First Home Buyers

The first step towards owning your own home is exciting and overwhelming. It's natural you'll have plenty of questions - that's where we can help. Your local Mortgage Choice broker can take the stress out of the process of your first home loan with expert advice and support.

What you need to know

The Home Loan Process 

Step by step guide to what's involved in buying your first home, including the home loan process. 

NSW Stamp Duty - First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

If you’re a first home buyer, you may be entitled to a concessional rate of transfer duty or even an exemption from paying it altogether under the First Home Buyers Assistance scheme (FHBAS).

NSW First Home Owners Grant

The First Home Owner Grant is a lump sum of cash available to first home owners to help with the cost of buying a first home. Find out more and see if you are eligible.

Housing Australia - Home Guarantee Scheme

The Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible home buyers to buy a home sooner. The Scheme is administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

The Scheme includes three types of Guarantees:  

• First Home Guarantee (FHBG) – supporting eligible home buyers to buy a home sooner, with a deposit as little as 5%. For FY2024-25, 35,000 places are available.

• Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) - supporting eligible regional home buyers to buy a home sooner, in a regional area, with a deposit as little as 5%. For FY2024-25, 10,000 places are available.

• Family Home Guarantee (FHG) – supporting eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home sooner, with a deposit as little as 2%. For FY2024-25, 5,000 places are available. 

Working out how much you can borrow

Lending Calculators

Follow the link to find our calclators to help you with:

• How much can I borrow
• Loan repayments
• Stamp Duty
• Savings target calculator

 

Pre-approval

 

When it comes to buying a home, it’s good to have a pre-approval before you start house hunting. Having a home loan pre-approval in place means you’re good to go when you find the home of your dreams.

Pre-approval means a lender has given a conditional ‘thumbs up’ for your home loan. Having a loan pre-approval in place gives you a firm buying limit – and that’s a big plus to help you set a realistic buying budget when looking for a new home.

With pre-approval in hand you’re also in a much better position to negotiate on price, so don’t be shy about letting real estate agents know your loan is pre-approved. If you’re buying at auction, loan pre-approval is critical as it gives you a limit, and if you are thinking about buying off the plan, the developer may want to know that your loan is pre-approved.

There are different types of pre-approval. The one to aim for is where the lender has seen details of your income, your household expenses and other debts to enable it to make an informed decision about your eligibility for a home loan. Not all lenders offer home loan pre-approval, and that’s where your Mortgage Choice broker can help, letting you know which lenders offer pre-approval, and guiding you through the process of applying for your home loan.

Loan pre-approval usually lasts around three to six months. Lenders will want to know if anything major has changed during that time – like your job or income, once you’ve found the property you’d like to buy. Even better, our home loan service comes at no cost to you, as we are paid by the lender once your loan settles. So why not contact your Mortgage Choice broker today about arranging home loan pre-approval.