Making Your First Property Purchase? What Should You Buy - A Home or an Investment Property?

Well, just like many Australians, we are sure that you too faced the same dilemma – buying a home or an investment property. Whether you are going to live in or rent out, there are number of aspects to take in to consideration due to the rapid changes in property landscape every year. For such a big decision, it is always imperative to seek professional guidance or a reliable resource to educate and help in making an informed decision.

Here is an excerpt from a blog post published in Dennisfamily.com.au website in September this year that shared some valuable information on making first property purchase.

“The borrowing power
A good first step is to sit down a speak with a bank mortgage specialist or an independent mortgage broker, and work out how much you could actually borrow, based on your current income, or combined income if you’re buying with a partner. Many banks will give you a larger loan if the intention is to rent the property out – These are special investment loans, and come with different features, and may be subject to different interest rates and fluctuations than other types of loans, so ensure you are aware of all of these before you begin any mortgage pre approval process.

Are you looking to buy a new or existing home or apartment?
This will normally affect whether or not you can access any first homebuyers grants or other benefits from the government. Grants only tend to be available for those spending up to a certain amount on a property, and often only new properties (as in never before owned or lived-in. Therefore, you may want to check to see if it’s worth it to buy your first home to live in, in order to take advantage of a discount. To find the most up to date information on first homebuyers’ benefits for your particular state, visit the Australian Government’s First Home website
Could you cover the cost of a vacant property?
Not all properties can be rented out straight away, and many properties take months to find a tenant, especially if you want to take the time to find a good one that will look after your property. With this in mind, it’s important to ensure that if there is a period where the property is vacant, that you would be able to cover the cost of it yourself. Don’t forget, there are also other added costs associated with being a property owner, such as paying your Real Estate agent’s rental management fee, as well as land tax (which is generally not applicable to owner-occupiers).

Could you actually do both?
Many first time property investors are finding a property, which has dual living opportunities – that is, a structure such as a self-contained annex out the back, or a self-contained area of the house, which can be separated with different entrance doors that tenants can rent, while the owner lives in the other section. In this way, you’re able to live in part of your home, and rent out the other part, while still earning a rental income to help you pay down your mortgage quicker.”