Your deposit is probably already enough.
A 20% deposit does exactly one thing. It lets you avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), the one-off cost charged when you borrow above 80% of a property's value.
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Below that, you have three real routes, and most buyers who call us qualify for at least one:
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The First Home Guarantee, which allows a 5% deposit first home buyer purchase with no LMI for eligible applicants, because the government guarantees the shortfall.
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A family guarantor, where a parent's equity secures part of your loan. Their savings stay untouched, and their portion is usually released as your balance drops.
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Paying LMI and buying now, which is sometimes the cheapest option of the three in a suburb moving faster than the premium costs.
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Which one fits you comes down to your income, your deposit and your timing. Our mortgage brokers will tell you on the first call, in dollars.
The Queensland concessions we make sure you claim.
Queensland is more generous than most states here, and the savings change what you can afford rather than just what you pay.
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The Queensland First Home Concession reduces or removes transfer duty for eligible first home buyers, and there is a separate First Home Owner Grant for newly built homes. Queensland also applies a general home concession to any property you buy as your principal residence, which is more than Victorian or New South Wales buyers get.
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Because duty is paid in cash at settlement rather than borrowed, a five-figure saving there goes straight back into your deposit.
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Which concessions apply depends on the property. A new build out at Ripley or Caboolture and an established Queenslander in Annerley are treated differently, so we map them against your shortlist before you sign anything.
Queensland contracts work in your favour. Use it properly.
This is where Queensland beats most of the country for a first-home buyer.
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Most Queensland sales happen by private treaty on a written contract, which means your offer can be made subject to finance and building and pest. You also get a short statutory cooling-off period on private sales. You are not making an unconditional commitment the way an auction bidder in Melbourne is.
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That protection has a deadline attached, and this is the part that catches people out. Your finance date is a hard date. Miss it without an extension, and you are either unconditionally committed or in breach.
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So we do three things. We get your approval moving the day the contract is signed. We negotiate a finance date that is actually achievable rather than whatever the agent suggested. And if a valuation or a lender delay threatens it, we ask for the extension early instead of on the afternoon it expires.
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Auctions are the exception. No cooling-off, no finance condition. If you are bidding, you need to be ready beforehand.
Questions we get asked before the first call
You ask for an extension in writing before the date passes, and sellers usually grant a reasonable one. Let the date lapse without an extension, and you may be contractually bound with no finance, which is the worst position in Queensland conveyancing. We track that date from the day you sign.
Pre-approval is a strong indicator, not a guarantee. It does not include a valuation of the specific property, which is why your contract should still carry a finance condition. We will tell you where your pre-approval is genuinely solid and where the risk still sits.
Yes, on two fronts. Insurance premiums in flood-affected areas can be high enough to affect your serviceability, and some lenders take flood mapping into account at valuation. We flag it before you are committed rather than after the report lands.
Sometimes, and it depends heavily on the postcode. Several lenders cap the loan-to-value ratio in smaller regional and mining-affected towns, which means a larger deposit even if your income is high. Tell us the town early because it changes which lenders we approach.
OUR SERVICES
Compliance & Contact
End-to-end care, and what that actually means
You deal with one person at The Queensland Mortgage Company (TQMC) from the first call through to settlement, and after it.
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We are the mortgage brokers Brisbane buyers use because we know the local details. We know which lenders are relaxed about small units and which will not touch a serviced apartment. We know how flood mapping affects a valuation in parts of South East Queensland. Our seasoned brokers compare more than 60 lenders rather than selling one product, and we chase the lender so you don't sit on hold during your lunch break.
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Then we review your loan each year, because the rate that was sharp at settlement rarely still is three years later.