First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) Update

Over the past couple of months, more detail has been released around the Federal Government's new FHLDS due to commence in January 2020.

This scheme has been designed to assist first home buyers purchase their own home without Lender's Mortgage Insurance (LMI) when borrowing up to 95%. Eligibility criteria includes:

• Must be an Australian Citizen

• Income thresholds of up to $125,000 per annum for singles and $200,000 per annum for couples (assessed in the financial year preceding the financial year in which the loan is entered into)

• A maximum purchase price of $400,000 for Perth and $300,000 for the rest of WA

• Loan must be for an owner occupied property with principal and interest (P&I) repayments

This scheme will only be offered through certain lenders and today the first of these was announced, NAB. It was also revealed that applicants under this scheme will have access to the same interest rates as any other customer. You can access the official FHLDS factsheet with further information here. The latest updates will be available online at: https://www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/