4 things first home buyers need to know

When it comes to buying your first home, you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s why it’s essential to have an expert help you throughout your home buying journey. Here’s a few tips and tricks to help first home buyers.

Know what you want

We need to start somewhere, and what better place to start than at your goals. Ask yourself the following questions;

How much do I want to spend on a property? Where do I want to live? Do I want to build my first home or buy an established property? Can I save about 10% of the purchase price?

By getting clear about what you want, you will be able to chat about your goals with a mortgage broker to see what’s possible.

Know what you can afford

The next step is to sit down with a mortgage broker to talk about your future goals and current situation.

A mortgage broker will assess your borrowing capacity, verify your income and expenses, and put a strategy in place to achieve your goals.

Your borrowing capacity may be $750,000 but you only feel comfortable borrowing $400,000. Or you may want to borrow $600,000 but not realise that the repayments will be higher than your budget. Each strategy we recommend is tailored to your needs and objectives.

know your spending habits

Lenders are now scrutinising your bank statement to work out your spending behaviour. If you are earning $5,000 per month and spending $3,000 of that, it’s unlikely that you’d be able to borrow your desired amount. However, if $1,500 of that is spent on rent (that is not going to continue), then the landscape starts looking much better! Before speaking to a broker, ensure you review your bank statement and know how much of your income you are spending and how much you are saving!

know How much you need to save

A great place to start is 10% of your desired purchase price or land and house cost. If you can’t save 10%, there might be other options available to you such as a family gift or guarantee. We have helped clients buy their first home with little or no deposit. Get in touch with us to find out more!

For more helpful tips and tricks read our other blog posts or to get started on your first home buying journey contact us today.