Sydney couple’s home buying trick

Chantal and Lee Spiteri stopped eating out, going holiday and buying new clothes while saving to buy, but their number one tip is much simpler.

Chantal and Lee Spiteri stopped eating out, going on holiday and buying new clothes while saving to buy their first home. Picture: Supplied

Sydneysiders Chantal and Lee Spiteri stopped eating out, going on holiday and buying new clothes while saving to buy their first home, but their number one tip is much simpler — don’t trim the budget so much that you no longer enjoy life.

The couple, 29 and 34 respectively, had a rigorous 18-month savings plan to scrape together a $35,000 deposit before buying in January this year. Earlier this week, they moved into their dream home — a three-bedroom house with a yard in Sydney’s west.

As first home buyers, they took advantage of the assistance available to them from the NSW government, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have to cut corners.

Chantal and Lee Spiteri stopped eating out, going on holiday and buying new clothes while saving to buy their first home. Picture: Supplied

“We cut back on as much discretionary spending as we possibly could,” Chantal told news.com.au.

“It meant giving up on those extra things like Afterpay, eating out, taking unpaid time away from work. We always had our savings goal front-of-mind and we made it a priority. With every purchase, we thought twice.”

Lee, a self-employed gardener, worked around the clock to bring in more cash. The couple moved 45 minutes away from their families in Bankstown to Shalvey, in Blacktown, where they found they could save on rent. They loved it so much they decided to buy.

The Spiteris’ most important tip, though, was to “trim the fat without getting too close to the meat” — in other words, “make sure you can still enjoy life”.

“It was really important that, while we did make a lot of sacrifices, we didn’t stop living either,” Chantal explained.

“It meant that, at a basic level, we could get up every day and enjoy ourselves. More importantly though, it was a test to see what level of spending was sustainable without making ourselves miserable. When we finally made the purchase, we knew making the repayments would be feasible.”

The couple bought in Shalvey, Blacktown, in January this year.

Mortgage Choice broker Terri Unwin, who worked with the Spiteris to secure their home loan, said her number one tip for clients was that they begin living like homeowners long before buying property.

“Look at what the repayments are going to be on the kind of property that you want, and compare that with what you’re paying in rent,” she recommended.

“Start putting away the difference on a regular basis. Just because the bank will lend you $1.2 million doesn’t mean you can live with a $1.2 million loan. Giving yourself a test run proves to lenders that you can live without the additional money, it gives you a kickstart on your deposit and it mentally prepares you to go without.”

The Spiteris earn the median Aussie income almost to the dollar. The most difficult part of their application, Ms Unwin said, was making sure all of their “ducks were in a line” regarding the formal reporting of Lee’s income.

“He was self-employed, so we had to undergo some education around what his declared income would need to be for a bank to approve the loan they wanted,” she explained.

“I was brutally honest that I wasn’t going to submit an application that wasn’t 100 per cent ready, which meant we had to wait a whole new tax year. The accountants of self-employed people, they love to reduce that taxable income, but it can be unhelpful when it comes to getting a mortgage.”

Like many Aussies, they relied on some assistance from the bank of mum and dad.

Like many Aussies, the Spiteris relies on a small amount of support from the bank of mum and dad to get them over the line. While they didn’t have a guarantor and or a contribution to their deposit — two phenomena that are increasingly common — Lee’s parents did gift them small sums of cash to cover living expenses.

About 40 per cent of 25- to 34-year-old homeowner hopefuls expect to call on the bank of mum and dad to achieve their goal, according to new research from the University of Sydney. A staggering 74 per cent of them have less than $5000 in savings, while a 20 per cent deposit on the median Sydney house is almost $295,000.

Ms Unwin said currently about 30 per cent of her clients received financial support from parents, either in the form of guaranteeing the loan or contributing to the deposit — a far higher percentage than when she started in the business 20 years ago.

“My generation — I say that because I’m in that generation in which my kids are buying houses — realise how hard it is for younger people to get into their properties,” she said.

“I’d do almost anything to help my kids. As a generation, I think we assist where we can.”

As the Spiteris unpack boxes in their new home, Chantal says they’re looking towards the future.

“You reap what you sow,” she said.

“We made the sacrifices, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

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