First Home Loan Deposit Scheme

Hi Scott,

After years of saving up for a deposit and getting nowhere (I live in Sydney, and I work in hospo!), I was slightly stoked to hear about the new policy that helps first home buyers get a house with just a 5% deposit. You always say “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. So what’s the catch?

Chris

Hi Chris,

When I turned 18, my teetotaling mother gave me possibly the wisest piece of advice I’ve ever received:“Nothing good happens after midnight.”

Too true, Joan. Too true.And way past midnight (in an election sense), ScoMo burped out the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

Here’s ... err … the guts of it:

The Government (read: taxpayer) will ‘help’ singles earning up to $125,000 (and couples earning up to $200,000) to buy a house with a 5% deposit, instead of a 20% deposit, by covering their Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) bill.

On a $400,000 home loan with a 5% deposit, the LMI would cost a young couple $13,406, so it’s a huge saving.

Yet it’s also drunk policy ‒ and it has bipartisan support (Bill was quick to say he’d do it too if elected).

It’s a bit like ScoMo (or Bill) is giving you a sleazy pickup line ‒ one that sets you up for a one-night stand that leaves you with itchies and scratchies.

Look, there’s a reason banks require first home buyers, like you, to save up a 20% deposit. You’re entering into a 30-year contract, and they want to make sure you have staying power.

And if a bank that earns $10 billion a year in profits won’t lend to a first home buyer without them taking out expensive ‘default insurance’ ... why should the taxpayer foot the bill?

My view?

If you buy a home with a 5% deposit, you’re setting yourself up for a potential killer hangover … by buying a home you probably can’t afford.

Picture yourself waking up the next morning next to ScoMo (or Bill). He rolls over and whispers, “Was it as good for you as it was for me, baby?”

Don’t do it.

Scott