r/AskABrokerAus

​I get that lenders need to assess risk, but it still feels weird that they care more about what you could spend than what you actually spend.

You can have a credit card sitting untouched in a drawer for years and the bank still treats the full limit like a possible debt waiting to happen. Meanwhile someone with no savings but no card limits can sometimes look safer on paper

We are first home buyers looking to purchase a free standing home in the Hawkesbury Region under $1,000,000. Everything we look at needs significant work, but agents still seem very bullish, trying to convince us that these tiny, crappy homes are worth over $1m. Just a few weeks ago they were selling these dog boxes for $995,000 which blows my mind.

Do you think prices will drop and should we wait and see? We are in a very competitive marketplace it seems and our price point is very sensitive. Any advice or thoughts from property guru's. TIA.

I am a 26 year old single nurse still living with my parents and I’m looking to buy my first apartment/property.

I have a total savings of a little over $120,000 and no current dept/loans, no dependants, a credit card I pay off monthly (with a limit of $4800 which I have never met). My primary job is a registered nurse in a local hospital and I have a secondary job in retail (though debating on quitting secondary job as it’s $10+ less than nursing and I could pick overtime instead):

• FY24-25 Primary: $99,844.22
• FY24-25 Secondary: $14,038.10

My monthly income averages at a bit over $7000 and fluctuates a lot depending on what shifts I work (days vs nights, weekends, holidays). My current expenses fluctuate a lot depending how social I am and how much uber eats I buy (why im poor) but average $3000 (I could definitely save more). Currently no salary sacrificing in place.

I’m looking to buy likely an apartment (hopefully 2 bedroom) in the lower north short to northern beaches areas (expensive area I know but I have too much family and friends here to move).

Just trying to understand what I can do with this? I’m not very financially intelligent... I understand first home buyers is an option but I have heard mixed messages. Initial plan was to maybe buy, stay home and rent it out to help pay it off for a year or so but as I’ve grown older… I would very much like to move out!

Any and all advice is appreciated!!

Hey guys just want to get a rough idea on how realistic these repayments are. To me they seem doable but this will be our first property so 🤷.

We take home roughly 9K monthly and the monthly repayments would be 3.8k. Is this just a standard loan? After adding in bills and all the other fun stuff will we realistically be able to travel and live our lives? I’ve had a couple family members tell me it’s totally fine and others completely freak out saying it’s insane… thought I’d come in and raise the question here. Might be a dumb question lol…

Thanks all.

I am single, no dependants, have around 4,500 saved, have vet loan for a diploma, currently in a casual position bringing in around 1,000 a week.

Wondering if it's possible in my situation to get a property to live in.

Looking at refinancing my investment property to obtain an equity release

Was originally going with Macquarie through a broker but have been told they no longer waive notional rent for borrowers living with family (even when given a letter confirming same). This appears to be a very recent change

From my research so far, I have only found non-bank lenders that waive notional rent (such as Pepper Money and Rate Money). Of course, their interest rates are much higher (7.29% for 80% LVR IP with Pepper Money!)

Has anyone had any luck with banks other than Macquarie waiving notional rent, or non-bank lenders that don’t have crazy high interest rates?

Thanks!

Hey all

I currently have 10% savings for a home loan. My credit report is clean but hubbys has 1 default on his. It has been paid and account closed in 2024. Was for a credit card

I’m just wondering if we are able to go for the 5% government home loan scheme ( NSW) or no?

I had an underwriter raise a formal query yesterday because a client had three consecutive transactions for a local pet grooming service on their statement. They wanted written confirmation that this wasn't an undisclosed ongoing business liability. It feels like the credit teams are looking for absolutely any tiny excuse to reject a file rather than using basic common sense

I have read that some lenders have already preempted the negative gearing changes and have now tweaked their lending criteria to exclude negative gearing for investment loans. To clarify is this only in relation to property investment loans? Is this different if you're taking an investment to purchase shares/ETFs using your PPOR as collateral?

I’m wanting to contact my bank and attempt to negotiate a better rate - failing that would like to refinance.

Current 6.14% at <60 LVR with ubank

Thanks for your help!!

I see a lot of comments along the lines of “once you’ve got kids, borrowing power falls off a cliff”. It doesn’t. It steps down.

To put real numbers around it, here’s a simple benchmark using a major bank.

Two adults earning $100k each. No other debts. Normal living expenses. Employed FT and healthy deposit.

Here’s how borrowing capacity changes as dependants increase:

Kids (dependent)	Borrowing capacity	Total reduction vs no kids
0	$1.046m	–
1	$997k	−$49k
2	$957k	−$89k
3	$929k	−$117k
4 (strong swimmers)	$902k	−$144k

That works out to roughly $35–50k of borrowing power per child. It’s not a sudden drop and it’s not punitive. Each dependant just adds an assumed cost into the living expenses benchmark.

Keep in mind that this number could fall further if you have private school fees or if living costs are higher than the bank benchmarks.

There are options where banks can include private school fees in benchmarks, but those lenders are very limited.

What mortgage belief do you still hear constantly that’s either outdated, exaggerated?

Look this might sound stupid but I really wanted some advice from people who have been in or dealt with this situation.

So wife and I have made spending mistakes + incurred debt from business loss as we started our business right before COVID started (unknowingly) in Melbourne.

Either way at the moment we have quite a bit of debt which is fine on their own. However because I have some many accounts to look after and cash flow has been super tight, I have missed a few payments as well as on current arrangement with CBA home loan. Both our credit score therefore not so good and showing missed repayment.

Since then we have sold the business. With the CBA home loan is for an apartment I own, currently on sale.

I am anticipating a large lump sum from my parents (super grateful) to help us buy a house. This lump sum will clear all debt and left us just enough to afford something. We will have the salary income and be debt free.

If via HTB scheme we can afford 950k in total home and land budget.

My question is : Preferably I'd like to go through Bank of Australia for HTB. If I am able to clear all debt and has some left overs from money overseas, will I be able to get a pre approval from Bank of Aus with my situation? (Our income is around $150k with a young child)

FHB at the very bottom end of borrowing scale.

With the new changes happening, FHB grant amount dropping soon and more rate rises expected I thought I’d check and see what position I’m in.

When I enter my current info into a calculator (CBA) it shows low 400s but with a 4% pay rise expected in the next few months (still keeping me in the 70k range) it drops my amount to high 300s.

I thought earning more even still at the low amount I earn would slightly improve what I could borrow? No debt or dependants and single income with high credit rating.

One detail in the budget that I don’t think is getting enough attention is what it means for existing owner occupiers who upgrade later.

The budget language says properties held before 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 are exempt from the negative gearing changes. It also says every existing property owner can continue to negatively gear properties held before announcement.

So if you owned and lived in your home before budget night, then later upgrade and keep the old property as an investment, it appears that property may still sit under the grandfathered negative gearing rules.

That is a pretty big deal.

It means upgrading could become more attractive for existing owners. Instead of selling the old home, some may look to retain it, rent it out and continue using negative gearing, while future buyers of established investment properties face the new rules.

Obviously we still need legislation and tax advice before anyone makes decisions, but based on the current budget wording this looks like one of the more interesting unintended consequences.

Of the dozens of first home buyers I speak with every month, only a small handful have used the FHSS properly. Most people know about the 5% deposit scheme or stamp duty discounts. Far fewer realise super can also be used as part of a deposit strategy.

To be clear, it does not let you withdraw your existing super.

It lets you make extra voluntary contributions into super, then later apply to release eligible amounts plus associated earnings to help buy your first home. The current caps are $15,000 per financial year and $50,000 total. If you’re buying as a couple, both of you can use it.

Concessional contributions are generally taxed at 15% going into super, which is usually lower than your marginal tax rate.

With the financial year coming to a close, this is where it gets interesting. If a couple each contributes $15,000 before 30 June, then each contributes another $15,000 after 1 July, that’s $60,000 of gross contributions working through the FHSS across two financial years.

This is just my general perspective and you should check both the FHSS and ATO website for more details.

Looking at a few spots in the valley but everyone keeps telling me to stick to a house with land even if it is an hour away from the city

The negative gearing changes will get most of the headlines, but the CGT changes are probably the sleeper issue. From 1 July 2027, it looks like the 50% CGT discount is being replaced with indexation for CGT assets more broadly, not just investment properties.

That matters because a lot of renters trying to buy are not sitting on piles of cash in a savings account. Many are using ETFs and shares to try and build their deposit faster while house prices are moving.

So while the policy is framed around helping younger Australians into housing, there’s an awkward trade off here. The same person renting, saving aggressively and investing to build a deposit will pay much more tax under the new rules.

I get the argument for reducing distortions in property. But applying the CGT change more broadly feels like a pretty big punch in the gut for the exact cohort trying to close the deposit gap without relying on the government guarantee.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to get some opinions on whether buying around the $650k mark is realistic for me in the current market, and what I could improve to make it happen sooner.

I’m a 27-year-old single male working as a Registered Nurse with NSW Health. No dependents. I’d be using the First Home Owner schemes/grants available.

Current situation:

RN income: around $110k/year including overtime

Additional Uber income: roughly $10k–15k/year

Savings for deposit: about $35k

Salary sacrificed around $10k into super this year

Car loan: $1,000/month repayments, about $25k remaining
(Car is also used for Uber driving, but I could refinance to lower repayments if needed)

Credit card: $12k limit, currently owing around $3k

Mainly trying to understand:
Whether banks would realistically lend close to $650k in my position

How much the car loan and credit card limit would affect borrowing power

Whether I should focus on increasing savings first or paying down debt

Any strategies that helped other nurses/first home buyers get approved recently

Happy to hear honest opinions or experiences from brokers or people in similar situations.

Thanks heaps for your time.