The Australian federal government introduced the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) in 2000 to compensate for the GST (goods and services tax) and to make buying a home easier for all Australians. Since that time, this popular grant has helped people in every state to buy their first home. As a result of this grant, as well as other economic factors, homeownership in Australia is now at an all-time high.
Depending on your lender, you may be able to use the $7,000 grant as part of your down payment. Not all lenders will allow it to be used in this way however, so if that is your intent, take the time to shop around and compare lenders. The mortgage market is highly competitive, and more lenders are starting to allow the grant to be used as down payment.
There may be circumstances where you may prefer to stay with a certain lender, even if that lender does not allow the funds to be used as down payment; for example, if the lender offers the most attractive interest rate, or lower fees than other lenders. Buyers must balance the cash they have available for down payment against these other factors that may make the loan less costly overall. Even if you do not use it as a down payment though, there are many other practical uses for the Grant. The process of purchasing a home entails many expenses. The Grant may be used to offset any of these expenses as the buyer sees fit. For example, you may use it to offset stamp duty or insurance, real estate agent fees or other mortgage-related costs, such as points or application fees.
The Grant is administered by each state or territorial government. Most first-time buyers will qualify for the grant; specific requirements are available online on the FHOG website (http://www.firsthome.gov.au/). Qualifications are very similar, regardless of your state. You must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, and you must be a natural person--in other words, not a corporation. Also, each applicant and applicant's spouse must not own, or have owned property in Australia in the past, even if it is property that is held with another individual. None of the applicants may have received the Grant previously. The Grant is meant for owner-occupants. Applicants must be buying the property for living in, and be prepared to occupy it within a year of purchase.
The Grant is not means-tested and is therefore available to all applicants regardless of income category. The grant is not taxable. In addition to the Grant, you may also be eligible for exemption from conveyance duty, depending on your state.
FHOGS: If you are in the market to buy your first home, you may be eligible for assistance from the NSW Government in the form of a first home buyers grant. This grant has recently been boosted by the Federal Government, making it a very attractive option for first home buyers. The First Home Owner Grant Scheme(FHOGS) is totally sponsored by the HSW Government and supervised by the Office of State Revenue(OSR),. The first home buyers are assisted by this scheme which was established to buy their first home with a grant of $7000. Eligible first home owners can receive the grant regardless of their income, the area in which they are planning to buy or build, or the value of their first home. The grant is not means tested and no tax is payable on it. The Australian Government announced a First Home Owner Boost in October 2008, which supplements the NSW Government, funded First Home Owner Grant Scheme. According to the announcement from the Commonwealth: First home buyers who are going to buy homes which are already established will receive a boost of $7,000 and it gets doubled to the first home buyers grant to $14,000. First home buyers who build a new home or purchase a newly constructed home will receive an extra $14,000. This will take their first home buyers grant to $21,000. Home Loan Professional Packages: Like credit rating e.g. AAA, AA or A rating, a AAA credit rating means you have a superior credit profile. In an effort to attract people on higher incomes or those regarded as low-risk borrowers, lenders offer special loan deals known as professional packages to 'reward' these customers. These packages were restricted to professionals like lawyers and accountants before but now these are available to a large range of customers whose income is sufficient or aggregate loan size. Depending on the size of the loan a Professional Package generally offer discounts of 0.2 to 0.7 per cent off lenders' standard variable interest rate and up to 0.25 per cent off fixed interest rates. You can save on the rates discounts and also the professional package presents a range of other cut rates on financial records such as credit cards, transaction, margin loans and insurance. Think about the favorable offers and non favorable things i.e., pros and cons of the professional package. Professional Package Home Loan Pros are Fully featured account e.g. redraw, split loans, internet and phone banking, Interest rate discounts on the standard variable rate, Entitled to the benefits of fee free transaction accounts and insurance product discounts and No establishment fees and no ongoing monthly fees on your loans. Professional Package Home Loan Cons are An annual fee applies to this product
Both Tracey Anderson & Guy Baldwin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tracey Anderson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting, Business and Finance and Home loans. Tracey Anderson is a mortgage broker specialising in helping Australian homebuyers find the right mortgage. For more information visit MortgageMall (