Most first home buyers research the process and come away more confused than when they started. Not because the information is missing, but because it is written to sell something, or to tick a box, or as a checklist of steps with no explanation of why each one exists.
This book takes the other approach. It explains how a lender actually assesses an application, what a deposit is read for beyond its size, how the government schemes sit alongside a lender's own test, what pre-approval does and does not tell you, and what the weeks between contract and settlement look like from the inside. Seventeen chapters, in five parts, written by a broker who has sat on the other side of the desk for the assessments it describes.
What it covers
- 01Getting orientedWhat the process looks like end to end, who is involved, and the questions worth asking before a property is ever looked at.
- 02Money and riskBorrowing capacity against comfortable borrowing, deposits and where they come from, lenders mortgage insurance and the schemes, and the buffer every lender applies.
- 03Preparing and committingDocuments, pre-approval, choosing a loan structure, and the difference between a rate and a loan that fits.
- 04Buying the homePrivate treaty and auction, making an offer, the contract, the valuation, and what happens between exchange and settlement.
- 05After the purchaseThe first repayment, offset and redraw, the first year of ownership, and when a loan is worth reviewing.
Who it is for
Anyone buying a first home in Australia who would rather understand a decision than be told what to do. It is also written for the people around them: parents helping with a deposit, and partners who want to be on the same page before the first appointment.
It is not a book about where prices are heading, which lender has the lowest rate this month, or how to buy with no money down. Those things change, and none of them is where first home purchases go wrong.