First Home Buyers
Not quite ready? That's useful information.
Most people who aren't ready are three or four fixable things away, and knowing which ones, in what order, is worth more than a rejection letter.
- 01Former commercial bankers
- 02Access to 100+ lenders
- 03A director on every file
- 04A reply within one business day
The honest version
We'd rather tell you to wait than watch you get declined.
A declined application sits on your credit file. It doesn't stop you buying later, but it makes the next lender look harder, and it can knock your confidence out of the process entirely.
So if a calculator has just told you the number is lower than you hoped, don't take that as a no. Take it as a list. Here's the order we'd work through it.
None of this costs anything, and none of it requires talking to us.
The checklist
Six things, in this order.
- 0120 minutes
Know your real number
Run your borrowing power with the APRA buffer applied, then your deposit and upfront costs. Most people are further along than they assume, or further back for a reason they can fix.
Check your borrowing power - 021 phone call, 3+ months ahead
Reduce your credit card limits
Lenders assess cards on the limit, not the balance, even one you clear every month. Cutting an unused $15,000 limit can add meaningfully to your capacity. Do it well before you apply, not the week of.
- 033 months
Clean up your last three months
Lenders read your statements. Regular buy-now-pay-later, gambling transactions or overdrawn accounts hurt. Three clean months of statements is often the difference.
- 04Ongoing
Get your deposit story straight
Genuine savings matter. Large unexplained deposits need documenting. If family is helping, get the paperwork right early rather than scrambling at application.
Set your deposit target - 05One conversation
Check which schemes you'd qualify for
Government guarantees can cut the deposit needed to 5% and remove LMI for eligible buyers. Rules and price caps change, so check them against your actual target suburb.
Read the guide - 063 to 6 months
Come back and run the numbers again
Once one or two of the above are done, your position often looks materially different. That's the point at which a conversation is genuinely worth having.
Free guide
The First Home Buyer's Plain English Guide
National edition
- What you can realistically borrow, and what lenders actually look at
- How much deposit you really need, and how LMI can sometimes be avoided
- The grants and concessions available, and who qualifies
- The upfront costs most first buyers forget until settlement
When you're ready
No rush, and no follow-up unless you ask for it.
If you'd like a director to look at your position properly, either now or once you've worked through the list, that conversation is free and carries no obligation.