First Home Loans for First-Time Buyers Across Australia
Buying your first home? We are here to help!
Based in Sydney's Hills District and helping clients right across Australia, we make first home loans simple. We can help you understand how much you need to save, what your borrowing capacity is, what your repayments will be when you do proceed. Our experts will explain all the other costs associated with getting a home-loan including stamp-duty, settlement fees and LMI (lenders mortgage insurance) if applicable.
We have access to over 40 lenders, including all the major banks, allowing us to secure a competitive loan package tailored to your needs. We can help you work towards pre-approval before you start shopping for a property.
SB finance does not offer personal advice and aims to provide information which is factual and in-line with lenders requirements and a customers best interest. We encourage you to seek independent legal and financial advice before proceeding. our credit guide and Privacy disclosure is available on our website.
First Home Buyer Support You May Be Eligible For
Buying your first home in New South Wales can come with government assistance that many buyers don’t realise they qualify for. Depending on your circumstances and the property, this may include the First Home Owner Grant for eligible new builds, stamp-duty concessions or exemptions for first home buyers, and shared-equity or low-deposit guarantee schemes that can reduce the upfront savings required. Eligibility rules and thresholds change over time and depend on factors like the purchase price and whether the property is new or established, so it’s worth checking your situation before you start looking.
How the First Home Loan Process Works
We’ll walk you through each stage so there are no surprises. That typically starts with understanding your borrowing capacity and the deposit you’ll need, then comparing loan options from our panel of over 40 lenders to find one suited to your goals. From there we help you prepare and lodge your application, liaise with the lender through assessment, and support you all the way to settlement. Because we deal with the major banks and a wide range of specialist lenders, we can match your application to a lender whose criteria fit your circumstances.
Costs to Plan For as a First Home Buyer
Beyond your deposit, it helps to budget for other costs that can apply when buying your first home — these may include stamp duty (where a concession doesn’t fully apply), Lenders Mortgage Insurance if your deposit is below the lender’s threshold, conveyancing and legal fees, building and pest inspections, and loan establishment fees. We’ll explain which of these are likely to apply to you so you can plan with confidence.
Competitive Options
With access to over 40 lenders, we compare the market to find a finance option suited to your situation. Terms and conditions, fees and eligibility criteria apply.
Loan Deals
Talk to our team about the options available across property, asset and personal finance. We'll explain how each could suit your needs.
Quick Application
Our Application process is straight-forward and hassle free. We pride ourselves in being responsive and prompt with processing your application!
Personalised Service
Here at SB Finance we treat everybody like one of the family. We pay attention to the detail and make sure we offer nothing but first class service tailored to your needs!
CONTACT US
Let’s talk finance
Whether you have questions or inquiries about our services, we’re here to assist you every step of the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a first home buyer your capacity depends on your income and living expenses, any HECS or personal debts, your deposit, and whether you use a guarantor. Lenders also apply a serviceability buffer above the actual repayment. Because each lender treats living expenses and casual or overtime income differently, capacity can vary considerably between them, so we model it across our panel before you make an offer.
First home buyers can generally choose between principal-and-interest or, less commonly, interest-only repayments; fixed, variable or split; loans with an offset or redraw facility; low-deposit loans with Lenders Mortgage Insurance; guarantor or family-pledge loans; and government-supported schemes where you qualify. We explain which of these are realistic for your deposit and income.
Often yes. What matters is the type, size, age and status of the credit issue rather than the fact that one exists. We obtain your credit file, identify exactly what a lender will see, and target lenders whose written policy fits, so you avoid the extra credit enquiries that come from applying blind.
Most lenders look for at least 5% of the purchase price from genuine savings, plus funds for costs such as stamp duty where payable, legal fees, inspections and lender fees. A deposit below 20% usually means Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Guarantor loans and government-supported guarantee schemes can reduce or remove that cost if you are eligible.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender, not you, if a loan goes into default. It generally applies when your deposit is less than 20% of the property value. The premium can often be added to the loan rather than paid upfront. Eligible first home buyers may avoid it through a guarantor or a government-supported guarantee scheme.
Stamp duty, or transfer duty, is a NSW state tax on property transfers. Eligible first home buyers may receive an exemption or a concession, but the eligibility rules and property value thresholds are set by Revenue NSW and are reviewed from time to time, so confirm the current position with Revenue NSW or your conveyancer before you budget.
Book a free assessment. We confirm your deposit and timing, check your credit file, model borrowing capacity across our lender panel, and tell you which schemes you may qualify for. We then arrange pre-approval so you can bid or make an offer with confidence, and manage the loan through to settlement.
Where to go next
Buying a first home sits inside a bigger picture. Our home loans overview walks through the products and what lenders assess, and if you are building rather than buying an established home, construction loans explains how staged funding works.