If you are a first home buyer in Western Australia there are grants and subsidies available, but it may be confusing to know what you qualify for.

Here is a breakdown of what grants are currently available in Western Australia.

First Home Owners Grant

The First Home Owners Grant in WA is available to those who build a property or buy one that has never been lived in. There are also stamp duty concessions available as part of the grant for purchasers of established properties.

The key benefits of the WA FHOG are:

• The first home owner grant of $10,000 for a new home purchase or construction.
• No transfer stamp duty is payable on an established property purchase up to $430,000 (a saving of up to $14,4000).
• Discounted rates of stamp duty for property purchases between $430,000 and $530,000.
• No transfer stamp duty on vacant land purchases up to $300,000. Discounted transfer stamp duty for property purchases between $430,000 and $530,000.

Your mortgage broker will help you complete the First Home Owner’s Grant and ensure your lender processes it as required as part of the application process.

The First Home Buyers Assistance Account

The First Home Buyers Assistance account is an initiative that aims to assist first home buyers with the expenses payable when purchasing a property. Applicants who qualify for consideration for the grant may be eligible for a rebate of up to $2,000.

To qualify for the HBAA the following conditions apply:

• The maximum purchase price of the property is $400,000.
• The applicant(s) must not own or previously owned property in Western Australia
• The property must have been purchase through a licenced Real Estate agency in WA.
• The property must be established or partially built at the time of acceptance of the contract. Plans to build a dwelling or off-the-plan purchases do not qualify.
• The purchase property must be the applicants principal place of residence.

This grant can only be applied for after settlement has been completed and your mortgage broker can help you complete the application and guide you as to how to apply.

First Home Guarantee Scheme

The First Home Guarantee scheme is an initiative where the Federal Government guarantees an applicant’s home loan enabling an eligible first home buyer to borrow up to 95% of the property value without incurring Lender’s Mortgage Insurance. This can potentially be a saving of thousands of dollars.

To qualify for the Home Guarantee Scheme the following criteria must be met:

• Applicants must be an Australian Citizen or permanent resident.
• The income thresholds are $125,000 per annum for singles and $200,000 per annum for couples.
• The purchase property must be for owner occupation.
• Applicants must either be First Home Buyers or have not owned a property for 10 Years.
• Maximum purchase price is $600,000 in Perth metropolitan area and $450,000 in regional areas.

There are only select lenders which are part of the First Home Guarantee Scheme so your mortgage broker will be able to guide you as to who is part of this scheme.

It must also be noted that all the grants are independent of each other and qualification for one does not automatically mean qualification for another. Your mortgage broker can provide information of what is applicable to your circumstance.

For more information on available grants contact the Blackburne Mortgage Broking team to start your home ownership journey.