First home buyers! It’s not an easy position to be in unless you are fortunate enough to have a large bucket of money at your disposal. Sadly, those buckets seem to be few and far between.

But, it is really important to maintain your focus and keep working towards your goal.

Once you’re in the market, things become much easier. You just need to take that first step, and we’d love to help you do that.

Here are a few tips that can help you to think outside the box when it comes to buying your first home:

• Team up with a mate/partner/family member – find someone you trust who is in a similar position to you and see if you can pool your resources and buy something together. Just make sure you get legal advice and talk through all those “what-if” situations before you buy!
• Buy an investment property and keep renting. Build up the equity in the investment property and then use it to leverage yourself into your own home. There are some great deals to be had in more affordable, high rental demand areas around the country.
• Ask for a loan from your parents or a family member. If they can help you get a deposit together and you have a good income and can demonstrate that you can make your loan repayments, you may be able to squeeze additional repayments to pay off your family loan – or get a roommate and their rent can pay off the private loan.

Even though the real estate market has slowed down in most cities, depending where you are, property prices may still be increasing faster than your savings balance. This means that there is a very real cost of waiting.

If your plan is to buy your first home, please give me a call. I’d love to help you brainstorm ideas to help you achieve your goal!