‘We were shocked’: Aussie couple reveal borrowing reality that left them with barely any options

A young couple have revealed the meeting they had with a mortgage broker that left them feeling “cut down” and panicked.

A young Aussie couple have detailed the heartbreaking moment they found out couldn’t borrow enough to buy a home.

Lucy Gordon, 25, and her partner Riley Coles, 26, were left disheartened after visiting a mortgage broker two years ago and discovering they could only borrow $400,000.

The couple lived in regional New South Wales in Ulladulla, where the average unit price has ballooned past $600,000, while the average house price is over $800,000.

Ms Gordon works full-time as a tattoo artist, and Mr Coles was in the midst of finishing his carpenter apprenticeship.

The 25-year-old told news.com.au that hearing how little they could borrow was a “terrible” experience and it made her feel alone.

“I was overwhelmed. I thought it would not be as difficult. We make decent money, we were shocked, we couldn’t borrow that much,” she said.

“I felt isolated and being cut down like that was sad.”

Lucy said learning how little they could was hard to deal with. Picture: Instagram/lucygtattoo

The young couple both work full-time and have done their best to save. Picture: Instagram/lucygtattoo

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Ms Gordon said it wasn’t just about the amount – $400,000 is a lot of debt to have to carry- it was the realisation that amount wouldn’t get them a home.

“We could afford nothing in our area. We could only afford something in Wagga Wagga,” she said.

The couple decided to hustle for a year, than revaluate and see what they could borrow.

In that time, Mr Coles finished his apprenticeship and Ms Gordon who is a sole trader worked as much as she could to earn more.

When they returned to the mortgage broker, they were able to borrow $550,000 with a five-percent deposit.

The couple decided to leave the beachside town of Ulladulla and moved to landlocked Nowra to buy.

Nowra was a more affordable town, but even then, the average home price was over $600,000, and their budget was still tight.

“Our priority was to buy a house,” she explained.

The couple moved to buy a home. Picture: Instagram/lucygtattoo

When they first saw the house they ended up buying they were grossed out by the condition it was in. Picture: Instagram/lucygtattoo

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Ms Gordon said that even now they could borrow $550,000 they opted not to borrow the max amount because it would be a “stretch” and the weekly repayments would be crippling.

“We couldn’t pay for that, as well as groceries and fuel,” she said.

In the end, they borrowed $475,000 to buy a rundown home in Nowra that, when the couple first inspected it, left them feeling “disgusted” instead of excited.

“It was probably the most rundown place on the market, and for what it is, it was a lot of money because it needs so much work,” she said.

“The first time we walked through this house, we did one lap and said, ‘Nope, we aren’t buying it,” she said.

The couple looked for another two months and saw that the house was still on the market and one of the few they could afford, so they decided to buy it anyway.

Ms Gordon said it was a tough decision, but ultimately, there was barely anything in their price range, and they couldn’t afford to be picky.

“It was like we had this pre-approval but nothing to spend it on. We were clutching at straws,” she explained

Their home needs so much work. Picture: Instagram/lucygtattoo

Ms Gordon said it makes her sad how hard it is to buy right now. Picture: iStock

Ms Gordon said that even when they purchased the home, they couldn’t stay in it for two weeks because all the windows were messed up, so there was no security.

“It needs so much work,” she said.

Online, the couple is now documenting their journey to fix it up on the cheap. They recently bought an oven off the marketplace for $50.

They go to the tip to find things, search through council collections, look for cheap deals on Facebook Marketplace, and are constantly looking for affordable ways to renovate the house because they’ve maxed themselves out with mortgage repayments.

“We are begging, borrowing and stealing,” she joked.

Ms Gordon said her hope is they’ll renovate it slowly through their own “blood, sweat, and tears”, which will increase the value.

Alongside the equity, they’ll start to get in the place. This will mean they’ll be able to buy a nice home in a few years, but right now, they’re still hustling.

Ms Gordon pointed out that if it is hard for a childless couple on two decent wages to buy, it makes her “sad” to think about worse-off people who have no chance at all.

Originally published as ‘We were shocked’: Aussie couple reveal borrowing reality that left them with barely any options