A helping hand to make a successful property purchase

If you are looking to buy property this year – congratulations!

You have an exciting but somewhat challenging time ahead of you. If you are feeling a little daunted by the prospect, the good news is there is help at hand.

Buying a home is certainly one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll make in your life, so you need to go into a property purchase feeling confident and informed. While we will of course be there for you every step of the way, we’ve also compiled some of the best sources of information and support for you to access.

Saving for a property deposit

Although residential home values are falling across most of the country, it is still quite a challenge to come up with a deposit. While the rule of thumb is a 20% deposit, some savers buy with a 10% or 5% deposit and either pay lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) or use a first home buyer scheme that allows low-deposit purchases but waives LMI.

In any case, that all-important deposit can be a significant sum to save but there are some valuable tools that can assist you. There are many online calculators such as this our Oracle lending calculator that can help you determine how much you’ll need, and what you can afford.

To get a hand with the savings side of things there are a many apps to help you get a handle on and manage your financial situation. Frollo is a free budgeting app that you can use to sync all your financial accounts, create a financial goal - like saving for a deposit - and track your progress. We also have an budget planner on the Oracle lending site that is easy use.

We are also here to let you know how much you can borrow and what your budget and deposit will need to be.

Financing your loan

The finance side of things can be tricky to navigate alone, and we can assist you to find the best deal and navigate the process and necessary paperwork with our team of Oracle lending specialists. There are also several government grants and schemes available for first-home buyers both at the national and state level and we can assess what schemes you may be eligible for.

NSW Home Buyers New Choice Policy

NSW first home buyers have the option to swap stamp duty for an ongoing property tax form 16th January 2023 after the NSW Government passed the ‘First Home Buyer Choice’ policy in mid-November 2022.

Key features of the policy:

• From 16 January 2023, first homebuyers can opt out of paying stamp duty in favour of an ongoing annual payment. If the property purchase settles before 16 January first home buyers can still access the scheme by seeking a reimbursement on stamp duty from 2023.

• The scheme applies for properties valued up to $1.5 million. For the purchase of vacant land for construction of a new home, the price cap on the scheme is $800,000.

• The scheme is open to owner occupiers only, although you can later convert the property to an investment, with a markedly higher rate of ongoing property tax. Purchasers must move in within 12 months of purchasing the property and live in it continuously for at least six months before it becomes an investment.

• In place of an upfront stamp duty payment, the annual property tax will be equal to $400 per annum, plus 0.3% of the value of land.

• The property will not be subject to an ongoing property tax once it is sold on.

• The average property tax payment is set to grow in line with Gross State Product per capita (a measure of average income). Over the past 15 years, GSP per capita has seen average annual growth of 3.2%. The legislation provides that individual property taxes cannot grow by more than 4% annually.

• Stamp duty exemptions will still apply for properties up to $650,000 (no stamp duty), and stamp duty concessions will still apply for properties up to $800,000 (stamp duty sliding scale).

• Only first home buyers have the option to pay an ongoing property tax, while all other home buyers must pay stamp duty.

Searching for the property

To save you time and effort in your search for the perfect property, online real estate websites often have profiles of different suburbs and towns. Real estate institutes offer property data that lets you compare sales prices across locations. It allows you to get to know the real estate agents in the area where you want to buy, let them know what you are looking for and have your name added to their mailing lists.

Inspecting potential properties

The purchase of property is still summarised by the Latin phrase ‘Caveat Emptor,’ meaning ‘let the buyer beware’. This puts the responsibility on the buyer to ensure they are satisfied with the condition of the property before signing the contract. A house inspection can be an easy way to discover any potentially expensive problems. Consumer Affairs Victoria's Inspect properties before you buy has some good tips about house inspection services.

Buying

Ok, so you’ve found that dream home and your offer has been accepted by the vendor. The next step is signing a contract and arranging the transfer of ownership. Lawyers (for example, a solicitor or a conveyancer) are generally used to make sure all legal obligations have been met by the buyer and the seller. The Law Institute of Victoria's Choosing a Lawyer has information about how to find the necessary legal help with your purchase.

We are also here to help you manage your finance and settlement deadlines and then to guide you through the life of the loan if you need a hand with any aspect of your borrowings.Wishing you the best in achieving your property dreams in 2023. Please get in touch at any stage if we can be of assistance. Important information – Oracle Advisory Group makes no representation or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in it including, without limitation, any forecasts. The information in this document is general information only and is not based on the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular investor. An investor should, before making any investment decisions, consider the appropriateness of the information in this document, and seek their own professional advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The information provided in the document is current as the time of publication.