Five steps to realising your ‘Aussie dream’
TEEGHAN AND DREW ARE LIVING THE AUSSIE DREAM. THE COUPLE WANTED TO BUY A HOME, AND, TO THE SURPRISE OF EVERYONE AROUND THEM, MANAGED TO DO SO.
“A fair few people were pretty negative when we told them we wanted to buy a property in Sydney. People were saying: ‘Don’t do that, the property market’s all over the place. You don’t need to buy a home’”, Drew says.
“The general consensus was, ‘How are you going to do that?’ Especially in Sydney. Both of us are originally from the Central Coast, and many of our friends were saying, ‘Come home, you can’t afford it in Sydney!’ But we had a plan, we had a goal.”
“I spoke to people that I know that have gone through the process and it helped me understand it a little bit,” says Teeghan, “But overall, we were confused and overwhelmed.”
So how did Teeghan and Drew, two millennial young professionals, buy into the Australian dream?
Here’s how they went about it.
Step 1: Set property parameters
Everybody’s idea of the Aussie dream is different. So first up, work out what property you want, and secondly, what your budget will allow.
After living in a one-bedroom shoebox for a while, Teeghan and Drew knew they needed more bedrooms, but they also knew they wanted to be in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, where they had settled and fallen In love with the lifestyle.
Budget restricted them to a two bedroom unit – and the lower the strata rates, the better.
They also had dreams of “putting their own stamp” on their new place, so were looking for a slightly older property that they could renovate, make their own and add value to.
With that, they moved into a lower rent apartment with the intention of saving, and the hunt began.
Step 2: Seek professional advice
The best way to work out what’s realistic and a timeline for next steps? Ask a mortgage broker.
Teeghan and Drew moved into to their low-rent-apartment in February 2018.
By September of that year, they’d saved enough to move onto next steps. That’s when they met with Peter, from Aussie in Caringbah.
“At first everything was confusing. During our Initial research we kept seeing all these terms like LMI, LVR … we didn’t know what any of this meant and were quite confused”.
“In our first meeting with Peter, he broke it all down for us – put it in fairly simple terms and we went from there. Once we had that initial appointment it was a lot easier.”
As well as clarifying terms, a broker can help you work out a timeline and budget that’s realistic, help you understand what government grants you might be eligible for, and help you through the application and approval process.
Step 3: Make a savings plan
Saving only starts once all debts owed, including car loans and credit card debt, are paid.
For Drew and Teeghan, that meant saving “as much as they possibly could”, as they were starting from a low base. They also had debt to get rid of.
“We had a goal. We had a deposit figure in mind which Peter at Aussie helped us get to – a minimum for the deposit for the property we were looking at. We did set a goal but really, it was just a matter of saving as much as we could.”
Step 4: Make a buying strategy
A buying strategy will help you make an offer. But who and what can help you make one?
“Research and talking to people in the know,” says Drew. “Looking at a lot of places and speaking to real estate agents.
“The place we eventually bought was, coincidentally, the first place we ever looked at. When we first saw it we weren’t ready to go with our finances, and then we pretty much looked at every two-bedroom unit in the Shire in our price range before this property came back on the market. We were ready to go then and we decided to go with it.”
Moral of the story? All good buying strategies begin and end with sorting your finances before you’re ready to make an offer. Consider getting conditional pre-approval before you’ve decided on a property. Drew and Teeghan’s Aussie Broker helped them arrange their pre-approval.
Step 5: Approval and Settlement
“One of the most exciting parts of the process was when Peter rang to say our loan had been approved” says Teeghan. “That was the best feeling as we knew the place was ours. Peter was actually really helpful in getting us the property as he encouraged us to offer a faster settlement and then worked really hard to push everything through as quickly as possible.”
“We didn’t really know what to expect when it came to settlement. There had been a few hurdles along the way so the feeling of getting the keys in our hand and knowing the place was finally ours was the best feeling in the world”, says Drew.
For more information about how you can start saving for your first home go to www.aussie.com.au