You can probably service a loan. The deposit is the problem
Most first buyers we meet could comfortably make the repayments. What stops them is the deposit and the mortgage insurance attached to a small one. We work the schemes and the waivers before we work the rate.
Where first buyers actually get stuck
None of these are reasons you cannot buy. They are reasons the wrong lender will say no.
The deposit is years away at 20%
Saving twenty per cent while prices move is a race most people lose. The real comparison is the cost of LMI or a guarantee scheme today against another two years of rent and price growth.
Casual, contract or recent employment
Six months in a role, casual hours or a probation period will stop some lenders outright. Others will assess it without blinking if the history supports it.
Gifted deposit or family help
A parental gift needs to be evidenced and usually genuinely saved for a period. A family guarantee can remove LMI entirely — structured properly, it does not put the whole family home at risk.
You do not know what you qualify for
Federal guarantee, state grant, stamp duty concession and shared equity schemes all have different caps, and they change. Eligibility is worth checking before you fall in love with a property.
What buying actually costs upfront
A $700,000 purchase in New South Wales as an eligible first home buyer, with a 5% deposit under the guarantee.
Indicative only, based on NSW rates as at March 2026 for an eligible first home buyer. Thresholds, caps and concessions differ in every state and change frequently. Eligibility must be confirmed before you rely on any figure here.
Why one lender says no and the next says yes
First home buyer files are usually declined on presentation, not on merit. The income is there; the file was sent to the wrong place.
Real lender comparison, in writing
Your file is run against the pricing and credit policy of every lender on our panel — not the three a bank branch can offer. You receive a written shortlist with the rate, the fees and the reason each lender made the list.
A lending strategy built around your position
Offset versus redraw, fixed versus variable, split structures, ownership through a trust — the structure is chosen for the next five years, not just the first repayment.
Guidance from people who read credit policy
Every broker here holds a Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management and has placed files with the lenders they recommend. We know which policies bend and which do not.
We stay on the file until it settles
Valuations, credit queries, conveyancer timelines and settlement bookings are ours to chase. You hear from us before you have to ask.
- —Casual or probationary employment refused outright by several major lenders
- —Genuine savings rules — some lenders require the deposit held for three months
- —Guarantee scheme places exhausted for the quarter before your file is ready
- —Buy-now-pay-later accounts and small personal loans read badly on statements
- —Lenders selected for employment policy first, rate second
- —Guarantee allocations tracked weekly so we lodge while places remain
- —Deposit history and gift documentation prepared before the application
- —Small credit facilities closed early, with evidence, so they do not surface at assessment
Understand → Compare → Apply → Settle
Understand your goals
Twenty minutes, no forms. What you are buying, what you earn, what you owe and what you have saved.
Credit impact — noneExplore your options
The file is built properly, then run against all forty lenders. You receive a written shortlist with rates and fees.
Credit impact — soft enquiry onlyApply
A pre-qualified application to a lender whose policy you already meet. We order the valuation and manage the assessment.
Credit impact — enquiry recordedSettle
Unconditional approval, loan documents, settlement booked with your conveyancer. The rate review is diarised.
Credit impact — account reportedWork out your deposit gap in two minutes
Borrowing power with the assessment buffer applied, stamp duty by state with first home buyer concessions, and the LVR threshold where LMI starts.
Generally no — most schemes assess the household, not the individual, and prior ownership by either applicant usually disqualifies both. There are narrow exceptions, including some separated applicants and property held only as an investment in certain states. It is worth checking rather than assuming.
It insures the lender, not you, against loss if the loan defaults and the property sells for less than the debt. You pay the premium; the lender receives the benefit. On a $700,000 purchase at 95% LVR it commonly runs past $28,000, usually capitalised onto the loan so you pay interest on it too.
Allocations reset at the start of each financial year and are taken up quickly, often within a few months. We track remaining places weekly across participating lenders because a file lodged a fortnight late can miss the round entirely.
Structured properly, their exposure is limited to a defined dollar amount rather than the whole loan, and the guarantee is released once your loan falls below 80% of the property value. Structured badly, it is not limited. This is worth getting right.
It depends on price movement in your target area against your savings rate. If prices are rising faster than you can save, waiting costs you. We will model both honestly — and we do tell people to wait when the numbers say so.
Find out what you qualify for before you start looking
Twenty minutes and we will tell you which schemes you are eligible for, what deposit you actually need and what the repayments would be.