The First Home Owners Grant

Authored By: Tracey Anderson

The Australian federal government introduced the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) in 2000 to compensate for the GST (goods and services tax) and to make buying a home easier for all Australians. Since that time, this popular grant has helped people in every state to buy their first home. As a result of this grant, as well as other economic factors, homeownership in Australia is now at an all-time high.

Depending on your lender, you may be able to use the $7,000 grant as part of your down payment. Not all lenders will allow it to be used in this way however, so if that is your intent, take the time to shop around and compare lenders. The mortgage market is highly competitive, and more lenders are starting to allow the grant to be used as down payment.

There may be circumstances where you may prefer to stay with a certain lender, even if that lender does not allow the funds to be used as down payment; for example, if the lender offers the most attractive interest rate, or lower fees than other lenders. Buyers must balance the cash they have available for down payment against these other factors that may make the loan less costly overall. Even if you do not use it as a down payment though, there are many other practical uses for the Grant. The process of purchasing a home entails many expenses. The Grant may be used to offset any of these expenses as the buyer sees fit. For example, you may use it to offset stamp duty or insurance, real estate agent fees or other mortgage-related costs, such as points or application fees.

The Grant is administered by each state or territorial government. Most first-time buyers will qualify for the grant; specific requirements are available online on the FHOG website (http://www.firsthome.gov.au/). Qualifications are very similar, regardless of your state. You must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, and you must be a natural person--in other words, not a corporation. Also, each applicant and applicant's spouse must not own, or have owned property in Australia in the past, even if it is property that is held with another individual. None of the applicants may have received the Grant previously. The Grant is meant for owner-occupants. Applicants must be buying the property for living in, and be prepared to occupy it within a year of purchase.

The Grant is not means-tested and is therefore available to all applicants regardless of income category. The grant is not taxable. In addition to the Grant, you may also be eligible for exemption from conveyance duty, depending on your state.

Copyright 2006 Tracey Anderson

Tracey Anderson is a mortgage broker specialising in helping Australian homebuyers find the right mortgage. For more information visit MortgageMall (www.mortgagemall.com.au).

Article Source: http://www.FinanceNook.com
Your One-Stop Quality Finance Article Source

Home | Loans | Mortgages-refinance

Read Additional Related Articles from the Mortgages-Refinance Category

Listed below are more articles related to the above article.

People interested in the above article "The First Home Owners Grant" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

A New Mortgage Elimination Scam - By : Jeanette Joy Fisher
Self Certificate Mortgages – Prove Yourself! - By : Joe Kenny
Fixed Rate Mortgages – Know Your Rate! - By : Joe Kenny
Remortgage And Its Advantages - By : Amanda Thompson
Tips for Mortgage Refinancing and Debt Consolidation - By : Natalie Aranda
Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Payment – Things You Need To Know - By : James Calvin
Growing Problem In Real Estate - Mortgage Fraud - By : Glenn Ginsburg
Finding The Right Mortgage Company - By : James Calvin
Finding The Best Equity Home Loan Rate - By : Oliver Turner
Mortgage Lenders And How To Find Them - By : James Calvin

Read more related articles in Home | Loans | Mortgages-refinance

Return Home

FinanceNook.com Home

Featured Sites

Internet Marketing
Website marketing strategies and tips for promoting a business online

Small Business Marketing
How to get more customers or clients than you ever dreamed possible

Social Bookmarking

Bookmark on del.icio.us

Popular Articles

RSS Feeds

FinanceNook.com Home | Top of Page

United States of America . United Kingdom . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam. Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Chile . China . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Ireland . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Morocco . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Sahara . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tomé & Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tongo . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Tuvalu . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Yemen . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe

Template Design by Larry Lim | Powered by Article Dashboard