HOWTOGETBANGFORYOURBUCKWHEN BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME IN WA

So, you’ve decided you’re at that stage in life where you’d rather be paying your own mortgage than someone else’s. Or perhaps you’re thinking about your long-term future, and owning a house is on your to-do list.In other words, you’re ready to buy your fi rst home, but how do you get maximum bang for your hard-earned buck when buying your fi rst home?

While there are benefi ts to buying an established home, the reality is there are some great savings to be had if you instead choose to build a new home.

Here are the key factors to consider.

1. Dofirsthomebuyersneedtobuybrandnew?

In Western Australia, only newly built homes or established homes that have never been lived in are eligible for the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG). The FHOG is a one-off payment to encourage and assist first home buyers to buy or build a residential property for use as their principal place of residence.

First home buyers in WA are eligible for a one-off $10,000 FHOG payment, when building a new home. To qualify, you must:

• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident

• Never have owned a residential property in any State or Territory of Australia

• Never have received a First Home Buyers Grant from any State or Territory of Australia

• Be 18 years of age or older

• Occupy the home as your principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least 6 months within 12 months of the completion of the FHOG transaction.

So, while you don’t need to buy brand new, you will receive a genuine grant from the government that you don’t need to pay interest on, nor do you have to repay it. If you do choose to buy established, you are then ineligible for the grant on a future build.

2. Save$$$onstampduty

When you buy a home you usually have to pay a state tax called transfer duty (also known as stamp duty). As a first home buyer, you may be entitled to receive the ‘first home owner rate of duty’ for your new home if you are eligible for the FHOG. A couple of things to note:

• If your home purchase price is below $430,000 you are not required to pay any transfer duty

• If your home purchase is between $430,001 & $530,000, a reduced amount of transfer duty is payable at $19.19 per $100 above $430,001.

(Please note different rules apply to the purchase of vacant land.)

So basically, if you build a new home under $430k and you are eligible for the First Home Owners Grant, you could save thousands of dollars on stamp duty!

3. House&landpackagesarewhereit’sat.

It’s not just the FHOG that will get your more for your money. In the current market there are an increasing number of offers being put forward by developers in a bid to entice people into buying from a land development.

There are plenty of great offers out there including a rebate on your land (money paid back to you when you settle – winning), landscaping and fencing packages, holidays and more.

However, don’t just get blinded by a shiny offer – make sure there is value there and that you are buying in an area that you really want to live.

4. Considerhowlongitwilltake

If you decide to build a brand new home, make sure you consider how long it will take to build. If you build with a builder and their construction times blow out, you could be paying rent AND repayments on your new home.

Find a builder that will prove their construction times to you so you can plan your fi nances. (Or better yet, ask for a Construction Guarantee and they will pay YOU if the timeframe goes over.)

5. Potentialvaluegrowth

There is a risk involved in building a home, especially if you buy in a falling market. The last thing you want is for your property to decline in value before it even exists!

However, on the fl ip side, in the right market, your property could grow in value before you’ve even set foot inside.

If you’re ready to take the fi rst step and get into home ownership, feel free to give us a call on 131751 or head to HOMEBUYERS.COM.AU for more info.

131 751 |HOMEBUYERS.COM.AU