Buying

First home buyer guide: what to check before you apply

A practical first home buyer guide covering deposit, upfront costs, pre-approval, documents, grants, and when to speak with a broker.

Updated: 15 June 2026
Read time: 8 min read
Reviewed by: emoney broker team

Reviewed for general guidance. Reviewed by emoney broker team. Last updated 15 June 2026. Sources are listed below so borrowers can check the public references behind this general information before speaking with a broker.

Key checks before you decide

Income type for each borrower, including PAYG, casual, commission, or self-employed income.
Deposit held, genuine savings history, and any gift or family support.
Credit-card limits, personal loans, car loans, HELP debt, and buy now pay later accounts.
Expected purchase price, suburb range, and property type.
Deposit and loan-to-value ratio.
Transfer duty, registration, legal, building, pest, and settlement costs.

Full guide

Now read the full guide

Checklist

Start with the buying position

A first-home plan starts with the full buying position, not just the property price you like. Check income, living expenses, debts, credit limits, deposit, savings history, and the rough purchase range before relying on a search budget.

The first number most buyers want is the purchase price. The more useful starting point is the whole position behind that number: how much can be borrowed, how much cash is available, what costs still need to be paid, and how comfortable the repayment would feel after settlement.

This is where first-home buyers can lose confidence because every website seems to use a different estimate. A broker review can help separate the planning number from the lender number by checking income type, debts, expenses, deposit source, and any scheme pathway before the buyer starts making serious offers.

Income type for each borrower, including PAYG, casual, commission, or self-employed income.
Deposit held, genuine savings history, and any gift or family support.
Credit-card limits, personal loans, car loans, HELP debt, and buy now pay later accounts.
Expected purchase price, suburb range, and property type.

Guide

Separate deposit from buying costs

Your deposit is only one part of the cash needed to complete a purchase. Transfer duty, conveyancing, inspections, lender fees, government charges, moving costs, and lender's mortgage insurance can all change how much cash needs to be available at settlement.

A buyer might have enough for the contract deposit but still be short on total funds to complete the purchase. The settlement calculation can include government charges, professional fees, lender costs, insurance, adjustments, and any shortfall between the loan and the price.

Many first-home buyers ask some version of 'how much deposit do I need?' The better answer is not a single percentage. It is the property price, loan amount, LVR, buying costs, scheme eligibility, lender policy, and cash buffer working together.

Deposit and loan-to-value ratio.
Transfer duty, registration, legal, building, pest, and settlement costs.
Lender fees, package fees, valuation fees, and LMI where relevant.
Moving, connection, insurance, and early ownership costs.

Watch out

Check schemes before relying on them

Government first-home pathways can change the buying plan, but eligibility and benefits vary by scheme, property, borrower, lender, and timing. Check the official rules before assuming a scheme will apply to your purchase.

First-home assistance can change the deposit hurdle or upfront-cost picture, but it should be checked before the buyer commits to a contract. MoneySmart points buyers to the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, and the official first-home buyer site says eligible first-home buyers may be able to buy with a minimum 5% deposit and no lender's mortgage insurance. Single parents may have a different minimum-deposit pathway.

That does not mean every buyer, property, lender, or contract will fit. Scheme rules can depend on citizenship or residency, property type, location, purchase price, prior ownership, lender participation, timing, and the specific pathway being used.

The safest approach is to treat scheme eligibility as a separate workstream in the buying plan. A broker can help identify which questions need checking, but the buyer should still rely on official scheme rules and lender confirmation before counting the benefit as available.

Check whether the buyer, property, location, and price fit the scheme rules.
Check whether the lender you are considering participates.
Check whether a grant, concession, super saver pathway, or deposit pathway changes cash to complete.
Do not exchange contracts relying on a scheme that has not been checked for your situation.

Checklist

Prepare documents before pre-approval

Pre-approval is easier to discuss when the document story is ready. A broker can then check whether the first-home plan looks realistic before a lender assesses the application.

Document preparation is not busywork. It helps show whether the planned budget is ready for lender assessment or whether something needs fixing first, such as unexplained savings movements, high credit limits, recent employment changes, or missing income evidence.

A first-home buyer does not need to know every lender document rule before speaking with a broker. They do need enough information to make the first conversation useful: identity, income, deposit, savings history, debts, expenses, and the property range they want to test.

Photo ID and basic contact details.
Payslips, tax documents, business records, or other income evidence.
Bank statements showing savings, rent, expenses, and existing debts.
Details of gifts, guarantor support, grants, or scheme pathways if relevant.

Guide

Understand what pre-approval can and cannot do

Pre-approval can help set a search range, but it is not unconditional approval. The lender may still need updated documents, a suitable property, valuation, contract details, insurance, and final verification before settlement.

This distinction matters because buyers often treat pre-approval as permission to buy any property within the number. In practice, the property still needs to be acceptable to the lender, the valuation needs to support the lending position, and the borrower's circumstances need to stay consistent.

Pre-approval is still useful. It can give the buyer a clearer range, show which documents need attention, and make conversations with agents feel more practical. It simply should not be treated as a promise that every later condition has already been satisfied.

Use pre-approval as planning support, not a guarantee of final approval.
Check expiry dates and whether updated documents will be needed.
Tell the broker before changing jobs, taking on new debt, or spending deposit funds.
Read any lender conditions before making offers.

Next step

Want a broker to check this against your situation?

Answer a few questions so emoney can route your enquiry to the right broker conversation.Start first-home quick check

Broker note

Choose features with the first few years in mind

First home buyers often focus on getting in, but the loan also needs to work after settlement. Offset, redraw, fixed or variable rate, split structure, extra repayments, and package fees can all affect how the loan feels in year one and year two.

The right feature set depends on how the buyer will actually use the loan. A buyer who expects to rebuild savings may value offset access, while another buyer may prefer repayment certainty for a period. A feature-rich loan can be useful, but only if the features support real behaviour.

The first few years can also bring changes: repairs, furniture, family plans, career moves, renovations, or a possible upgrade. The loan structure should leave enough flexibility for the likely next step rather than only solving the approval moment.

Will you keep savings in offset or need redraw access?
Do you want repayment certainty, flexibility, or a mix of both?
Will a feature-rich loan cost more than you will use?
Could renovation, family, or job plans change the right structure?

Example

Use calculators before making offers

Borrowing power and upfront cost calculators can help test the buying range before inspections become emotional. They are still estimates. Lender policy, valuation, documents, and scheme rules need to be checked before relying on the numbers.

A calculator can help turn a vague budget into a testable range. First, estimate borrowing capacity. Then estimate upfront buying costs. After that, test repayments at more than one interest rate so the buyer can see how the plan feels under pressure.

The calculator should be the start of the conversation, not the final answer. A broker can check why the number may differ across lenders and whether the planned property, deposit, documents, and scheme assumptions are realistic.

Use a borrowing power calculator to test a realistic purchase range.
Use an upfront buying costs calculator to estimate cash needed.
Test repayments at more than one interest rate.
Ask a broker to check the lender view before you make offers.

Broker note

Bring one clear question to the broker

A first-home conversation works better when the question is specific. You might be checking deposit readiness, scheme fit, pre-approval, buying costs, borrowing power, or whether a property type will suit lender policy.

A clear question keeps the conversation focused. Instead of asking for a generic list of loans, the buyer can ask what would stop the plan from working, what documents should be prepared next, and what price range should be treated as realistic before offers begin.

That approach also gives the broker a better handoff point. The next step may be pre-approval, a savings plan, a scheme check, a debt clean-up, or a narrower property search. The guide should help the buyer reach that point with less confusion.

Am I ready for pre-approval or do I need to fix something first?
How much cash would I need for this purchase range?
Which documents should I prepare before a lender sees the file?
What could stop this first-home plan from working?

Calculator next step

Upfront buying costs calculator

Bring deposit, duty, legal costs, lender fees, moving costs, and settlement cash into one planning view.

Best for: Checking whether the cash-to-complete picture is realistic before inspections or offers.
What it calculates: Deposit, transfer duty, legal, lender, moving, and other purchase-cost assumptions.

A broker still needs to check lender policy, LVR, mortgage insurance, concessions, contract timing, and document fit.

Open Upfront costs

Sources used

officialASIC MoneySmart home loans officialASIC MoneySmart buying a house officialASIC MoneySmart save for a house deposit officialASIC MoneySmart choosing a home loan officialAustralian Government first home buyer pathways officialHousing Australia Home Guarantee Scheme officialATO First Home Super Saver Scheme

General information only

This guide is general information and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. A broker can review your circumstances before any recommendation.