‘Thought it was going to be too expensive’: 29-year-old woman reveals how she bought in Sydney without help

A 29-year-old has revealed the meeting with her mortgage broker that made her go “oh my god” afterwards revealing an unexpected reality.

A New Zealander has made a surprising claim about getting into the Australian property market after starting out with “no expectations” she’d ever be able to afford it.

Libby Angus, 29, works in marketing. She’s originally from New Zealand and didn’t have any “rich parents” around when she decided she wanted to try and buy in Sydney.

Sydney is famously Australia’s most expensive city. The median house price has soared past $1.5 million, and the median rent is now $775 per week.

Ms Angus had heard all the horror stories about how hard it is to buy right now and she was braced for her dreams of home ownership to be squashed.

“I hate to say it but it was relatively easy,” she told news.com.au.

Libby purchased her first home without family help. Picture: Instagram/LibbyAngus

She said it was easier than she thought it’d be. Picture: Instagram/LibbyAngus

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The 29-year-old said that, despite everyone saying the Sydney market is “ridiculous” and her fears that she’d end up disappointed, she bought an apartment for $720,000 without much hardship.

“I went and spoke with a mortgage broker in Manly and I just went to see if anything could happen,” she explained.

“I went in with no expectations. I think he thought, ‘What is this girl up to?’ But he was really lovely and talked me through it.”

Ms Angus thought that she would speak with the mortgage broker and have to accept she couldn’t afford to buy in Sydney.

“I thought it was going to be too expensive based on the stamp duty because it takes a big chunk of your deposit. Which is wild, and then there are capital gains tax,” she said.

“I had all these things in my mind.”

The mortgage broker explained to her that she could qualify for the First Home Buyer’s Scheme in NSW.

The scheme is for first-time home buyers purchasing properties under $1 million. As long as the purchaser lives in the property for a year, they’re entitled to a full or partial exemption on paying stamp duty.

“He approved me on the spot,” she said.

The 29-year-old was approved to borrow around $800,000 and was excited to discover she only needed to pay a five per cent deposit.

Sydney’s median house price is now past $1.5 million. Picture: iStock

Ms Angus said she had more than $40,000 saved because she’d been working for over a decade and, suddenly, it felt like being able to buy in Sydney was extremely doable.

“I left the meeting thinking ‘oh my God’ because I had no idea any of this existed,” she said.

“Then I started looking in my area and there were properties in my area that came under that threshold.”

Ms Angus said the options were “super limited”, but there were still apartments within that price range, and she was able to find properties on Sydney’s lower north shore for under $800,000.

She decided to take the plunge because she was about to move house and her new rent was looking to cost around $1000 per week.

“I am paying $1000 in week in rent. What am I getting if I’m paying that in a mortgage?” she said.

Ms Angus found a one-bedroom apartment relatively close to the beach and nabbed it for $720,000, with the process happening relatively quickly.

She was approved on the spot. Picture: Supplied

Her partner pays rent towards the mortgage. Picture: Supplied

Interestingly, despite the 29-year-old’s positive attitude when she shared a video of her apartment on social media, Aussies weren’t impressed.

Someone called it “not a bargain” but admitted that older units are solid, and another claimed it was “mind-boggling” to see how prices had surged in Sydney.

“Is it really worth staying in Sydney for this?” one asked.

“Why bother?” someone else wrote.

“That is worth $200,000 tops. Paying more is just silly,” another claimed, while someone else wrote, “Are you serious? That is like worth $350,000 max”.

Not everyone was negative, though. Someone wrote, “Honestly, getting anything in this market is a win. Nicely done, girl.”

Online people discussed how insanely expensive Sydney is. Picture: iStock

She’s so happy she was able to buy in Sydney. Picture: Instagram/LibbyAngus

Despite the response on social media, Ms Angus is incredibly happy with her decision, even if she is taking a chance by putting herself into a significant amount of debt.

“It is a big risk being on your own because when you’re on your own, if something goes wrong, I couldn’t fall back on anyone,” she said.

“I have to be pretty independent.”

Ms Angus said she’s also going into this venture with the mindset that she hasn’t spent that much time getting onto the property market.

“If you lose, you’re losing the bank’s money, and I know that sounds bad, but I also don’t plan on losing.”

She said it was “scary” seeing that the first mortgage payment came out of her account, but now, even that feels normal.

The 29-year-old’s boyfriend has moved in and is paying rent towards the mortgage, which eases some of the financial pressure.

Ms Angus said the whole experience has taught her that the idea young people can’t buy is “hyped” up.

While she’s the first to say property prices are “shocking”, she’s proof that you can figure something out.

“I paid less for my house than I have for a car,” she said.

Ms Angus said she knows some people have the mentality to stay renters because mortgage repayments can be more expensive, but she advised if you can afford the extra cost in the meantime, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

“The gain you’ll make in two or three years will far outweigh what you save by not spending that extra $500 a week,” she said.

Ms Angus said she believes everyone should at least speak to a mortgage broker and check their options because it is free, and Aussies could be surprised.