Buying a home for the first time is often referred to as the 'Great Australian Dream'. This is a major goal for many renters. It is achievable with hard work and discipline.
One of life's most important decisions, concerns when and how to buy a property, and how to plan the entire process. These are a few questions that first time home buyers are facing when making this decision. This is a decision you should make carefully and do a bit of research before making a final decision. Here, we are going to give first time home buyers some information on the costs associated with buying their first home.
When you are purchasing a house, there are more costs to consider than the deposit and monthly mortgage payment. It is important to have a clear understanding of all costs and have a clear budget plan.
Some costs you should consider are:
- Mortgage application fees
- Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)
- Home insurance
- Pest and building inspections (if you buy off-the-plan you do not need to pay for pest and building inspection)
- Conveyancing fees
- Stamp duty (varies from state to state. It is often free for first home buyers)
To keep on top of all costs, we recommend you to prepare an excel spreadsheet. Put all items mentioned above plus the deposit in separate rows. This will help you to have a clear picture of what you have sepnt and will spend. If you are collecting quotes, you can enter them in separate columns.
The upside of buying your first home instead of renting is that after paying the initial cost you only need to budget for your monthly loan payments, rates, water rates and maintenance (house insurance is optional and varies based on your requirements).
Now instead of paying rent (liability) and not getting any asset for the money you paid, you are paying off your mortgage and acquiring an asset. You are being forced to save all the while paying off an asset that has the potential to increase in value. You need to be structured, disciplined and prepared. Often, especially in the early years, it can be tough on cash-flow, but there is no reward without hard work.
Remember, it is important to have a financial buffer to fall back on for unexpected costs. This will also help to ensure that you never miss mortgage payments. If you can pay your mortgage off a little faster, you can save many thousands in interest costs.
One of the biggest benefits of purchasing over renting is stability. As long as you can stay on top of your repayments, you can stay in the same home as long as you want. It is your house, no inspections, no landlord rules and no leases.
In the end, it is worth it for all the benefits.
