Saving For A House Deposit In 4 Easy Steps

• Save For a Home Loan Deposit
• Know What You Can Afford
• Be Realistic

In these current economic times it can seem a daunting prospect to be able to afford your very own home. But the first step in this process is to start saving for a deposit.

House prices have slowed in recent times but the trend is still upwards in most parts of the country (at least in the capital cities). In this environment it can seem like an uphill battle trying to save enough for a deposit. but it is achievable.

There are 4 steps you need to take in order to make saving for a house deposit easier:

Step #1 – Pay Off Any Debt

The first thing you need to do is to pay off any bad debt you currently have. This will allow you to borrow more and will look better to the financial institution when you apply for the loan.

Not to mention allowing you to repay more on your mortgage once you have your new home.

Step #2 – Start Saving

This may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many people procrastinate on this. Even if it is only $20 per week – start putting something away and you will be surprised how quickly it adds up.

Finding The Money

Initially, you may think that you cannot save nearly as much as you need for a deposit, but if you have a hard look at your budget and the bills you pay each month, you may just find some significant savings.

Automate Your Savings

Once you have decide on how much you can save, set up an online high-interest saving account and set up an automatic deposit into that account from your main account. This is the secret to saving – automate it. You will never miss what you don’t see.

Step #3 – Have a Target

Having a solid target will not only help you save but will guide you to know how much you will need to save.

Aiming for a 20% deposit is a good idea as you will avoid paying any Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which the money lender will require you to pay if you don’t meet the 20% deposit minimum.

Step #4 – Know What You Can Afford

Whether you are aiming for 20% deposit or less, you need to know how much you will need to save. To arrive at this figure you will need to know what sort or property and the suburbs you can afford.

Start looking at websites like realestate.com.au to find out how much units, townhouses or houses cost in the suburbs you want to live. This will give you a good idea on what your home will likely cost.

Use this price to find what sort of deposit you will need. Assuming you are aiming for that 20% deposit and the average price of a house in your favourite suburb is around $400,000, you would need to save $80,000.

Remember to keep in mind all the costs involved with buying a property, like Stamp Duty (although this may be waived if you are a first home buyer), agent fees, and so on. Keep these in mind when saving.

Now you have a target amount in mind, you can start saving as hard as you can. You can easily work out how much you need to save using an online calculator. Plugging in the numbers you can easily see how long it will take you and how much you will need to put away to reach your goal.

If you find that it’s just not achievable, you can always look at a cheaper property (perhaps look in other suburbs) or settle on a lower deposit.

The key here is to be as realistic as possible.

Have you started saving for your deposit yet? How is it going?

Queenslanders Credit Union offers an array of awesome home loans and car loans, an online savings account, and useful everyday transaction accounts to suit every need, as well as offering insurance and financial advice. Find out more about us.