What’s the first step before I start house-hunting?
Start with your finances: what you can borrow, what repayments feel comfortable and how much cash you need upfront. A listing is much more useful once you know your price range.
I help review your income, expenses, savings and debts, then explain your lending options and whether pre-approval is a sensible next step. The website calculators do not assess borrowing capacity.
What does “genuine savings” mean?
It is money you can show you have built up or held over time. Bankwest’s plain-English glossary describes savings built gradually over at least three months; ING also explains the savings-history evidence it may require.
That is not a universal rule for every lender or loan. Gifted funds and other money may help with the deposit without automatically satisfying a genuine-savings test. I check the selected lender’s requirements before we rely on the funds.
Bankwest: genuine savings explained ↗ · ING: deposits and savings history ↗
Do I pay stamp duty on my first home in Victoria?
If you meet Victoria’s first-home buyer rules, there is no stamp duty on a home with a dutiable value up to $600,000. Reduced duty applies between $600,000 and $750,000.
Dutiable value is generally the higher of price and market value. Residency, previous ownership and living-in-the-home conditions matter. Registration and other buying costs can remain even when duty is $0. Your conveyancer checks the final duty and any specialist concessions.
Do you charge a fee for your mortgage broking service?
I do not charge you a broker fee for the home-loan service currently described on my website. I’m paid a commission by the lender when the loan settles, and I explain how I’m paid.
This does not make buying a home cost-free. Lender fees, conveyancing, inspections, government charges and other purchase costs can still apply.