First Home Buyer Incentives

Below is a summary of the key First Home Buyer incentives available. The criteria listed are the main criteria we look at only and do not constitute all terms and conditions of the incentives.

 

  • First Home Buyers Guarantee Scheme – This scheme allows buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). LMI varies between lenders but could be $15,000-30,000 for a $700,000 home. The main criteria are:
      • All buyers have not had any form of ownership over a property in the last 10 years.
      • At least one buyer is an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident
      • Buyers earn a maximum of $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for couples
      • Buyer must be buying the property to live in and not as an investment.
      • Not all lenders are signed up to the scheme so you must choose a participating lender.
      • Purchase price must be under $700,000 (Brisbane and Metro QLD, different caps apply elsewhere)

Find out more here: https://www.housingaustralia.gov.au/support-buy-home/first-home-guarantee

  • First Home Buyers Stamp Duty Concession – Stamp Duty is a tax that buyers pay when they purchase a property. This differs from state to state and is a sliding scale depending on the purchase price of the property. In Queensland, stamp duty on a $500,000 property is about $8,750. If you qualify for this incentive, you will pay zero stamp duty on your first purchase. The main criteria are (other more specific criteria do apply):
      • All buyers have never had any form of ownership over a property (if any buyer/s have, the other buyer/s can still apply for a partial concession on their portion)
      • Buyer must be buying the property to live in and not as an investment.
      • Buyer must move in within 12 months of purchase.
      • Value is under $500,000 for full concession or under $550,000 for partial concession.

Find out more here: https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/concessions/homes/first-home/

 

  • First Home Owners Grant (QLD) – This scheme provides a $30,000 grant (formerly $15,000) to first home buyers who build their own home or purchase a home that has never been lived in.

The main criteria are:

      • At least one buyer is an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident
      • All buyers have never had any form of ownership over a property in Australia
      • Buyer must be buying the property to live in and not as an investment.
      • Buyer must move in within 12 months of purchase and live there for 6 months
      • Purchase price/value must be under $750,000

Find out more here: https://qro.qld.gov.au/property-concessions-grants/first-home-grant/

Steps to Buying Your First Property

Buying your first property is exciting but can also be stressful if you’re not sure of the steps. See our brief guide.

 

Get a pre-approval

Speaking to me will allow me to consider all of your circumstances, goals and needs. I can identify what your potential borrowing power is, what first home buyer incentive schemes you might qualify for and recommend a lender that best suits your needs.

I can then organise an application for a pre-approval. A pre-approval is confirmation from a lender that, in principle, they agree to lend you a certain amount of money for a purchase once you find a property. In order to apply for a pre-approval, I will need to obtain some information and documents from you, which should take a couple of hours at most, and then the lender will usually take 1-2 weeks to issue the pre-approval. Obtaining a pre-approval can give you confidence about what you can borrow when looking at properties, and they typically last 3 months (but can be renewed with some updated info if you don’t find your dream property in time). The pre-approval will include how much you can borrow, what your estimated repayments will be and any additional conditions you need to meet before formal approval.

 

Find a property and make an offer

    • When looking for a property, there are a number of things you need to consider, including:
    • Location: Is it close to services you need like supermarkets, public transport or schools? Is the local neighbourhood and community appropriate for you?
    • Property type: Do you have a preference for a house, an apartment or other type of property?
    • Future plans: Are you buying your forever home? Will you sell this home in the future and move to something bigger, or maybe move and keep this home as an investment property? How do the features of this home fit into your future plans?
    • Budget and property condition: Are there repairs or improvements you want or need to make to the property, and will these be in your budget?
    • Legal considerations: Are there any legal restrictions, zoning laws or future developments that might impact you if you purchase the property?

If you find a property that you’re interested in, you can contact me and I can provide you with a basic property report which will give you an estimate of its value, an estimate of potential rental income, a summary of its key features and comparisons with other properties in the area.

Once you’ve found a property that you’re interested in purchasing, it’s time to make an offer. You can speak to me about how to make your offer more attractive by including favourable terms like a shorter finance date or settlement date.

If your offer is accepted, the seller’s agent will formalise the offer into a contract of sale for you to sign.

 

Contact a Solicitor for Conveyancing

Conveyancing is a legal process that occurs when property is transferred from one party to another. A solicitor can give you advice about purchasing a property, review your contract, conduct relevant searches for you and take care of the conveyancing process. It is up to you whether you speak to a solicitor before signing the contract to get their advice, or only engage them to handle the conveyancing afterwards.

You can ask me basic questions about the contract and key terms, but if there are any legal questions then I will refer you to a solicitor.

We have a number of solicitors that we work with for property purchases, so get in contact and we can refer you to a trusted solicitor.

 

Sign the contract and get formal approval

If you are happy with the contract then the next step is to sign it. Generally, you will be required to pay a small deposit when the contract is signed (typically $500-$2,000) and then a larger deposit once finance is approved. These amounts will be contained in the contract and your solicitor can advise you about these.

Once you have a signed copy of the contract, send it to me. I will let you know if there are any other documents or updated information they need, organise a valuation of the property, and apply for final approval. Once finance is formally approved, I will let you know. Once you advise your solicitor, your contract will go unconditional and you are very close to owning your first home!

In Queensland, you become responsible for the property at 5pm the day after you sign a contract, so we recommend taking out insurance on the property immediately and speaking to your solicitor about any concerns.

 

Standard terms and timeframes

Your contract will specify three key dates in clauses: Building and pest inspection date, finance date and settlement date.

A building and pest inspection clause is a standard term in contracts that allows you to terminate the contract without penalty if you have an inspection done and there are unacceptable issues with the property (for example, evidence of termite infestation or structural problems). The contract will specify a date that is the last date you can withdraw because of a building and pest inspection, so make sure you organise one as soon as your contract is signed. Typically this date is around 7 days after the contract is signed.

A finance clause is a standard clause that allows you to terminate the contract if you can’t obtain finance needed to purchase the property. The finance date is the final date on which you can terminate the contract for this reason. I will work to ensure you have a formal approval before this date, but if it looks like the date might be missed, your solicitor and I can try to have the date extended or advise you about your options. The finance date is typically 14 days from the date the contract is signed, but I may advise you to seek an extended contract date if there are any issues expected.

The settlement date is the date that settlement happens.

Again, I recommend contacting me before you sign the contract just to make sure there won’t be any issues with the finance date.

Important note: If you purchase a property at auction, your contract will not be subject to building and pest or finance clauses, so you need to be sure you’re happy with the property and price before you bid.

 

Settlement

Prior to settlement day, my team and I will keep in touch with you and let you know if there is anything that needs to be done to prepare.

On settlement day, your solicitor will meet with the seller’s solicitor and the banks, the property title will be transferred over to your name, the banks will transfer money where it needs to go and you will officially own your house!

The vast majority of settlements have no issues and happen quickly, but if anything arises, your solicitor and I will keep you informed and let you know if there is anything we need.

 

What next?

Congratulations, you own your house and can move in! I will let you know when settlement is complete. Over the next few days, my team will contact the bank to confirm all of the details of your loan accounts, including the repayment amounts and when the first repayment is due, and answer any questions you may have.

If you haven’t already done so, after settlement is complete and things have calmed down, it is a perfect time to consider your overall financial wellbeing. At SW Brokerage, we partner with accountants, financial planners, financial advisors and other professionals to make sure we can assist with any needs you may have.

We can organise free consultations with professionals to ensure you are on the right path to meeting all of your future financial goals and that your financial interests are adequately protected with appropriate insurance.

 

Ongoing relationship

At SW Brokerage, we don’t just organise a loan for you and then disappear. We will keep in touch to make sure your needs are all being met, keep an eye on your rate to make sure you are getting the best deal, and proactively reach out to make sure we are doing everything we can to boost your financial future.

We pride ourselves on building an ongoing relationship that makes you confident your interests are being looked after.

Call us now on 3371 1603 or email info@swbrokerage.com.au