When it’s time to buy your first home, you may need more than you expect for upfront costs. With the high price of housing in Australia, saving for a house deposit can seem a daunting task. This guide will help home buyers with home loan deposits that could help them with possible house deposit requirements.
How Much Deposit Do I Need to Buy a House?
In some cases, lenders will give you a home loan if you have at least 20% of the value of the property you want to buy as a deposit. These days, home loan brokers still suggest you save a minimum of 20% if you can because it can help you avoid paying additional costs. In addition to this, you’ll pay less interest on home loans.
However, a 20% deposit is not mandatory. Even if you don’t have a 20% house deposit, you can get a home loan with certain government schemes such as First Home Guarantee Scheme, or in some cases, you may qualify without any government grant and with a low deposit (T&C Apply) but in that case, you may have to pay LMI. Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) is a one-off payment that is included in your home loan to help protect the lender in case, you are not able to repay your loan. Hope, you get an answer if you find yourself asking ‘How much do I need deposit to buy a house
How Much You Can Afford to Borrow?
You can use a borrowing power calculator to determine the amount you can afford to borrow:
- Loan Term: It indicates the length of the home loan, which is usually 30 years (if you don’t know the loan term, you can choose 30 years loan term).
- Interest Rate: Usually, the interest rate on a home loan determines the repayment amount.
- Application Types: If you are a single entity and don’t have a partner, then you can choose a single application, otherwise, choose a joint.
- Income: The calculator asks you about your gross income, which means how much you earn weekly, monthly, annually, or fortnightly.
- Expenses: You can estimate put your debt payments. Here, you may be asked about your living expenses, car loan payment, and other payments.
- Dependents: If you have any children, then enter the number of children in the dependent field.
In the end, you will get the estimated amount that you can afford to borrow as per the information entered in the fields. For more clarity, you can get in touch with Star Homeloans.
What Options Are Available If You Don’t Have 20% Home Deposit?
There are various options for eligible borrowers who don’t have a 20% home deposit. Some options that may allow you to buy a home with less than 20% home deposit:
- Lenders may allow eligible borrowers for low-deposit home loans, based on their circumstances. It may allow a borrower to buy a home with a 10% deposit. It would need an LMI payment which can be a significant cost.
- For certain people, like first-time home buyers, there are government grants that could allow borrowers to get started with only a 5% home deposit. On the other hand, if you are a single parent and looking to buy a home for the first time, then you may be eligible to apply for a family home guarantee that allows you to buy a home with only a 2% deposit.
- Another option is nominating a guarantor on the home loan. A guarantor is someone who owns a home and is willing to put their assets as additional security on the loan. They will guarantee that you will repay on time and if you are unable to make repayments, then the guarantor will repay on your behalf.
Apart from this, when you are looking to buy a home with a home loan, you need to consider other upfront costs such as stamp duty, transfer fee, LMI, conveyancing fee, loan fees, and other expenses.
Conclusion
If you are looking to buy a home for the first time, then you can explore different government schemes you are eligible for to save a house deposit. If you are confused about what government grant you can access, then you can speak to one of our experts at Home Star Homeloans.
