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Westpac - We will guide you to buy your first home

If you’re thinking of buying your first home, it would be a good idea to start saving for the deposit, most lenders will require a 20% deposit of the property price, but if you don’t have the 20% there are other options available with regards to your deposit that could be of assistance before you get your first home sooner.

Our home loan journey

The first thing you need to do is the math, you’ll want to establish where you stand financially at the present time and what you will need a deposit and how much you might need to borrow.

Being able to afford the property

The info below will provide you with a good head-start to important questions that need to be answered; it also includes a guide to what the cost of things is. Talk to one of our mobile mortgage managers when you feel ready to take the plunge, it’s a good way of determining your financial situation; you’re also welcome to give us a visit.

The amount you are able to borrow depends on a few factors, like

• What is the value of the property you would like to purchase?
• What is the amount of deposit or equity that you have to contribute?
• And lastly, what is your affordability, in other words, what can you afford on monthly repayments.

Each lender has a different guideline, it’s important to check with us how much you’ll need for the property you’re interested in (this is important).

To purchase residential property would generally require 20% of the value of the property being bought. However, there are instances when a lower deposit may be requested, such as whether you’re buying a new home or if you’re building a new home. on the other hand, there are instances where you are requested to pay a bigger deposit such as if you’re buying an investment property or a small apartment perhaps you want to purchase bare land.

This is how an auction works

Firstly you need to do all the checks beforehand. Buying at an auction is unconditional and legally binding. Everyone that attends the auction is interested in the property so they all bid against each other until only one bidder remains, so have all your finances in order.

The seller will generally set a reserve price they will communicate this to the auctioneer, he will then start the bidding at the reserved price, once the bid is over and the property is sold, and the deposit is paid by the buyer which is generally 10%, to the auctioneer. The settlement which is normally the day of ownership is normally 20 days later, note that this can be negotiated in some instances.

Before you purchase the property at an auction

• To get a feel of how an auction works you may want to go and watch a few.
• Let your agent know that you’re interested in the auction and obtain a copy of the auction contract.
• Make a decision on what your top price is and arrange your finances with your lender so that you can have the deposit available.
• Westpac can be of assistance if you don’t have the deposit all you need to do is giving us a call.