First Home Buyers: Maryann and Peter
New homeowners Peter and Maryann are ‘over the moon’ they accessed the Australian Governments’ First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which has helped them purchase their first home in Gosford, NSW.
The Central Coast couple had been wanting to purchase a property ‘for some time’ but without a guarantor or a 20 per cent deposit, they were looking at paying lenders mortgage insurance on top of their deposit.
"Saving for a 20 per cent deposit was absolutely out of reach, even for a cheaper (at least by Sydney standards) apartment."
“We weren’t originally going to use the Scheme because we didn’t think we would get a place, but our mortgage broker persisted. We are over the moon [with] the Scheme as we’ve been able to get into our home more than a year earlier than we expected.”
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is an Australian Government initiative that supports eligible first home buyers in purchasing their first home sooner. Usually first home buyers with less than a 20 per cent deposit need to pay lenders mortgage insurance. Under the Scheme, eligible first home buyers can purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as five per cent (lenders criteria also apply). NHFIC guarantees (to a participating lender) up to 15 per cent of the value of the purchased property that is financed by an eligible first home buyer’s home loan.
Maryann and Peter settled on their new home in Gosford, an area they describe as “peaceful, close to water and with great sized family homes for reasonable pricing”.
"We lived in Cronulla and it took us longer to get to the Sydney CBD for work than it does now that we live in Gosford. And our new home is perfect – it’s had some beautiful additions and was really well looked after."
"There are self-watering gardens that collect rainfall, solar hot water, solid timber floors, French shutters – the works!"
Maryann and Peter’s advice to other first home buyers is to regularly visit real estate websites and to reach out to agents in the area you wish to buy.
“Good agents can send you information on homes which may not have been advertised yet,” Maryann advises.
“Prices are low at the moment with no promise they will stay that low or go any lower, so if you see something do not hesitate to call and inspect it ASAP!"
First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
To apply for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, contact one of the 27 participating lenders on the panel (or their authorised representatives). All of the Scheme places available through the major banks for this financial year have been used, however there are still places available with the non-major lenders on the panel.
Another 10,000 Scheme places will be released for the 2020-21 financial year from July 2020.