With historically low interest rates available at the moment, now could be the perfect time to get your foot on the property ladder. If you are thinking about buying your first home, you’ll be very happy to hear that there are quite a few government schemes available to you. This will probably be one of the largest investments you’ll make in your life and you will undoubtedly feel a little overwhelmed (and quite excited), so for your convenience, we’ve put together a list of all the incentives available to first home buyer, owner occupiers in Queensland.
How to Avoid Paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance
Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is insurance that covers the lender’s risk within a residential mortgage transaction in case the borrower fails to make loan repayments. A lender considers a loan to carry a higher risk if the loan-to-valuation-ratio (LVR) is more than 80 per cent of the purchase property price, this is when LMI is payable.
If you consider that the average price of a home in Brisbane is $550,000, that would mean a deposit of around $110,000 would be required. The major benefit of LMI is that borrowers with smaller deposits are able to enter the market sooner rather than later, allowing the dream of homeownership to become a reality for a lot of first home buyers.
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
On January 1st 2020, the government rolled out their First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). This scheme is designed to help millennials buy a home sooner by removing the extra cost of Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
Ten thousand borrowers will be eligible for the scheme this financial year with 3,000 spaces having already been taken. Another 10,000 spaces will become available from July 2020.