First-home buyers William Smith and Alicia Morgan outside their unit in Yeerongpilly, Brisbane. pic: Lyndon Mechielsen / Courier Mail
After six years renting with friends and a stint selling real estate, William Smith knew it was time to get serious about ditching the share homes.
The consultant and his partner, Alicia Morgan, both 25, are among 29 per cent of Aussie homeowners who received finanial help from their parents to get into the property market, according to research by Compare the Market.
In their case, Ms Morgan’s parents used equity in their own property to secure a portion of the couple’s mortgage, enabling them to purchase a Yeerongpilly apartment and avoid Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.
The couple secured a home loan with no LMI. pic: Lyndon Mechielsen / Courier Mail
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Mr Smith said the “incredibly generous” family guarantee led to more favourable interest rates on their home loan, while also boosting their borrowing power.
“We were pretty adamant that we didn’t want any huge financial gifts or anything like that — we wanted to do it ourselves.
“But we wouldn’t have been able to purchase as early as we did, had we not been lucky enough to have family members in that situation.
“It would have taken us a good deal longer and a lot more fierce savings and cost us thousands more,” he said.
They were eligible for a government first-home buyer’s grant and stamp duty exemption, and paid just under $550,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom top-floor unit in the leafy Brisbane suburb in February.
They bought an apartment for around $550,000 and qualified for a first-home buyers grant
Mr Smith said a previous job as a real estate associate was an eye-opening experience that led to his goal to buy a home as soon as possible.
He had been paying about $260 a week in rent, living with four people.
“I did real estate for three years and one of the biggest things that kicked in for me was realising I was paying other people’s mortgages rather than being able to build equity and see growth for my future, so we switched our focus to putting aside money each week to save for a deposit,” he said.
They plan to hold the unit as an investment within two to three years, capitalising on its proximity to an Olympic venue.
PropTrack data shows unit prices in Yeerongpilly jumped 12.6 per cent over the past 12 months to a median of $788,000.
The couple plans on holding the apartment as an investment property in the future. pic: Lyndon Mechielsen / Courier Mail
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