Buying your first property should be an exciting and satisfying experience and with a little knowledge and the right preparation there is no reason why it shouldn't be. There are a number of things that you should be aware of such as the various government benefits and schemes for the first home buyer to understanding the requirements the various lenders need before they lend you the money. Although all this sounds a bit daunting, there is no need to worry as this is where we come in, ensuring that you have all that is required for the process to go smoothly. We can also assist you in completing the Grant Application and lodge it with your chosen lender in conjunction with your loan application. This will make available the $7000.00 from the First Home Owners Grant at the time of settlement in case you might need it to form part of your deposit.

As a first home buyer, here are a few things you should consider:

• The First Home Owners Grant - $7,000.00 (plus an extra $3,000.00 in Victoria) grant provided by the federal government to people who are buying or building their first home. Note: To be eligible for the First Home Owners Grant at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you and your spouse/de-facto must not have previously owned a property in Australia. The property you are purchasing must be owner occupied. The legislation introduced on the 1 July 2004 requires that at least one applicant will occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a period of at least 6 consecutive months within the first 12 months of settlement, or construction of the home. (Important: for further information regarding First Home Owners Grant & Stamp Duty Exemptions please visit the Office of State Revenue web site in your respective state)

• Stamp Duty Exemption Schemes - First Home Owners Plus & First Home Owners Plus One. Note: The First Home Plus Scheme provides exemptions or concessions on transfer duty for people buying or building their first home. This includes buying a vacant land on which you intend to build on. The First Home Plus Scheme provides eligible purchasers with exemptions on transfer duty and mortgage duty on homes valued up to $500,000 and concessions on duty for homes valued between $500,000 & $600,000. Eligible purchasers buying a vacant block of residential land to build their home on will pay no duty on vacant land valued up to $300,000, and will receive concessions on duty for vacant land valued between $300,000 and $450,000. To qualify for the First Home Plus: the contract and transfer must be for the purchase of the whole property, all purchasers must be "eligible purchaser" and at least one must occupy the home as their place of residence for a continuos period of 6 months, commencing within 12 months of completion of the agreement.  What is an eligible purchaser? An "eligible purchaser" is a natural personal (i.e. not a company or trust) at least 18 years of age who has not, and whose spouse/de-facto has not at any time owned (either solely or with someone else) residential property in Australia or previously received an exemption or concession under First Home Plus. What is the First Home Plus One? From the 1 May 2007, First Home Plus One allows eligible purchasers to buy a property with other parties and still receive a concession. To qualify the eligible purchaser must buy at least 50% of the property. The value limits and purchasers eligibility criteria of the First Home Plus apply. The transfer duty is calculated with reference to the proportion of the property purchased by other parties. However this interest is disregarded if it is not more than 5%. Full mortgage duty concessions and exemptions apply to mortgages given to assist the purchase of property under First Home Plus One.  Note: If the first home buyer's spouse has previously owned a home or received a benefit under the First Home Plus, the first home buyer will not be entitled to First Home Plus One, regardless of whether or not the spouse is also the purchaser.

• Deposit Required - the amount of deposit you need to complete the purchase. Note: This can vary as recently various lenders will allow you to borrow up to 100% of the property value at virtually the same interest rate as their standard loans. (Please refer to our "No Deposit Home Loan" page for further information relating to these products including their advantages and disadvantages).

• Genuine Savings - the amount of savings required to show to the lender. This is normally around 3% of the purchase price and must be shown as achieved over a 3 to 6 month period.

• Loan Capacity - your capacity to borrow money from the lender. This is mainly determined by your income.

• Your Repayments - how much your loan repayments will be at the various loan amounts. IMPORTANT: As we are a strong believer in financially educating our clients before arranging finance of any type for them, we will recommend you to complete a Budget Planner (for your own information only) so that you may be aware of exactly how much your expenses and liabilities. This will give a good indication of your spending habits and if necessary what adjustments you will need to make to be able to afford such loan repayments, even if there were to be a small rate increase.

Please visit our "Tips & Useful Information" page for further information that may assist with the purchase of your Investment or Residential property.