A first home buyer broker works out what you can realistically borrow, checks which government schemes you qualify for, and arranges the loan through to settlement. Brokio helps first home buyers across Melbourne’s western suburbs, including checking eligibility for the First Home Guarantee and the Victorian stamp duty concessions.
Four ways into your first home, and they cost very different amounts. We put them side by side in dollars before you commit to one.
Most first home buyers assume they need a 20% deposit and stop there. In practice there are four routes: the First Home Guarantee, which can allow a purchase with a much smaller deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance; Help to Buy, a shared equity arrangement where the government takes a stake; paying LMI yourself with a smaller deposit; or a family guarantor using a portion of a parent’s equity as additional security. Each has a different upfront cost, a different monthly repayment and a different long-term consequence. The useful exercise is not picking the one you have heard of, but seeing all four costed against the property price you are actually targeting.
Place numbers, income tests and property price caps on the First Home Guarantee and Help to Buy are set by government and are revised. The Victorian stamp duty concession has its own thresholds, and crossing one by a few thousand dollars in purchase price changes what you pay. We check the current position against the primary source rather than working from what was true last year — and you should expect any broker to do the same.
Lenders generally want to see part of the deposit accumulated over time rather than arriving as a lump sum, commonly a few months of consistent saving. Gifted funds from family are usually acceptable but treated differently and may need to be evidenced. If part of your deposit is a gift, say so at the start — it changes which lenders suit, and finding out at assessment stage wastes an application.
Stamp duty is usually the largest, and first home buyer concessions can reduce or remove it depending on price and eligibility. Then conveyancing, building and pest inspections, loan application and valuation fees, and moving costs. Budgeting the deposit alone is the single most common reason a purchase gets tight at settlement. Our buying cost calculator totals it against your actual purchase price rather than a rule of thumb.
Conditional pre-approval commonly takes one to three business days and usually lasts three to six months. It matters for two reasons: you learn your real budget rather than an estimate, and at auction you can bid knowing your ceiling. Pre-approval is not final approval — the lender still assesses the property — but going to auction without it is how people either overreach or hesitate and lose.
We are based in Williams Landing and most of our first home buyers are purchasing across Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook, Truganina and Hoppers Crossing. Buying established and building on a house-and-land package have different finance timing, and construction loans draw down in stages, so the two are worth separating early.
The borrowing power calculator gives you a realistic range, the repayment calculator shows what that feels like each month, and the savings calculator projects how long a deposit target takes at your current contribution.
The Victorian first home buyer guide, how much deposit you actually need, First Home Guarantee compared with Help to Buy, and stamp duty in Melbourne’s west.
Tell us your situation on WhatsApp and we will come back with what the panel says — obligation free. Full details of our home loan service are here.
Less than most people assume. Scheme-supported purchases can require a much smaller deposit than 20%, and paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance or using a family guarantor are alternatives. What suits you depends on eligibility and the price you are targeting.
No. They are separate schemes with separate eligibility, and you choose one. We cost both against your situation so the choice is made on numbers.
Concessions and exemptions exist and depend on the purchase price and eligibility, and the thresholds change. We check the current position with the State Revenue Office rather than relying on last year’s figures.
Commonly one to three business days once we have your documents, and it usually lasts three to six months. It remains subject to the lender’s assessment and does not guarantee final approval.
For most home loans our service won’t put you out of pocket — we are paid a commission by the lender you choose, which is disclosed to you. Where a product involves a fee we tell you the amount before you commit.
Obligation-free chat — message us now and we'll come back with clear options, usually within minutes.