A quarter off your first home: HomesVic to provide first home buyer relief

By Ben Tosi · · 3 min read
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Victorian first home buyers, your home loan may have just gotten appreciably smaller thanks to a shared equity scheme known as HomesVic.

The initiative is aimed at low-middle income earners who have at least a 5% deposit saved up. After that, the state government will cover as much as an additional 25% of the initial property price which you’ll have to pay back once you sell the property.

With a pilot scheme set to be up and running by the end of the month, HomesVic will have an initial $50 million for the first two years, which is set to be reinvested once homes under the program are sold and the government is paid back.

This is just the latest initiative as part of the Andrews Government’s Homes for Victorians package, which Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said is designed to get prospective buyers in the door of their first home.

“This pilot scheme will make it easier for first home buyers to get their foot in the door, as well as reducing the size of the loan they’ll need to service,” he said.

In fact, a slew of changes to stamp duty legislation across Victoria last year saw the ABS record the highest number of first home sales since November 2009, with approximately 12,000 Aussie households benefiting from the changes.

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Am I eligible for HomesVic?

To be eligible for the HomesVic program, you’ll have to tick the usual boxes of being an Aussie resident (or have permanent-resident status), over the age of 18 and not be related to the vendor of the property you’re after.

But you’ll also have to fit into annual income brackets capped at $75,000 per single and a combined $95,000 per couple, plus have resided in Victoria for the past two years.

Finally you’ll have to be a genuine first home buyer, which means that neither you or your spouse have owned property in the past.

You can check out the full range of eligibility criteria here.

How do I apply for HomesVic?

With the application process scheduled to commence in early to mid February, right now you can’t, but HomesVic are currently accepting registrations of interest.

Once they do kick off the applications process, you’ll need conditional approval for a loan from your bank to apply. If your application is successful, HomesVic will notify you as to the amount they’re willing to cover as well as the preferred location before organising an information session to attend.

Once all that is done, you’re ready to hit the streets in search of your first home.

You can check out a more detailed breakdown of the application process here.

RELATED: Best home loans for January 2018: Mozo Editor’s picks

If you’re not from Victoria, there is no need to feel left out. You can check out a range of popular home loans on the market in your state using Mozo’s home loan comparison tables or check out our Experts Choice Awards for a comprehensive rundown of some of the best first home buyer loans in our database.