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.
Tips for buying your first home loan
The Federal Government has announced 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 14th October 2008 and 30 June 2009 may be eligible for the increased grant.
For more information on the First Home Owners Grant and the First Home Owners Boost visit the government's First Home Owners website or contact the State Revenue Office in your state.
Tip: If you take up one of our home loans and you're eligible for the First Home Owners Buyers Grant, we'll do all the paperwork for you.
You're eligible for this grant if:
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.
The following websites have all the information you need about the First Home Owners Grant in your state/territory, including specific eligibility requirements and application forms. Fingers crossed!
Here's a list of the sorts of things you need to provide. To see exactly what's required for the different loans use our application checklist.
"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.
Have a question or ready to apply? Arrange for a Mortgage Specialist to call at a time that suits you.
SMS 'home loan' to 133 464 and a Mortgage Specialist will call you back. Standard SMS rates apply. Not available on Vodafone or 3 networks.