A lot of the first-time buyers we talk to, they’ve already spent time researching and reading up before they get into contact with us. Most of them will end up more confused than when they first started researching or having a look around. The thing is the rules have changed a fair bit this financial year. With the TAS stamp duty exemption finishing on 30th June, the end of the last financial year, the state government didn’t extend this. The first home owners grant also dropped from $30,000 to $20,000 and with interest rates having gone up four times, there’s a fair bit that’s changed in terms of borrowing capacity.
This is why the team at Fortify Loans, Kaya, Riley and myself (Cameron), are putting on a free first home buyer night over at the Shoreline Hotel in Howrah on the Eastern Shore. It’s going to be a relaxed night with food and drinks (bar tab) on us and you can ask us whatever questions you like on the evening. We’re also going to have fellow industry members presenting on the night. So we’re going to have real estate agents, a building company, build inspector and the conveyancer. You can also have the opportunity to ask them questions.
We’ll go through the different ways you can buy your first home, including the 5% deposit scheme, help to buy, and having a parent as a guarantor. We’re going to explain how the banks actually work out your borrowing power and some of the lender policies that don’t get talked about or explained a lot. Some of these hidden policies might be things like how a lender will treat your HECS debt or whether they’ll include income from someone renting out a room in the house you live in. Some of these can change what you can borrow by tens of thousands of dollars.
Here’s an example. Stamp duty is catching a lot of people out at the moment, as we’re only recently into the new financial year, a couple of months in. Someone buying a $600,000 established home in Hobart who settled before the 30th of June, they didn’t pay anything for their stamp duty. Whereas now they’ve got to pay roughly $22,500, which is close to the $30,000 they’d need for a 5% deposit on the same place (e.g. this is roughly double the deposit that was required previously). We’ll go through how to plan around that and why house and land packages could potentially be more attractive for some buyers using the FHOG, the first home owners grant, rather than using the 5% scheme for an established property.
Buying a home means dealing with a fair few people, more than just us and more than just the bank. So we’ve asked some local businesses to come along and give a bit of a rundown on what they do and how they do it.
After a short presentation from each of these people, we will have a question and answer style panel where you can ask anything that you might want to know.
Yes. The people who get the most out of the night are usually the ones who are, you know, six months, 12 months, two years away. That’s because there’s still time to set things up properly, having a look at your credit report, starting your genuine savings, knowing which scheme or structure you’re going to use. Make sure you bring along your partner, friend, sibling, parents, anyone that may be interested in the process or might be helping you buy or even buying themselves.
Everyone who comes along can also book a free one-on-one session with Kaya, Riley, or myself (Cameron) to go over your specific details on a day and time that suits you.
There’s going to be prizes on the evening, and a free goodies bag for all that attend. And this goodies bag is good, trust me, there are some good ones in there.
Tickets are free, but numbers are limited, so grab yours here. If you can’t make it on the night, book a time to chat or give us a call on 03 6184 7127 or email info@fortifyloans.com.au
