How 29yo single bought own home in Melbourne

While she didn’t dip into the Bank of Mum and Dad, one Melbourne woman did use one controversial method to get enough money for a home deposit.

Elise Luhrs was on a mission to save a 20 per cent deposit all by herself, but realised that the five years it would take her would mean she would be priced out the market as property would be “so much more expensive”.

She has been saving for around two years and for most of the time she was a uni student working casually, but she still managed to put away $1500 a month on average, all while renting a place on her own.

The 29-year-old said she had a monthly budget which included eating most meals at home, keeping weekends low key, cutting her spending on clothing and not grabbing takeaway coffee.

She saved up $35,000 in two years. Picture: Getty Images

She had also tracked her outgoings over a month to find out where her money was going.

The Melbourne resident admits the pursuit of a 20 per cent deposit was driven by a “lack of education around home ownership”.

“I didn’t know about lender’s mortgage insurance and thought that was an extra level of stress but the more I learned I felt a bit more accepting of the situation and realised this is the way it is,” she told news.com.au.

“It made it feel more manageable. I just thought is it going to be possible to save up $100,000 in five years … and is there going to be a property for $500,000 anymore?”

She built up $35,000 for the house deposit, but it was a controversial scheme that also helped her out.

Last year, she decided to dip into her super and take out $10,000 through the federal government’s early release of superannuation scheme.

It has since emerged that $37.3 billion was sapped from retirement funds under the plan. In February, Industry Super Australia chief executive Bernie Dean said the government scheme had impacted younger workers who were likely going to be poorer at retirement.

She also used the controversial super scheme to boost her deposit. Picture: iStock

But Ms Luhrs has no regret about accessing her retirement money – as she always wanted to buy a home and was sick of the instability that came with renting.

“It’s already back up to where it was a year ago. I have always had super being contributed since I was 14. I had $30,000 and it went down to $20,000 but now it’s back up to $30,000 but I put my own money in to grow it,” she said.

“Property ownership is a smarter investment in terms of the money I had there. I felt like I had a good amount for my age and having a full-time role I’m putting a lot in consistently. Property ownership … also means securing an investment for myself sooner and that will increase over time through owning the property myself.”

The community services employee, who works in a counselling role, recently purchased an apartment in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh South for $435,000.

Her apartment in Melbourne cost $435,000. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

She also used the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which meant she only needed a 5 per cent deposit for the property.

But she admits she changed her house hunting strategy – giving up on the idea of nabbing her forever home first up.

“Being a single female if had another income I would have been approved to get a bit more and I wanted to live in the Belgrave area, but I am seeing this as a stepping stone and having it as equity later on and selling in later on,” she said.

The new homeowner said she doesn’t have any other friends who are in a position to buy and acknowledges it’s hard to save for a deposit while also paying living expenses.

“I can tell some of my friends do feel defeated and they would like to aspire to home ownership and don’t feel it’s possible,” she said.