Buying your first home is exciting and daunting at the same time. So, where do you start? We've put together some valuable information to help you be more prepared, with first home buyer tips and home loan tools so you have the confidence to make more informed decisions. If there's anything else we can do, just ask.
The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme was introduced by the Australian Government to assist eligible first home buyers to purchase their home. A one-off grant of $7000 is payable to first home owners that meet the eligibility criteria.
In addition to the First Home Owner Grant, the Federal Government is currently offering a First Home Owner Boost, which supplements the First Home Owner Grant Scheme. First home buyers who enter into a contract to buy their first home between 1 October 2009 and 31 December 2009 may be eligible for the increased grant.
As of 1 January 2010 the First Home Owners Boost will cease and the existing $7,000 grant will continue to be available to eligible first home buyers.
If you are approved for an ING DIRECT home loan and you're eligible for the First Home Owners Buyers Grant, we'll do all the paperwork for you.
To find out more about the grants available in your state, visit www.firsthome.gov.au.
Here are some of the requirements you need to meet to apply for the First Home Owner Grant:
If you answered ?yes? to these questions then you may be on your way to receiving the grant. To find out more about the eligibility criteria, visit www.firsthome.gov.au
The date the grant is paid depends on whether you are buying or building ?
It should take about 10 working days from the time your application is received.
It will be paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) into the account you nominate on your application form.
To find out more information on the grant including specific eligibility requirements you can click on your State/Territory government website below. Fingers crossed!
Here's a list of the sorts of things you need to provide.
"What do I need to tell you in the application form?"
"What ID do I need?"
You need to choose two documents from the below list, at least one from the A list. A referee then needs to certify the documents and verify your identity.
List of referees include:
"What about fees?"
We need details of the account you'll use to pay the valuation fees
"Anything else?"
Loan statement for the past six months
"What about salary information?"
"What if I'm self-employed or run a business"
If you are a sole trader you'll need:
If you run a business you'll need
"How about my Solicitor/conveyancer details?"
We need details of anyone acting on your behalf
Here are some costs that are often forgotten (and been known to cause a few sleepless nights). Now you know, you can budget for them.
Stamp duty is the state government tax on mortgage documents and the property. The laws and amounts vary from state to state. For more details or to work out stamp duty costs in your state, visit the relevant websites below, or use our stamp duty calculator.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another. You can use a conveyancer or solicitor to do this. The main difference is a solicitor can give you legal advice, while conveyancers are generally cheaper then solictors. You need to budget for a title search to verify ownership and type of property.
When you borrow more than 80% of the property value you need lenders mortgage insurance. Lenders mortgage insurance covers us if you default or do not repay your loan, i.e it's insurance for the lender, not the borrower.
As soon as the contracts are exchanged you need to organise building insurance. If you're an owner occupier, you might want to consider contents insurance as well.
Here are just some of the costs you need to include (it's a great time to have a garage sale and save on some of the moving costs!):
Before you buy make sure you organise a strata search and pest inspection. It may cost a little, but if you find problems it can save you money in the long run. Check whether your solicitor can arrange these inspections for you.
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