as the traditional custodians of the land
in which this was created.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Hi, I'm Crystal Kinsella. I'm a proud Jarwin and Morader woman,
a supply diversity expert and published author.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Welcome to meet them of a.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Podcast series dedicated to showcasing black excellence and Indigenous business.
Here I get to interview deadly First Nation business owners
from around the country and learn about their why Tenkoto Cator.
Greetings to all and welcome to this special edition. Meet
the Mob al Teda. In this special edition, I'm joined
by Maldi and Pacifica businesses from across New Zealand. Today,
(00:59):
I'm joined by Tapete Hewitt from Hewitt Mortgages, who will
share with us why why she got into business and
why she does what she does.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
So let's kick it off. How are you cureda Yorda?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Oh, thanks for joining me. I want you to tell
my viewers who are you? Who's your mob? Where you
come from?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, Courtarpet, if you're talking, I hail from the beautiful
Islands of the Cook Islands and the Pacific by and
married to Shane Kolema, my own Yapui Prince and new
Ane Rock.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I have three.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Children, brought up in Hawks Bay but born in Auckland. Yeah,
so that's me. I am the proud owner of Pure Mortgages,
so managing Direct Mortgage Advisor Financial Advisor.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So I what Alphasis does.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Is help people get onto the property letter and hopefully
help them create generational wealth.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So what does the day to day look like in
a mortgage breaking business.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's hectic, It is absolutely hectic, so depending on what
the market's doing. So at the point in time when
our interest rates are coming down and so we've got
a lot of confidence out there in the market at
the moment, and so people were coming to us and
asking us what they can do, whether they can get
on the property ladder as the affordability there. So we're
(02:18):
having to go through people's finances and things like that,
and I'm very lucky that I've got a strong team
behind me.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah. So why do you care if people buy homes?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Like, I know, it's your business, but yeah, there has
to be something that sits behind that that gives you
a sense of achievement and an impact. Yeah. So I
was very lucky that I was brought up in a
home where my father was very clear on making sure
that we had financial stability and security for our family.
(02:47):
And it was all about controlling our own destiny and
not being controlled by a landlord and living life on
our own terms. So that was very clear from the
outset from Dad, and he wanted to make sure that
he had instilled it in us and that we could
do that for our children. So as time went on,
I was very interested in property, got on the property ladder,
(03:10):
and then from there I established how I could actually
help my families do the same. So friends and families.
So I'd grown up around a lot of family who
had been renting. We've been controlled by the landlord. The
landlord needed to raise the rent, and then it meant
the families had to move away from us, and then
(03:32):
they had to uproot their family and find another place
to live. And I didn't like that. I didn't like
seeing that, and it was important for me to try
and help our people that way.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, it's great to hear that.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean, it always starts for us in that sense,
around our family and that sort of extended family as well,
and how we can help them.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So, you know, I mean, what does.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It look like, you know, for instance, to start that journey,
because a lot of people think home ownership is really
far it's not within reach. Yeah, So in terms of
home ownership, it's all about the conversations that you're having
at home and the people that you're connected with. So
if you haven't, if you don't have any role models
(04:13):
in that space, or if you, yeah, don't have any
people that are leading the way in terms of educating
you as to the importance of home ownership, then yeah,
then unfortunately it's it's pretty hard to sort of connect
to that space. But yeah, I guess for us, we
were so lucky that our parents were so open with
(04:34):
managing money, having those conversations at home and knowing what
the consequence or pointing out what the consequences of not
actually knuckling down making commitment and sacrifice, you know, having
a budget, things like that, and yeah, committing to a
to a budget.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Do you think that, like wealth creation or home ownership
is still quite taboo with a topic in most families.
I'm knowing my family, there is still quite a number
of my family, direct family members, immediate family members.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That yeah, it's just something you just don't talk about.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
If if you want to aspire to buy a house,
or you want to have an investment property or a portfolio, like,
how do you start those conversations?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Well, you know what it's.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
As I was growing up, I was quite a curious teenager,
and because my father talked openly about money, I didn't
know any better, you know, And so when I would
automatically talk to families about money, how much you were earning?
What you were saying before do you own your own home?
Can you imagine a teenager asking you those questions? Quite confronting,
(05:45):
And I thought something was wrong with me, right, But
as I was, as I learned and reflected back on life,
I realized that, yeah, it is taboo, especially in the
Mary and Pacifica families, that we shouldn't talk about that.
You know, there's more to money than the life and
have faith in God and all of that, which absolutely
(06:06):
we have faith in God, right, but for us it's
we've you know, you can help Our culture automatically wants
to help people, right, but first and foremost you have
to help your your your family, your immediate family, and
then once you've done that, then you can help extended faro.
(06:27):
You know, you've got to get on your feet first,
and then you can help others, help yourself, help those
that are in your you your house, and then that
can extend.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So what does the future hold for FISHU at mortgages? Like,
you've got your daughter working.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
With you, your husband's in the business, what's your what's
your plans for the future. Well, we are a family
owned business and we are Mariian Pacific business, and we're
very staunch from that space. And I think the more
people that we have advocating for home ownership and helping
our own people, the more we can normalize this whole thing, right,
(07:03):
because it is difficult when you know, like if you're
a Marti pacificer and you're thinking, oh, you know, I
really want to do that. I want to get on
the property a lot, or I want to invest in property,
but you might think it's not possible. Whereas someone like
me who has grown up not having a lot of money,
(07:23):
you know, and we've had that background growing up. But
I think talking to somebody like me, I've been through
the process, I know what it takes, I know the
culture and I can help you know that. I think
it is really just changing your mindset and really believing that,
you know, if home ownership is what you want, then
home ownership is what we can help you with. We
(07:44):
can put in the plan it is. It's not going
to be easy. You have to make a sacrifice and yeah,
if that's what you want to do and you're willing
to commit, then were we just can help you. Really,
I can imagine that there would be a foray of
Maldi and Pacific businesses that you know are doing well,
(08:04):
starting to get some success and would you know, definitely
this would.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Be part of what their generational wealth plan would be.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Do you have a particular service or product that's specifically
around helping Mighty PACIFICA businesses. So at the moment, so
we've only been established for four years, so it's really
just being able to raise our profile and our brand,
get ourselves out there and actually get some money, generate
some revenue. So four years in we are now we
(08:35):
now have the opportunity to get out there and speak
to our Marlia and Pacific businesses and a lot of
them are just so focused with their own business, which
is great because that's their craft, right, and that's what
they're good at. But what I always say, and not
just the businesses, people that work for organizations, what I
say to them is, look, you need a financial plan,
think about retirement. This job that you're in or your
(08:58):
business you know, has a certain lifespan once you step
out of there, then what right, So let me take
care of your financial future and you take care of
what you do best. Yeah, so slowly, but surely we're
building a that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Space most definitely.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, we were able to catch up just a couple
of weeks ago, and it was really funny because I
had tagged you in a photo online and then somebody
messaged me through Instagram and goes, oh, she's my mortgage broker.
And I thought, you know, I look at that two world,
you know, two degrees of separation. But that's exactly you know,
I can imagine all of the people that are within
(09:36):
our networks. Yes, you know, you'd be a great place
for them to start with if they haven't already embarked
on this journey. Yeah, it's it is such a small world,
you know, in our Martian pacifica space and there's some
amazing business owners out there, and yeah, it is like
the connections are so unreal and I know that person,
(09:58):
you know, and I can't really talk about what I
do you know, with them, but yeah I can say
the mortgage broker. But it makes me so proud to
be a part of this because initially, when I started,
it was very hard to get our people to trust,
you know, to trust me and our business and what
we stood for. So now it's it's kind of like
(10:20):
it's just all happening, and yeah, I'm very, very excited
to be helping our people. Yeah. Well, already that growth
of it growing with the with the family around you,
and you know, there's probably room for even further growth
as it progresses. You won a few awards getting your
name out there. I mean, that's a lot of success
for just four years. You've got to be so proud
of that.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yes, it's been a lot of work and it has
been tough. You know, I didn't when I started as
a mortgage advice I didn't have a background and banking,
had some finance experience. I'm working for you know, some
multinational companies, but nothing to yeah, nothing and mortgages. However,
because we've been investing in property for over twenty years,
I without even being a mortgage advisor, I would be
(11:03):
showing people how they can get on the property letter,
you know. And the only difference now is that I
get paid for what I do, which is great.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yeah, well it's a win win, right, Yeah, totally.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So if you had a key message for my viewers
and my listeners today, what would it be.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
For us?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's all about controlling your own destiny, you know. So
if you want to control your own destiny, for us,
it's through home ownership and not being controlled by a landlord.
Once you get on that first property or want to
get on the property letter, then you can absolutely use
leverage to build or create a property portfolio cash flow.
(11:41):
Because by the time you get to retirement, you know,
if you've got one property and it's mortgage free, this
still reliance on the government. So my key message would
be have a financial plan, come and see our SECURENT
mortgages and we can you know, we can help you
put a plan together and help you live well in retirement.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Well, thanks so much for joining me today on the program.
Thanks you, Thanks Crystal.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
So there you have it.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Of Meet the Mob
alto make sure you share it around your network and
stay tuned for our next episode.
Podcast Unite our voices.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We respectfully acknowledge the art far to our RK people
of Tamiki Makoto as the traditional custodians of the land
in which this was created.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Hi, I'm Crystal Kinsella. I'm a proud Jarwin and Morader woman,
a supply diversity expert and published author.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Welcome to meet them of a.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Podcast series dedicated to showcasing black excellence and Indigenous business.
Here I get to interview deadly First Nation business owners
from around the country and learn about their why Tenkoto Cator.
Greetings to all and welcome to this special edition. Meet
the Mob al Teda. In this special edition, I'm joined
by Maldi and Pacifica businesses from across New Zealand. Today,
(00:59):
I'm joined by Tapete Hewitt from Hewitt Mortgages, who will
share with us why why she got into business and
why she does what she does.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
So let's kick it off. How are you cureda Yorda?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Oh, thanks for joining me. I want you to tell
my viewers who are you? Who's your mob? Where you
come from?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, Courtarpet, if you're talking, I hail from the beautiful
Islands of the Cook Islands and the Pacific by and
married to Shane Kolema, my own Yapui Prince and new
Ane Rock.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I have three.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Children, brought up in Hawks Bay but born in Auckland. Yeah,
so that's me. I am the proud owner of Pure Mortgages,
so managing Direct Mortgage Advisor Financial Advisor.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So I what Alphasis does.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Is help people get onto the property letter and hopefully
help them create generational wealth.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So what does the day to day look like in
a mortgage breaking business.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's hectic, It is absolutely hectic, so depending on what
the market's doing. So at the point in time when
our interest rates are coming down and so we've got
a lot of confidence out there in the market at
the moment, and so people were coming to us and
asking us what they can do, whether they can get
on the property ladder as the affordability there. So we're
(02:18):
having to go through people's finances and things like that,
and I'm very lucky that I've got a strong team
behind me.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah. So why do you care if people buy homes?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Like, I know, it's your business, but yeah, there has
to be something that sits behind that that gives you
a sense of achievement and an impact. Yeah. So I
was very lucky that I was brought up in a
home where my father was very clear on making sure
that we had financial stability and security for our family.
(02:47):
And it was all about controlling our own destiny and
not being controlled by a landlord and living life on
our own terms. So that was very clear from the
outset from Dad, and he wanted to make sure that
he had instilled it in us and that we could
do that for our children. So as time went on,
I was very interested in property, got on the property ladder,
(03:10):
and then from there I established how I could actually
help my families do the same. So friends and families.
So I'd grown up around a lot of family who
had been renting. We've been controlled by the landlord. The
landlord needed to raise the rent, and then it meant
the families had to move away from us, and then
(03:32):
they had to uproot their family and find another place
to live. And I didn't like that. I didn't like
seeing that, and it was important for me to try
and help our people that way.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, it's great to hear that.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean, it always starts for us in that sense,
around our family and that sort of extended family as well,
and how we can help them.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So, you know, I mean, what does.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It look like, you know, for instance, to start that journey,
because a lot of people think home ownership is really
far it's not within reach. Yeah, So in terms of
home ownership, it's all about the conversations that you're having
at home and the people that you're connected with. So
if you haven't, if you don't have any role models
(04:13):
in that space, or if you, yeah, don't have any
people that are leading the way in terms of educating
you as to the importance of home ownership, then yeah,
then unfortunately it's it's pretty hard to sort of connect
to that space. But yeah, I guess for us, we
were so lucky that our parents were so open with
(04:34):
managing money, having those conversations at home and knowing what
the consequence or pointing out what the consequences of not
actually knuckling down making commitment and sacrifice, you know, having
a budget, things like that, and yeah, committing to a
to a budget.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Do you think that, like wealth creation or home ownership
is still quite taboo with a topic in most families.
I'm knowing my family, there is still quite a number
of my family, direct family members, immediate family members.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That yeah, it's just something you just don't talk about.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
If if you want to aspire to buy a house,
or you want to have an investment property or a portfolio, like,
how do you start those conversations?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Well, you know what it's.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
As I was growing up, I was quite a curious teenager,
and because my father talked openly about money, I didn't
know any better, you know, And so when I would
automatically talk to families about money, how much you were earning?
What you were saying before do you own your own home?
Can you imagine a teenager asking you those questions? Quite confronting,
(05:45):
And I thought something was wrong with me, right, But
as I was, as I learned and reflected back on life,
I realized that, yeah, it is taboo, especially in the
Mary and Pacifica families, that we shouldn't talk about that.
You know, there's more to money than the life and
have faith in God and all of that, which absolutely
(06:06):
we have faith in God, right, but for us it's
we've you know, you can help Our culture automatically wants
to help people, right, but first and foremost you have
to help your your your family, your immediate family, and
then once you've done that, then you can help extended faro.
(06:27):
You know, you've got to get on your feet first,
and then you can help others, help yourself, help those
that are in your you your house, and then that
can extend.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So what does the future hold for FISHU at mortgages? Like,
you've got your daughter working.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
With you, your husband's in the business, what's your what's
your plans for the future. Well, we are a family
owned business and we are Mariian Pacific business, and we're
very staunch from that space. And I think the more
people that we have advocating for home ownership and helping
our own people, the more we can normalize this whole thing, right,
(07:03):
because it is difficult when you know, like if you're
a Marti pacificer and you're thinking, oh, you know, I
really want to do that. I want to get on
the property a lot, or I want to invest in property,
but you might think it's not possible. Whereas someone like
me who has grown up not having a lot of money,
(07:23):
you know, and we've had that background growing up. But
I think talking to somebody like me, I've been through
the process, I know what it takes, I know the
culture and I can help you know that. I think
it is really just changing your mindset and really believing that,
you know, if home ownership is what you want, then
home ownership is what we can help you with. We
(07:44):
can put in the plan it is. It's not going
to be easy. You have to make a sacrifice and yeah,
if that's what you want to do and you're willing
to commit, then were we just can help you. Really,
I can imagine that there would be a foray of
Maldi and Pacific businesses that you know are doing well,
(08:04):
starting to get some success and would you know, definitely
this would.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Be part of what their generational wealth plan would be.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Do you have a particular service or product that's specifically
around helping Mighty PACIFICA businesses. So at the moment, so
we've only been established for four years, so it's really
just being able to raise our profile and our brand,
get ourselves out there and actually get some money, generate
some revenue. So four years in we are now we
(08:35):
now have the opportunity to get out there and speak
to our Marlia and Pacific businesses and a lot of
them are just so focused with their own business, which
is great because that's their craft, right, and that's what
they're good at. But what I always say, and not
just the businesses, people that work for organizations, what I
say to them is, look, you need a financial plan,
think about retirement. This job that you're in or your
(08:58):
business you know, has a certain lifespan once you step
out of there, then what right, So let me take
care of your financial future and you take care of
what you do best. Yeah, so slowly, but surely we're
building a that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Space most definitely.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, we were able to catch up just a couple
of weeks ago, and it was really funny because I
had tagged you in a photo online and then somebody
messaged me through Instagram and goes, oh, she's my mortgage broker.
And I thought, you know, I look at that two world,
you know, two degrees of separation. But that's exactly you know,
I can imagine all of the people that are within
(09:36):
our networks. Yes, you know, you'd be a great place
for them to start with if they haven't already embarked
on this journey. Yeah, it's it is such a small world,
you know, in our Martian pacifica space and there's some
amazing business owners out there, and yeah, it is like
the connections are so unreal and I know that person,
(09:58):
you know, and I can't really talk about what I
do you know, with them, but yeah I can say
the mortgage broker. But it makes me so proud to
be a part of this because initially, when I started,
it was very hard to get our people to trust,
you know, to trust me and our business and what
we stood for. So now it's it's kind of like
(10:20):
it's just all happening, and yeah, I'm very, very excited
to be helping our people. Yeah. Well, already that growth
of it growing with the with the family around you,
and you know, there's probably room for even further growth
as it progresses. You won a few awards getting your
name out there. I mean, that's a lot of success
for just four years. You've got to be so proud
of that.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yes, it's been a lot of work and it has
been tough. You know, I didn't when I started as
a mortgage advice I didn't have a background and banking,
had some finance experience. I'm working for you know, some
multinational companies, but nothing to yeah, nothing and mortgages. However,
because we've been investing in property for over twenty years,
I without even being a mortgage advisor, I would be
(11:03):
showing people how they can get on the property letter,
you know. And the only difference now is that I
get paid for what I do, which is great.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yeah, well it's a win win, right, Yeah, totally.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So if you had a key message for my viewers
and my listeners today, what would it be.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
For us?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's all about controlling your own destiny, you know. So
if you want to control your own destiny, for us,
it's through home ownership and not being controlled by a landlord.
Once you get on that first property or want to
get on the property letter, then you can absolutely use
leverage to build or create a property portfolio cash flow.
(11:41):
Because by the time you get to retirement, you know,
if you've got one property and it's mortgage free, this
still reliance on the government. So my key message would
be have a financial plan, come and see our SECURENT
mortgages and we can you know, we can help you
put a plan together and help you live well in retirement.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Well, thanks so much for joining me today on the program.
Thanks you, Thanks Crystal.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
So there you have it.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Of Meet the Mob
alto make sure you share it around your network and
stay tuned for our next episode.
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