Steps to buy your first home.

Your Deposit.

Realising the dream of your first home always starts by saving towards a loan deposit. We can lend you up to 90% of your future property’s value – that means a minimum of 10% of the value needs to come from you.

Use our Deposit Planner Calculator to see how long it will take you to save your deposit. Start saving today!

We can also help you buy your first home with less of a deposit, or even no deposit at all (as long as you can afford the repayments). With our parent equity option, all you need is a parent willing to “guarantee” part of your loan ¹ – usually around 20% of your total loan amount. This does away with the need for a deposit from you.

Parent equity will let you:

• Borrow up to 100% of the home’s purchase price with little or no deposit
• Borrow up to 10% extra to cover the fees, charges and other costs of buying a home
• Split your loan to take advantage of both variable and fixed interest rates, and
• Avoid the need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance – which could save you thousands of dollars²
• With a Parent Equity Home Loan, the guarantor:
  • Can be released from their guarantee, once repayments cover the guaranteed amount ³, and
  • The guarantor can use the equity in their house to help.

Parent Equity is available on a variety of our home loan products, excluding Interest-Only Loans, All-in-One Accounts and Investment Loans. Fixed and/or variable rates are available.

We encourage family members to obtain independent legal and financial advice before they agree to give guarantees.

Budget.

Think about your budget and how much you can afford to borrow. How much can you afford to pay back regularly, for the duration of the loan? This will determine how much you can borrow.

These repayments can be weekly, fortnight or monthly and should fit comfortably within your budget. Consider your income and your living expenses (without rent).

Don’t forget any other expenses you have, such as insurance and other loan repayments. Sometimes, buying your first home can be a good opportunity to roll any other loans into your home loan to reduce your repayments.

Use our calculators to find out how much you can borrow, what your repayments will be or even plan your budget.

Market Research.

Before you start looking for your new home, think about what you need and want from your home:

• The number of rooms and bathrooms
• The general size of the living space
• Whether you would enjoy an apartment or prefer a house
• Single story or split level
• Garages and carports requirements
• Preferred areas or suburbs 
• Locations such as corner blocks or cul de sacs
• Proximity to schools or the workplace.
   

To find the right property:

• Read local newspapers and other real estate publications
• Use online real estate websites such as realestate.com.au and domain.com.au
• Visit local real estate agents
• Visit sites such as residex.com.au for comparing house prices in alternative or nearby areas.
  
  

Get pre-approval.

Before you find your dream home we can provide you with three months pre-approval on your home loan so you know exactly how much you can spend. You'll be in a stronger position to make an offer or place a bid at an auction should the situation arise.

If you don’t find your dream home within this period, we can easily renew your pre-approval.

Apply for your loan.

Before you apply, make sure you have suitable ID (a driver’s licence or passport is fine), income documentation (including recent pay slips), information on loans and savings you have elsewhere, plus any other relevant information.

If you have already found the home of your dreams, bring a copy of the sale contract and the name of your conveyancer or solicitor. 

You can apply online, over the phone or in person at one of our branches. We also have mobile lenders who can visit you and talk you through the loan application process.

The First Home Owner Grant.

If you are eligible for the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), our lending consultant will lodge the application and all supporting documentation for you.

Note that the eligibility requirements and the amount granted to you as a first home buyer will vary between states. The amounts also depend on whether you are buying an existing home or building a new one.

You may be able to put your FHOG towards you deposit – ask your lending consultant for more information.

Find out what First Home Owner Grant you are eligible for:

• SA
• NSW
• ACT
• WA.

Settlement.

Once you’ve found your perfect new home and reached an agreement with the seller, the settlement seals your first home purchase.

As part of the settlement process, you and the seller exchange purchase price and title, while Beyond Bank registers a mortgage over your property.

The settlement process follows these steps:

• Make an offer on the home
• Appoint a solicitor or licensed conveyancer
• Sign the contract of sale
• Building and pest inspections
• Valuation
• Finalise the loan application (including lodging FHOG)
• Exchange contracts
• Settlement
• Pay stamp duty (usually the conveyancer can organise this for you).

Four to six weeks after the exchange of contracts, the keys are yours, and you’re ready to move in!