When you’re saving for your first home the generally accepted advice is to have a 20 per cent deposit for your loan. With current house prices that can seem like an unattainable amount of money, so here are other options to consider.
Buying a house is expensive. That’s the cold reality of the situation. Even after paying for the house itself there are other costs to consider including stamp duty, fees associated with the loan and the cost of moving into and furnishing your new home.
That means the total cost of buying a house is going to end up being a very big number especially if you’re looking in a major metropolitan area.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/07/how-to-buy-a-house-in-australia-infographic/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/09/shutterstock_539587241-410×231.jpg” title=”How To Buy A House In Australia [Infographic]” excerpt=”Buying a house is scary, complex and insanely expensive. But that doesn’t make it impossible – despite what real estate doomsayers claim. This info-guide from Hones Lawyers breaks down the key steps that every potential home buying needs to be aware of.”]
The good news is that you don’t need 20 per cent of that very big number to secure a loan. It’s still possible to secure a loan with a smaller deposit of 5 – 10 per cent but you will have to pay for Lenders Mortgage Insurance and the larger loan will mean larger repayments. Repaying existing debt will make it easier to secure a loan on better terms.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance exists to protect your bank if you default on the loan. It’s an additional cost you’ll have to consider when calculating your repayments.
Repayments are the key to determining if you can or cannot buy a home. Calculators exist to help you work out how much it will cost to repay your loan.
Spend the time to properly evaluate your living expenses and income to see how much money you have available for repayments. It may be possible that you have the ability to pay for a home loan with clever budgeting despite a lack of savings in your account right now.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/08/why-buying-your-first-home-is-so-hard-in-australia/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/06/AuctionBlacktown-410×231.jpg” title=”Why Buying Your First Home Is So Hard In Australia” excerpt=”Housing affordability, high house prices and rents are attracting plenty of media attention right now. The latest figures on house prices, mortgages, number of first time buyers and so on are dissected by journalists and commentators as if this is an issue of recent origin. In fact what we have here is a long-term structural problem that has been neglected for decades.”]
Even if your loan is rejected it’s possible to have a guarantor secure the loan for you. A guarantor assumes legal responsibility for repaying the mortgage if you are unable to do so and not everyone is in a fortunate enough position to have someone who can do that for them.
There is always risk involved with major purchases. Many people are facing difficulty refinancing their loans and changes to interest rates or your life situation can drastically alter your ability to repay your home loan.
Seek professional financial advice and be sure to evaluate all of your options before becoming entranced with the idea of owning your own home.
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