The first step towards buying your new home is saving for the 20% deposit. If you’re acquiring a property in Mackay, you’re in luck! Because of lower property prices in the region, recent reports have shown that saving for a deposit in Mackay will only take you about half as long than the Australian average of 4.6 years.
But even so, you still need to make a huge effort to save in order to accomplish this feat. So, here are some useful tips on saving for your home deposit.
Understand your financial situation
Firstly, you must understand where you stand financially. Take an honest look at your income, expenditures, and spending patterns. All of these will affect how much you can save for your home deposit. If you want to save fast and consistently, then you need to have better control over your earnings. Create a spending plan so you’ll avoid any unnecessary purchases and more money will go into your savings.
Estimate how much to save
Saving is easier when you have a clear goal. When saving for your home deposit, it is a good idea to know how much you need to save. That means you also need to account for other costs related to home purchase aside from the 20% deposit. Think about transfer duty, the property purchase tax imposed by all states and territories in Australia.
Other costs that you need to factor in are legal fees, home insurance, building and pest inspections, loan application fees, and the costs of moving into your new home.
Set up a savings system
With a good estimate of the total money to save, you can now set up a system that will help you save easily and conveniently. Set a target date to complete the total amount and create a budget for it.
One good strategy is to create a savings account dedicated solely to the home deposit. This way, you can schedule an automatic deposit from your payroll or personal savings account, enabling you to save first before spending your money elsewhere.
Pay attention to your saving habits and ensure that you’re on track with your goal. Once you’ve saved a good sum of money, you can transfer it to a long-term deposit, which will remove the chance of you spending it. You’ll also earn interest income from the account that can augment your savings significantly.
Get on top of your debts
It’s not uncommon for people to have multiple debts at a time, so don’t be too upset if you do. However, you must take care of them if you want to save for your home deposit as quick as you possible. The best way to do this is by applying for debt consolidation.
Debt consolidation will enable you to merge all your existing debts by taking out a new loan, which will pay for all of them. This means that you’ll have just one debt on your plate, allowing you to manage your repayments better compared to having multiple debts at once. If you happen to have a good credit rating, getting a debt consolidation loan will give you a chance to get a lower interest rate than what your existing debts have.
Apply for First Home Owners Grant
If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you can apply for First Home Owners Grant to help you save for your home deposit faster. This grant is available in all states and territories in Australia, designed to aid citizens and permanent residents buy their first home.
In Queensland, eligible first homeowners can receive up to $15,000 of financial assistance from the government, allowing them to save for the 20% deposit easily. To be eligible for this grant, you must at least 18 years old and has not owned any property in Australia before. The property must be new and have a value of not more than $750,000.
After acquiring the property, you also need to live in it for six months straight and the house should be your primary residence for at least a year.
You may also be eligible to claim a first home concession for transfer duty when acquiring your first residence which can save you up to $15,925, if you meet certain requirements.
Save using buckets
When it comes to saving for your home deposit, you’d want all the help you can get — including advice from books for personal finance. One of the best-sellers in this category is The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape. The idea behind it is you must manage your income by setting up three buckets so you can eliminate your debts and start saving for your new home.
If you’re having a hard time finding a good strategy to save up money for a home deposit, then saving using buckets might just be what you’re looking for.
House & Land Packages at The Waters Ooralea
Saving for your home deposit is important to finally build your dream home. With these tips, doing it will be a lot easier and more so if you’re buying a home in Mackay. The region has low property prices, which will allow you to save for the 20 percent deposit faster.
To make your property purchase even easier, you may want to consider buying a house and land package. This type of property already has a final price including the cost of construction, from which you can easily determine the amount of home deposit to save. A house and land package will also save you time and effort in coming up with a property design since it’s already taken care of by the developer.
In Mackay, you can find the best house and land packages at The Waters Ooralea, All our packages are turn key, meaning they are all-inclusive with a fixed price – no hidden costs! Our master-planned residential community currently offers affordable packages with awesome designs and are suitable for all types of families. We also have an in-house finance service that gives a FREE financial health check and charges minimal fees to help you maximise your savings.
Call The Waters Ooralea today or send us an enquiry online to get pre-approved for your new home in Mackay.