First-Home Buyer Mistakes to Avoid
Finding a home you like can make every other decision feel urgent. Set up your budget, finance checks and professional support before that moment, so you can judge a property against a plan you have already thought through.
These four common mistakes are useful checkpoints for your first purchase. The government assistance section includes Queensland programs relevant to Gold Coast buyers.
Purchase budget · Government assistance · Before signing
1. Spending the whole budget on the purchase price
Make three lists: money needed before settlement, money needed at settlement and expenses after you move in. Include conveyancing, inspections, transfer duty if applicable, registration, lender charges, insurance and moving. Then allow for rates, body corporate levies where relevant and maintenance.
Ask for an estimate of the total cash needed to complete the purchase, showing when each payment falls due. A contract deposit may be needed well before the lender advances the loan. Confirm any grant’s approval and payment timing before relying on it for that deposit.
Decide how much money you want left after settlement, then compare repayments with your normal household spending. Our repayment calculator can help you test different loan amounts and rates. ASIC Moneysmart’s buying guide explains the broader process.
2. Treating an estimate as approval
A borrowing estimate helps you begin planning. Pre-approval is a conditional lender assessment, with an expiry date and requirements still to meet. The property also needs to be acceptable to the lender. A confident conversation about your budget does not establish that those checks are complete.
Keep the written conditions handy, and tell your broker about job changes, leave, new credit or changed spending while you search. Use our pre-approval checklist to organise the documents and questions for your application.
3. Assuming all first-home assistance works the same way
A guarantee supports the lender, a grant contributes money, a duty concession reduces tax and shared equity gives the government a stake in the home’s value. Start with the type of help you need, then check each program separately. The summaries below were reviewed on 10 September 2026; your contract date, household and property determine which rules apply.
Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme: a lender guarantee
Eligible first-home buyers may purchase with a deposit from 5% without lenders mortgage insurance. There are no income caps, but citizenship or permanent residency, prior ownership, price-cap, owner-occupancy and lender credit criteria still apply. Eligible single parents or legal guardians have a separate pathway with a minimum 2% deposit. Read the official scheme overview.
The guarantee supports the lender; it does not pay your deposit or repayments. Under the July 2026 first-home buyer guide, applicants must use as much savings as possible in line with lender policy and scheme rules. A loan is not eligible where savings can cover a 20% deposit after purchase costs. Read the current information guide (PDF) and confirm the assessment with a participating lender.
Queensland First Home Owner Grant: support for eligible new homes
The Queensland Government confirms the $30,000 grant continues for eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026. It applies to eligible new homes valued at less than $750,000 including land; established homes do not qualify. Contract date, applicant, prior-ownership and residence rules matter. Check the current grant summary and QRO eligibility and payment requirements.
Queensland transfer duty concessions: separate from the grant
For eligible established first homes, no transfer duty is payable on the residential component at values up to $700,000; a partial first-home concession may apply below $800,000. Read QRO’s established first-home concession rules.
Eligible new first-home transactions entered into from 1 May 2025 can receive a full concession on the residential component without a purchase-price cap. Check the separate new-home concession or vacant-land concession.
For these first-home concessions, transactions from 1 August 2026 also require applicants to be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees. Ownership and occupancy rules still apply. Have your solicitor assess mixed-use property or buyers with different eligibility.
Australian Government Help to Buy: shared equity
Help to Buy is different from a loan guarantee. With a minimum 2% deposit, eligible buyers may receive a government equity contribution of up to 30% for an existing home or 40% for a new home. The government shares changes in the property’s value, and its share must eventually be repaid. Income, citizenship, property and ongoing conditions apply, and it cannot be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme. Read the official Help to Buy eligibility and exit rules.
Queensland Boost to Buy: check availability before planning around it
Boost to Buy is a separate Queensland shared equity program. At this review date, Queensland Treasury states that Round 2 South East Queensland allocations are exhausted, while regional allocations remain available. Gold Coast buyers should check the latest allocation status before relying on it. Applications use the scheme’s approved lender, Unity Bank. Read Queensland Treasury’s current Boost to Buy information.
First Home Super Saver Scheme: eligible voluntary super contributions
This scheme can let eligible buyers release certain voluntary super contributions and associated earnings for a first home. It is not a general withdrawal of your super balance. Check eligibility, tax treatment and determination and release timing with the ATO before signing a contract or changing contributions. The official First Home Super Saver overview links to the ATO’s detailed process.
For each program you are considering, record the application channel, property cap, funds needed, payment timing and conditions after purchase. Confirm whether it can be combined with other assistance, whether the lender participates and whether Axon can access that lender. Keep your repayment budget in view throughout.
4. Leaving contract and property checks too late
Arrange a solicitor or conveyancer before you need an urgent contract review. Ask them to explain the finance conditions, deadlines, title and auction obligations before you sign or bid. Give your broker the proposed finance and settlement dates so the lending work can be assessed against those deadlines.
Arrange appropriate inspections and review body corporate information for a unit or townhouse. Include planned works and levies in your questions. Check local hazards and obtain an insurance quote for the actual address; a property you can buy still needs to be one you can afford to own.
In Queensland, responsibility for insuring a property can begin before settlement. Confirm the timing for your contract with your solicitor and insurer; the Queensland Government explains why this matters.
Our home loan selection service explains how we help prepare and compare the lending options around your purchase.
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