Financial assistance available
A number of financial assistance products are on offer to assist with buying your first home. Products available include:
Home buying tips
If you are looking at buying your own home, there are a number of things to consider to ensure you make the right choice.
Think about your lifestyle. How you live day-to-day, where you work, your budget and your plans for the future will determine the type of home you buy and where you want to live. Will you need more or less room in the future? Is it important that you live close to family, work, parks, cafes or recreational facilities? Consider how far you are prepared to live from schools and shops and if there is good access to transport.
How much can you comfortably afford to repay? If you are looking at a home loan, take some time to look at any expenses you have now and then add in your potential home loan repayments and any costs of home ownership, like shire rates and water rates. Then you’ll have a realistic idea if your income can cover it all comfortably without putting you into financial difficulty.
You’ll also need to consider how much deposit you may be able to save. Keystart, an initiative of the State Government, offers low deposit home loans to help people get started on their home ownership journey.
You may find it helpful to try Keystart’s How much can I borrow calculator to find out your borrowing capacity and how affordable a home loan may be for you.
Have realistic expectations. While getting started in the housing market and getting your own home can be very exciting, it’s worth bearing in mind that this is just the start of your home ownership journey. Your first home may not be your forever home.
Research the property and surrounds before making an offer. There is a lot of information available online to help you do your research. You can find out how much the home sold for previously, or homes similar to the one you’re considering. You might also want to look at what alterations have been made and the zoning of the land. You can check with the shire to see if there are any major developments planned in the area, like a highway or shopping centre that could impact on your enjoyment and the value of the property.