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First Home Buyers Stories



Own Your First Home gives first time home buyers the opportunity to share their views, ideas and reflections on the experience of buying their first home. Browse first home buyers stories below, you may find interesting information, tips or advice that could help you make your first step onto the property ladder. While you’re at it, submit your own!

Know someone with an interesting first time home buyer story? Send them a note to submit their story.

Barbara

"I sacrificed a year of going out, so save a deposit on my first home..."

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Lucie

"I want to warn others to definitely have a structural and termite inspection done prior to buying a house. I know a person who..."

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Amanda

"Don't assume you can get what colours you want, ours were discontinued so we had to start from scratch, blah, it would've been a lot..."

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Laura

"Research, research and more research. We listed everything we wanted in our place, which included being near express city bus routes..."

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Kirsty

"I’m really excited about the recent boost to the first home owner grant. I had some savings, but now I know I’ll receive $14,000 – I can..."

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Jacqui

"We always thought that buying a house was out of our reach so 2 years ago we started a savings for holidays which we were too busy to take..."

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Robyn

"After the owner signed the papers to sell her home, she changed her mind and did not want to sell anymore. After months of hard times..."

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Melissa

"Never ever rent your house to anyone, even family, if you have it on the market to sell. It's better ..."

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Zara

"We are in the process of trying to get a loan to build our first home. This should be an exciting time. We started..."

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Richard

"I’ve seen quite a few properties and even got as far as putting in an offer on one (someone else put in a higher counter offer..."

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Laura

"Learn to live with a mortgage. Work out what you would be paying every month and save that, if not more..."

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Danielle

"We wanted to live on Phillip Island. My partner and I traveled most weekends..."

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Naiomi

"Me and my husband recently decided it was time to buy our first home. After considering and weighing up all the pros and cons..."

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Megan

"ALWAYS get a building inspection before buying no matter how much you love the house! We fell in love with our first home immediately..."

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Lisa

"I have a great tip! When it is time to start paying off your first mortgage, ask to start paying it IMMEDIATELY..."

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Willem and Rose

"We’ve been renting ever since we started living together. We had a deposit saved and both wanted to buy, we just couldn’t agree on where..."

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Cathy

"We have been looking to purchase our first property since the beginning of the year and so far have..."

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Megan and Robert

"Although we’d been in rented accommodation since we got married, we had collected a lot of furniture and other belongings..."

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Abi

"When we bought our first home, I bought it at auction - it was a terrifying experience as I was bullied by estate agents urging me to up my price..."

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Elizabeth

"We're in the final stages of getting our home loan. One short reflection on the first steps to buying your first home - do as much research as you can..."

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Christine

"My sister in law's trying to take advantage of the first home grant. She finally got the loan and after months of looking finally found a property she likes...."

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Kym

"I'll never forget the feeling of the first night in our own home, the rush of the moving day and everyone had gone and we just stood together..."

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Melanie

"Our first home was literally the worst house on the best street. I knew that under that grubby facade there was a gem..."

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Lauren

"Me and the boy aren't great with numbers so it was worth seeing a broker who wasn't biased towards banks..."

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Kristen

"Don't set standards to high, see what you can afford don't lie, try to pay extra off it, cause it all helps every little bit..."

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Kristy

"My husband and I have five children and one of them has special needs. We would love our own home and..."

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Teressa

"When looking for your first home, make sure you check for signs of damp in rooms and water leaks in rooms..."

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Gemma

"The best part of owning your own home is..."

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Frances

"Trust your instincts. When we bought our first home my mother was horrified and said "How can you take your daughter to a place like that?"..."

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Jon

"While deciding which loan to settle on, I notice a lot of differences and not just the interest rate: "If you are like me and..."

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Jennifer

"Never be afraid to dream, keep saving for that final day, remembering that..."

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Chad

"Owning a new home seems like a daunting task and big risk to take. The advice I can give is to think "What's the worst that can happen?"..."

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Helen

"It's a very stressful time while the contract is being settled. However when your first payment comes out..."

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John

"Was living out of my car and started an online business that took off and gave me the ability to put my first deposit..."

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Kris

"We knew the old adage "Buy the worst house in the best street" and that's what we did in..."

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Debra

"With no money for extras I used a card table for a kitchen table, cardboard box for a bedside..."

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Linda

"I'm looking for a smaller home... to encourage the kids to..."

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Meleah

"we were rent to buy our first home...we signed all the legal documents and sorted out what was what...we put $10 000..."

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Christine

"We scrimped, we saved. It was a trial. Lived with his parents for a while. My wardrobe..."

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Naiomi

"Me and my husband recently decided it was time to buy our first home. After considering and weighing up all the pros and cons..."

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Jodi

"When building a new home look around at all the displays out there to get inspiration..."

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Megan

"Don't fall in love so much with a house you decide to skip the building inspection. We found out the hard way..."

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Maria

"It's such a liberating experience being able to walk into your first home after you officially own..."

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Gloria

"I have been looking for my first place for about 7 months now, and i have finally found a place that i have fallen in love with..."

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Amy

"We had been searching for our new home for about seven months before we finally found the right one. We had a very definite idea of what we wanted..."

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Vivien

"I am 52 and have never owned my own home even though my story is a difficult because of a marriage breakup. This is so exciting..."

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Anne

"We found our perfect home but is was missing any form of heating and riddled with fleas. Luckily the owners allowed..."

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Rouba

"Don't be to fussy when buying your first home, buy a slightly run down home..."

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Jiten

"Start living like your paying off your mortgage a year beforehand. Put that money into your savings account. That way you get used to..."

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Belinda

"The people we purchased our house from were a young family like us. they left us a lovely welcome note, bottle of champers..."

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James

"We worked hard and I did my trade benefit from working hard..."

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Lizzy

"I'm not worried about interest rates. Being only young, but a good saver, mum and dad say I'm welcome to move back home after the compulsory..."

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