There are a number of government grants and schemes available for home owners and some don’t even require you to have never owned a property before. Yes, that’s right, you no longer need to qualify as a first home owner. However as usual ‘conditions’ apply.
This grants includes the First Home Guarantee, Regional First Home Guarantee and Family Home Guarantee.
From 1 July 2023, friends, siblings and other family members will be able to jointly apply for the First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Guarantee.
These schemes will also be available to non-first home buyers who have not owned a property in the past 10 years.
Previously, the First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Guarantee schemes were restricted to married and single people, as well as those in defacto relationships.
First Home Guarantee
This scheme allows eligible first-home buyers to purchase a new or existing home with a deposit of just 5%, without paying tens of thousands of dollars in Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
The scheme will have 35,000 places each financial year, beginning from 1 July 2023.
For your best chance to secure a place in the scheme, have your tax returns done as soon as possible. To apply, you’ll need your latest Notice of Assessment from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
To be eligible for the scheme, home buyers must be:
- Applying as an individual or 2 joint applicants
- An Australian resident or permanent resident
- At least 18 years of age
- Earning up to $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for joint applicants
- Intending to be owner occupiers of the property
- First home buyers or previous home owners who haven’t owned a property in Australia in the past 10 years
Regional First Home Guarantee
This scheme is an expansion of the Federal Governments existing Home Guarantee Scheme, designed to provide a boost for first home buyers in regional Australia.
The scheme will have 10,000 places each financial year, beginning from 1 July 2023.
The same eligibility criteria apply as the First Home Guarantee, however the property must be located in a regional area. To check if the property you’re looking at is located in a ‘region’, use this tool provided by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC)https://www.nhfic.gov.au/support-buy-home/regional-checker
Family Home Guarantee
This scheme aims to support eligible single parents or eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependant to buy a home, whether that single parent or single legal guardian is a first home buyer or a previous home owner. An eligible home buyer can purchase a home with as little as 2% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
The scheme will have 5,000 places each financial year, beginning from 1 July 2023.
To be eligible for the scheme, home buyers must be:
- Applying as an individual
- A single parent or single legal guardian of at least one dependent
- An Australian citizen or permanent resident
- At least 18 years of age
- Earning no more than $125,000
- Intending to be the owner occupier of the purchase property
- Not currently owning property
If you’d like any further information on the above expanded schemes, please visit https://www.nhfic.gov.au/
Author
Kim Jay
