Buying your first home, made clearer.

It's often smaller than people fear, and the honest answer is that it depends on the lender and the type of loan. There are genuine low-deposit pathways, and in some cases a family guarantee or a government scheme can help bridge the gap. The size of your deposit does shape a few things, like whether lenders mortgage insurance comes into play and how much you're able to borrow, so it's worth understanding those trade-offs before you lock onto a target. When we sit down together, we'll look at your savings, your income and the options you may qualify for, and give you a clear, realistic picture of where you stand.

There's a handful of schemes designed to give first home buyers a leg up, and they tend to fall into a few groups: low-deposit guarantees that can help you buy with a smaller deposit, grants that generally apply to newly built homes, and stamp duty concessions in some situations. Each has its own eligibility rules, price limits and fine print, and they do change from time to time as governments update them. Rather than have you wade through all of that, we'll work out which ones realistically fit your circumstances and what they'd actually mean for you. If something applies, we'll help you factor it in properly so there are no surprises down the track.

Lenders mortgage insurance, or LMI, is a one-off cost that some lenders charge when your deposit is below a certain level, and it's worth being clear about one thing: it protects the lender if a loan can't be repaid, not you. It can add a meaningful amount to the cost of getting in, but it isn't always the villain it's made out to be, because paying it can sometimes let you buy sooner rather than spending years chasing a larger deposit while prices move. There are also ways to reduce or avoid it, such as a guarantor arrangement or certain schemes. We'll talk you through whether any of those make sense for you, so you can weigh the cost against the benefit with clear eyes.

For the most part, yes. The national schemes generally apply wherever you're buying in Australia, as long as the property and your circumstances sit within their price caps and eligibility rules, and those caps can differ from one area to the next. Because the thresholds are reviewed and updated periodically, the sensible thing is to check the current details against the specific place you're looking to buy rather than relying on what applied last year. That's something we're very happy to do with you, so you know exactly what's on the table before you start making offers.