First Home Buyer Mortgage Broker

Also known as the Pilot Shared Equity Scheme, the FHBG is designed for first-home buyers in Melbourne buying an existing home (providing it's a residential property). It allows buyers to secure a loan with as little as a 5% deposit without needing to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). What is this means to you? You save approximately staggering $20,000 in LMI. To be eligible, singles must have an annual income of $125,000 or less, while couples must have a combined household income of $200,000 or less. For FHBG scheme, applications lodged from 1/07/2023, the annual income assessment is based on the financial year 2021-2022.

This one-off payment is only available if you buy a newly built home or if you build a brand-new home from scratch. The property can be a house, townhouse, apartment or unit - but it must be valued at $750,000 or less, and it must be new (never previously sold or occupied). The first home owners grant is worth $10,000 for homes in Melbourne and $20,000 for homes in regional Victoria.

Eligibility Criteria for FHOG

The eligibility criteria for the FHOG are primarily based on your residency status, the type of property, and the purchase price. You or your spouse/partner must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and neither of you should have owned a residential property in Australia before.

This one-off home buyer duty exemption applies to homes valued at $600,000 or less (which is a massive saving of around $30,000). For homes valued between $600,001 and $750,000, a stamp duty concession applies instead (which is a discount on the land transfer duty you pay). To be eligible, the home must be a principal place of residence (PPR).

If you’re buying an off-the-plan land and building package, you may be entitled to a concession on stamp duty. Buyers will only pay duty on the value of the property and construction at the time of the contract date. As construction generally won’t have started or been completed when a contract is entered into, buyers won’t have to pay as much in stamp duty. Other eligibility criteria apply, such as being a permanent resident of Australia. To view all criteria and apply, visit the State Revenue Office website. There are a couple of other schemes available (such as the Young Farmer Duty Exemption or Concession and the First Home Owner with Family Duty Exemption or Concession), which have more specific eligibility. To learn more about these, please contact us for more information. The team at Mel Finance can provide more information on each of the grants, exemptions and concessions outlined above, as well as discuss the eligibility criteria in further detail. We can also help you to apply for all of the schemes that you are eligible for, ensuring that your savings are maximised during your first home purchase.