Applications now open for $25,000 HomeBuilder grant in all states

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It’s been two months since HomeBuilder was first announced, and I’m sure many of us spent a bit of that time dreaming about an extra $25,000 to spend on a reno or new home. The good news is grant applications are now officially open.

All states have now opened application channels (see below) for the federal government’s new HomeBuilder grants, with ACT the only government yet to provide an application form (however you can register online).

Back up, what’s the $25,000 HomeBuilder scheme?

The federal government scheme aims to assist Australians who want to buy a new home or begin work on eligible renovations by providing them with a $25,000 tax-free grant.

The scheme was announced as part of the federal government’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the stated aim of supporting more than 1 million builders, painters, plumbers and electricians across the country.

While many of the eligibility details were quickly revealed, there has been one key problem since the announcement of the scheme back in early June: there has been no way of actually applying for a grant.

But, there is now.

Here’s how to apply for a HomeBuilder grant in each state

New South Wales: Revenue NSW is now accepting applications online. For more information on eligibility and the process, visit: www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/homebuilder

Victoria: State Revenue Office Victoria is accepting applications online. For more details on eligibility visit: www.sro.vic.gov.au/owning-property/australian-homebuilder-grant

Queensland: In Queensland the Office of State Revenue is taking applications. For more info: www.qld.gov.au/housing/buying-owning-home/financial-help-concessions/homebuilder

Western Australia: For those in the west, Revenue WA is the place to submit your application. For more info visit: www.wa.gov.au/service/community-services/grants-and-subsidies/apply-new-home-construction-grant

South Australia: The South Australian Revenue Office is accepting applications. For more details visit: https://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/grants-and-concessions/homebuilder-grant

Tasmania: For those in the apple isle, The State Revenue Office of Tasmania is handling applications. You can visit:  www.sro.tas.gov.au/Documents/HomeBuilder-grants-guideline.pdf

Northern Territory: The Northern Territory Revenue Office is now accepting applications. For more details visit: https://treasury.nt.gov.au/dtf/territory-revenue-office/homebuilder-grant

ACT: As mentioned, the ACT is yet to provide an application form, however you can register online. For more info visit: https://www.revenue.act.gov.au/covid-19-assistance/homebuilder-grant

Get in touch

So, that’s how you can apply for the HomeBuilder scheme. If you’re keen to proceed, the next thing to tackle is financing the project.

And that’s where we can help.

If you’d like a hand obtaining finance to pay for the new home or reno you’ve been dreaming of, get in touch with us today – we’re here to help make your HomeBuilder dreams a reality.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

The top ten Australian suburbs to buy in post-COVID-19

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We’re all looking forward to things eventually getting back to normal, or at least the “new normal”. And while it’s not clear exactly what the “new normal” will look like in the property world, there are some promising early signs. 

For instance, you might have seen that interest rates are pressing down towards 2% (and, in a few rare cases, dropping below 2%), and that property prices have dipped a little in some areas.

So what does this mean? Well, it spells good news for prospective buyers who’ve been fortunate enough to escape the financial impacts of COVID-19.

But where to buy?

When looking for an ideal post-COVID-19 purchase location, the first thing to consider is that workplaces are likely to have changed forever.

In the post-pandemic world, it’s likely that those who want to work from home won’t face the same hurdles they did in 2019 and, as such, suburban and coastal suburbs may be more in demand.

This predicted shift in preferences away from inner-city living is clear in analysis supplied to Business Insider Australia by Finder, with half the suburbs on the list within walking distance to the beach.

The analysis also took into account factors including crime rates, property costs, and how family-friendly areas are.

The 10 top post-COVID-19 suburbs

So here are the top 10 suburbs to buy in, according to the analysis.

NSW: Cordeaux Heights, in Wollongong, south of Sydney
NSW: Eleebana, Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney
QLD: Westlake, a western suburb in Brisbane
QLD: Bridgeman Downs, a northern suburb in Brisbane
QLD: Cotswold Hills, in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane
WA: Carine, a northern suburb in Perth
WA: Leeming, a southern suburb in Perth
WA: Gooseberry Hill, an eastern suburb in Perth
SA: Aldgate, just south-east of Adelaide
ACT: Fadden, a southern suburb in Canberra

It’s worth noting that most, if not all, of the above suburbs have an average property price between $720,000 and $800,000.

While Victoria didn’t get a look-in for the top 10, the analysis ranked Thomastown, Lalor, Watsonia North, Greenvale, and Gladstone Park in Melbourne’s north favourably. In the city’s west, Kings Park, Keilor Downs, Albanvale, Keilor Park and Kealba also got favourable rankings.

Where do you want to buy?

You don’t need a list to tell you where you should live.

Everyone has different preferences, purchasing power, circumstances and dreams, all of which will influence your “top suburb” in the post-pandemic world.

So if you’ve been researching a suburb and have an eye on your next dream property, get in touch today. We’d love to help you arrange finance for it.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

$1 lenders mortgage insurance for eligible first home buyers

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You’ve probably heard something along the lines of ‘you need a 20% deposit to buy a home’, right? Well, not necessarily. Today we’ll look at two options available to eligible first home buyers, including a $1 lenders mortgage insurance offer that’s just been launched.

Now, to be fair, that 20% deposit figure quoted by your uncle Barry wasn’t plucked out of thin air. Barry’s just a little behind the times (as a scroll through his Facebook feed would attest).

Let us explain.

In the past, first home buyers typically had to save a 20% deposit to avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance, otherwise known as LMI.

Now, this insurance isn’t to protect you. LMI is to protect the bank against any loss they may incur if you’re unable to repay your loan (because they see first home buyers with less than a 20% deposit as higher risk).

The problem is that LMI isn’t cheap. For example, if you wanted to purchase a $600,000 property, but only had a 15% deposit ($90,0000), you’d likely have to pay about $6000 in LMI.

But since the start of the year, two options to avoid paying thousands of dollars in LMI have emerged for eligible first home buyers: the first being the federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), and more recently, St George’s $1 LMI offer.

Let’s start with St George’s $1 LMI announcement

Basically, LMI will be reduced to only $1 for eligible first home buyers with a Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) up to 85%.

In other words, it’s for first home buyers who have a deposit between 15% and 20%.

Here are a few other important eligibility details:

– The LMI purchase must be for your first home loan and for your first property (however for joint applications, only one applicant must be a first home buyer).
– You must be the owner-occupier of the property and make principal and interest repayments.
– The offer is available on loans up to $850,000 (with a 15% deposit, this equates to a $1 million property value, which is much higher than the FHLDS below).
– Only one property can be financed per application.
– There are no income caps.

The first home loan deposit scheme

The federal government’s scheme allows eligible first home buyers with only a 5% deposit to purchase a property without paying for LMI – which can save you up to $10,000. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣But here’s the catch: only 10,000 spots are available this financial year.

⁣⁣That might sound like a lot but 3,000 spots went in the first 10 days last time.

There are a few other important eligibility details to consider here, too, including:

– Property price caps for different cities and regions across the country (ranging between $400,000 to $700,000 in capital cities).
– Income caps (singles $125,000, couples $200,000).
– For couples, both need to be eligible home buyers.

Get in touch

We understand that buying your first home can be daunting.

But the good news is that we help first home buyers apply for finance on a weekly basis, and we pride ourselves on being there for our clients to guide them through the process.

So if you’d like to find out more about one of the LMI offers above, then please get in touch – we’re more than happy to explain them to you in more detail.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Why you should care about the new ‘Open Banking’ era

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‘Open Banking’ is now officially upon us. But what does that mean and why should you care? Well, in a nutshell, it’ll be easier and quicker for you to get a better deal on banking products going forward.

With all that’s going on in the world right now, it’s been interesting to see one of the nation’s biggest banking overhauls in recent memory slip a little under the radar.

Legislation came into effect on July 1 that’ll make it easier and more convenient for you to switch banks when you’ve found a better deal on a financial product.

It’s called ‘Open Banking’, and it will allow you to easily share your banking data with your bank’s competitors in order to access more personalised and competitive financial products and services.

Now, on the face of it, this can sound a little off-putting. After all, it’s being drummed into us to protect our data as much as possible these days.

But the good news is that Open Banking keeps the power in your hands: you can choose who to securely share your data with, and when.

How Open Banking changes the current system

Nowadays, most of the transactions you make are done so online.

For example, you likely get paid electronically, you pay your bills online, and you buy most things using a debit or credit card that’s recorded by your bank online.

Now, every time one of those transactions takes place it creates data.

This data is then collected by your bank, stored, and used to understand you better and create products and services that you might like.

This kind of insight gives your bank the inside lane when it comes to securing you as a customer.

Now, let’s say another financial institution offering a financial product, such as a home loan, catches your interest.

This financial institution likely knows very little, if anything, about you.

To find out more about you, and what they can offer you, you’d need to complete quite a bit of paperwork work them.

That includes detailed information on what you earn, what you owe, what you spend, and where you spend it – it can be pretty darn time-consuming.

But imagine if all you had to do is give that new financial institution permission to access the data your current bank already has.

Well, that’s Open Banking. It gives you the power to control who you securely share your data with and how it can be used.

Rolling it out in stages

The Open Banking system will start small but will ramp up over time.

At present, all four major banks are now capable of sharing your data – if you request it – while smaller financial institutions will join over the coming year.

At this stage, however, you can only request that your bank share your deposit and transaction account data, as well as your credit and debit card data, to financial institutions that the ACCC have authorised to receive it.

From November 1 you’ll also be able to share data relating to home loans, investment loans, personal loans and joint accounts.

“This gives consumers control over information banks already collect about them,” explains ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Importantly, it allows consumers to share that data with other businesses, such as fintechs, that may be able to provide them more personalised services and competitive offers.”

By the end of the year, the ACCC anticipates there will be dozens of financial companies accredited – meaning more companies battling it out to provide you with the best deal they can.

For open broking, get in touch

Now, it’s important to note that you don’t have to wait until Open Banking is in full swing before checking whether you can apply for a better deal on your home loan.

As you know, we’re always here to take the legwork out of the process for you.

So if you’re overdue for a home loan health check then get in touch today – we’d love to help you out!

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Want to buy your first home with a 5% deposit and save up to $10,000?⁣⁣

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On your marks, get set, go! The race is on for limited spots in the federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which kicked off again on July 1.⁣⁣
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The scheme allows eligible first home buyers with only a 5% deposit to purchase a property without paying for lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) – which can save you up to $10,000. ⁣⁣
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But here’s the catch: only 10,000 spots are available this financial year.
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That might sound like a lot but 3,000 spots went in the first 10 days last time. ⁣⁣

What exactly is the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS)?

Usually, first home buyers with a deposit of less than 20% have to fork out for LMI when taking out a home loan.

But under the federal government’s FHLDS, eligible first home buyers with only a 5% deposit can purchase a property without having to pay for LMI.

Now, it’s important to note this is not a handout – it’s a government guarantee to help first home buyers break into the property market with a smaller deposit.

But the good news is that it is available alongside other state and federal government first home buyer schemes that are currently running.

More details on eligibility and property price caps can be found on the scheme’s website www.nhfic.gov.au.

Let us run you through the details

If you’re thinking about purchasing your first home soon and are considering applying for this scheme – give us a call today.

While 10,000 spots might sound like a lot, the starter’s gun has already gone off and hundreds of first home buyers could apply for the scheme every day in the first two weeks alone.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.