At 50, you have lots of time to become an owner
QMy fiancée and I are long-term renters, always in credit, no problems. I work for a state government agency and my average income is $85,000. My fiancée does not work, but this may change in the near future. We live on the NSW south coast and want to buy a home closer to Sydney, perhaps in the Sutherland area.
My problem is that about 20 years ago I bought a small unit and utilised the newly established FHOG for the deposit and then sold it a couple of years later. My understanding is that this now makes us unable to benefit from any of the grants or concessions for our first home.
We have about $40,000 tied up in a share portfolio. I have some super, and I have no loans or credit cards debts. We are thinking of investing, as we do have a good amount of disposable income each pay. Our major issue, however, is time. We are both in our early 50s.
Sorry to disagree, Phil, but you have plenty of time. I reckon anyone under my age of 65 is a youngster and as a couple in your early 50s you are just babies.
I reckon you are right about not being able to access first home owner grants, but I have to say this is just not my area at all. I’d double-check with a property expert, such as a professional mortgage broker or lender, as to what is available here. In these strange Covid times, new support seems to pop up on a regular basis.
This is an issue that only you and your fiancée can decide, but is the option of buying in her name as a first home owner a good one for you both? You could ask a solicitor to document this as a permanent record.
More broadly, though, I love the idea of you owning a home and paying down the loan over the next decade or so of your work. Loans are ridiculously cheap right now, and I can see you with a mortgage in the high 2% range, meaning you could really use your surplus income to pay off the loan inside your working lives. This, I feel, should really be a key goal for you, so I’d do your research and chat to some lenders.
If you can hang onto your share portfolio, even better. I am sure it is delivering better returns than the under-3% cost of a mortgage, but I appreciate a decent deposit is important. Again, talk to a lender about this.