The main eligibility conditions for First Home Owner Grants (FHOG) are:

• That you are an Australian citizen aged over 18;
• That you have never owned property before; And
• That you are buying or building a home that you will reside in on a daily basis – not an investment property.

Your eligibility may be affected if your spouse has previously owned a property or received a first-time homeowner’s grant.

Regardless of the number of buyers involved, only one application per property is required (and only one payment per property is made). The easiest and quickest way to apply for homeownership assistance is through the same financial institution you take out your home loan from, often called “approved agents.”

Diamantidis says that while the grant can increase your affordability (the amount you can pay for a property), you can’t necessarily rely on it to increase your home loan deposit.

“The timing of payment of FHOGs can absolutely vary, and so it is safest to simply ensure that you have sufficient funds for the deposit and other upfront costs of purchasing a property, without depending on the grant,” says Diamantidis.

“For example, in some cases the grant may be paid at settlement if you are purchasing an established home, while for some new builds the funds are paid once construction has started. »

Additionally, according to Diamantidis, lenders generally don’t view the FHOG as proof of actual savings and your ability to repay a loan.

“The biggest impacts on borrowing capacity are income and expenses, because once the property and loan are settled, these are the main determinants of your ability to repay the loan.

“FHOGs can provide valuable assistance in helping many first-time buyers get started in the property market, but I would encourage them to view this as a bonus rather than a deciding factor in purchasing a home .”

We’ve broken down the grants offered state by state, including the basic criteria you must meet.