This couple used Labor’s first home buyer scheme – here’s what happened

“We bought a townhouse so small you could accidentally lose it under a rug or something,” jokes an – in fact – very grateful Jordy Lawrence.

A writer and NDIS support worker, he and his social worker partner, Hannah Ho, became proud property owners in just July last year.

When Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton launched their campaigns, they put first home affordability front and centre of their respective pitches to voters.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, James Brickwood

Both aged in their 30s, the couple bought a nearly 30-year-old townhouse on the Sunshine Coast using what is a central plank of Labor’s re-election bid: the First Home Guarantee Scheme.

They paid below the current $700,000 purchase price limit for their area – about $600,000; all price limits would be raised dramatically from January 1 as one of Labor’s election promises (Sydney’s to $1.5 million, Brisbane’s to $1 million and Melbourne’s to $950,000).

At the same time, the income caps for eligibility would be removed and places made unlimited to open up access to every first home buyer – the government says this will mean places go from 40,000 a year to an uptake by about 80,000 Aussies.

‘The problem is you’re still being saddled with insane debt and nothing seems to be being done about that side of things’

First home buyer Jordy Lawrence

So, what made Jordy and Hannah use the scheme? The move meant the couple could:

1. Buy with just a 5 per cent deposit (plus some stamp duty and transaction costs).
2. But still avoid the lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) usually payable with less than a 20 per cent deposit, as the government guarantees the missing 15 per cent.

“It would have taken us at least another year to save that money and in that time, how much is the property value going to go up – is it going to cost you more to wait?” says Jordy.

But the “year” of which he speaks has only reference to avoiding LMI. If the couple had needed to save the 20 per cent deposit needed to avoid it, the realistic assessment is many more years.

Hannah Ho and Jordy Lawrence used Labor’s 5 per cent deposit scheme to buy a house.

“We chose three lenders and compared rates, kind of like shopping,” explains Hannah of the list of participating lenders on the Housing Australia website.

But the couple speaks of the challenging process getting the 95 per cent loan over the line, with HECS debts, interest rates still high and the approval stress test tight. “It took a lot of effort submitting all the documents back and forth,” Hannah says.

Labor, if elected, wants HECS debts to be ignored in loan serviceability assessments (it has also pledged to discount them by 20 per cent). The Coalition says that the stress test would be reduced from its current 300 basis points.

So how are Jordy and Hannah coping with repayments twice as much as the discounted rent they were paying? “Once you’ve set that new bar for yourself, that just becomes your new normal, and you just do that,” says Jordy.

“It is hard,” adds Hannah.

How might their situation have looked different under a Coalition government? Possible tax deductions for the interest on $650,000 of borrowings, which might be worth $11,000 a year, for the first five years only.

And the LNP also wants to allow you to unlock $50,000 of your super for a property deposit (don’t forget each person in a couple can already save $50,000 for a home into that tax shelter).

Of course, in this system and without a 20 per cent deposit, first home buyers would have to fork out more for extortionate lenders’ mortgage insurance: the cost on a $600,000 purchase would almost double a 5 per cent deposit (some $25,000 LMI on top of the $30,000 deposit).

And Jordy has a powerful point about getting into the market in general: “The problem is you’re still being saddled with insane debt and nothing seems to be being done about that side of things.”

The Coalition, for its part, seems to be keeping its proposed solutions this election on the demand – not supply – side with a cut to immigration (and also overseas student numbers to reduce pressure on rents).

Labor has pledged $10 billion to build 100,000 new houses earmarked specifically for first home buyers and last week announced funding to fast track qualifications for 6000 new tradies. On the flipside, the LNP has indicated it would scrap Labor’s fee-free TAFE program, which critics say could exacerbate the construction worker shortage.

Meanwhile, both parties recognise trades retention is critical – Labor has pledged wage subsidies and $10,000 incentives for apprentices who stay; the Coalition says it will make a payment of up to $12,000 to businesses that take on new apprentices.

As for Jordy and Hannah, they’re just glad they have their start. “We are very lucky,” says Jordy. “If we’d had kids, if we’d had a child two years ago, it wouldn’t be possible for us – I don’t know how other people do it.

“It’s weird because it’s such a big decision and will change the course of your life.”

And that’s when the couple pauses to reflect on the bigger picture.

“I guess for as long as I have been watching, my whole life I think, property just keeps going up and you think: it just can’t keep going up – and for some reason, I keep just looking at it go up,” says Jordy.

“You either get on the train or you don’t – there’s no in between.”

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at www.nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow Nicole on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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