First Home Unlocked

Is now a good time to buy? It's the question Jack's hearing most from first home buyers right now. With headlines about falling property prices, negative equity and interest rates everywhere, sellers are sitting tight, and pre-approved buyers are struggling to find anything worth buying. Mortgage brokers Jack Elliott and Chris Bates cut through the noise to explain what's really going on: why so f...

Making an offer is where a lot of first home buyers get stuck. How do you make an offer? How much do you offer? What do you say to the agent? Nobody explains the process, and once you're in it, things move quickly and the pressure builds. In this episode, Jack sits down with buyers agents Veronica Morgan and Meighan Wells to walk through the offer process for a private sale, from preparation throu...

Most first home buyers walk into an open home already at a disadvantage. The styling is there to make you feel something, the agent is warm, and everything on show has been prepared by people who do this professionally. That's not a failure of judgement, it's a sales process working exactly as intended. What happens between that first inspection and signing a contract is where the real work sits,...

You open the apps, set up a few alerts, and start going to inspections. A few months in, nothing is working, everything sells for well above what the guide said, and you're starting to wonder how anyone is affording it. Veronica Morgan and Meighan Wells see this constantly, and they say the frustration is almost always because of a search that was set up the wrong way from day one. In this episode...

There's a lot of noise in the market right now. The federal budget changes are locked in, the media coverage has turned negative, and first home buyer loan applications have actually dropped rather than risen. If you're planning to buy your first home, it's hard to know what any of that means for you. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates give a market update on where things really stand p...

We talk about asset quality constantly on this podcast because it's one of the biggest decisions you'll make as a first home buyer. But understanding why it matters and actually knowing how to assess a property in the real world are two different things. That's why Meighan Wells, a buyers agent with over 22 years of experience and founder of Property Pursuit Advisors, is here to break down exactly...

We've talked a lot on this podcast about getting your finance sorted, but as we always say, the most important decision you'll make is the actual property you purchase. That's why we're kicking off a six-part series with two of Australia's most experienced buyers agents, Veronica Morgan and Meighan Wells from the Home Buyer Academy. Not every first home buyer knows what a buyers agent actually doe...

If you listened to Episode 37, you heard about the federal budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax. But there's a conversation we kept coming back to that deserves its own episode. It's not just about what you buy today, it's about who's going to buy it from you in the future. Since that episode, Chris has written a full report exploring exactly that question. It's called "Who Buy...

If you've been reading the news or scrolling through social media this week, you've probably seen some headlines about first home buyers using the 5% deposit scheme and something called negative equity. There is a real risk worth understanding. But for every first home buyer using this scheme, there's a clear strategy that goes with it. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates address the hea...

If you're self-employed, banks will usually need more from you before they'll lend compared to a PAYG employee. Understanding what banks are looking for means you can present your income in the best possible way and set yourself up for success. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down how banks assess self-employed income. We talk through the standard two year approach, why one yea...

The Federal Budget just changed the property market overnight, and the government is calling it a win for first home buyers. If you're a first home buyer, you're probably seeing a lot of headlines and wondering what it actually means for you and your plans. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down the major budget announcements and what they mean for the property market. We talk th...

Casual and contract workers make up more than a quarter of the Australian workforce. If you're a casual or contract worker, there are absolutely ways to borrow. It just comes down to understanding how banks look at your income and making sure you're with the right lender for your situation. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down how banks assess casual and contract income. We tal...

Income is one of the biggest drivers of your borrowing capacity, but banks don't just look at how much you earn. They look at how you earn it and depending on your situation, the same salary can produce very different results at different lenders. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates go deeper into how banks assess different types of PAYG income. They break down what happens if you've rec...

Borrowing capacity isn't just about your income, and it's not the same at every bank. Banks are also looking at your deposit, your debts, your spending, your credit history, and even the property you're buying to decide how much they're willing to lend you and how risky your loan looks to them. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates walk through exactly what banks assess when you apply for...

There's a lot happening right now. Another interest rate rise, global uncertainty, fuel and supply issues, and a federal budget just around the corner. If you're a first home buyer, you might be wondering what all of this actually means for you and your plans. In this market update episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates sit down to talk through what's going on in the market, what first home buyers...

If you've saved a significant deposit, received a gift from family, or come into money through inheritance, you're in a strong position as a first home buyer. But having more cash doesn't automatically mean the best decision is to put it all into the property. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates talk through the strategic options worth considering when you have a large deposit. We explor...

Understanding how offset accounts and redraw facilities work can save you thousands in interest and years off your home loan. But most first home buyers have never been taught the difference between them or how to use them strategically. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down what an offset account actually is, how redraw works differently in the background, and why the choice be...

Buying your first home is a big decision, and it often comes with a lot of external pressure. Pressure from family, friends, media headlines, and sometimes even from yourself through comparison and the fear of missing out. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates talk through the most common pressures first home buyers face and how to navigate them without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. We ex...

In early February 2026, there was an interest rate rise announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Jack Elliott and Chris Bates talk through what this actually means for first home buyers and how to respond without feeling rushed or pressured. We break down the practical impact of a rate rise on both monthly repayments and borrowing capacity, and share real examples so you can understand wh...

If buying your first home is part of your plan for 2026, this two-part series is designed to give you a clear, step-by-step framework to follow. In Part 2, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates move into the action phase of the buying journey. This is what happens once you’re pre-approved and ready to start looking at properties. We walk through how to assess asset quality, what to look for at inspections,...

If buying your first home is part of your plan for 2026, this two-part series is designed to give you a clear, step-by-step framework to follow. In Part 1, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates walk through the preparation phase of buying your first home. This is the groundwork you’ll want to do before inspections or making offers, and it sets you up to move forward with confidence. We cover how to get cle...

In this final episode for 2025, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates reflect on the biggest lessons and insights from working with first home buyers over the past year. We talk through what changed in the first home buyer landscape in 2025, including the expansion of the First Home Guarantee (now the 5% Deposit Scheme), and what those changes meant in real life for buyers navigating their first purchase....

The Federal Government’s new Help to Buy shared equity scheme has officially opened, and for some first home buyers it could help bridge the gap between borrowing capacity and the cost of a quality home. But shared equity also comes with rules, restrictions, and long-term trade-offs that need to be understood upfront. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down how the Help to Buy sch...

Interest rates are one of the first things first home buyers focus on. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down what an interest rate actually is, who sets it, and why it changes over time in clear, simple terms. You’ll learn the difference between fixed, variable and split loans, how the RBA and banks each play a role in setting your rate, and why today’s rates feel so different c...

Lender’s Mortgage Insurance is sometimes a misunderstood part of buying your first home. Most people know it shows up when your deposit is under 20%, but not everyone understands what it actually is, why banks charge it, or when paying it can genuinely help you get into the market sooner. In this episode, Jack Elliott and Chris Bates break down LMI in simple, practical terms. How it works, how muc...