The Home Run: The First Home Buyers Guide

Today, we're back with another mailbag episode, where Michael is answering your burning questions about purchasing your first home. In this episode, Michael explains how to determine your borrowing capacity, and shares exactly what lenders consider when determining how much you're able to loan. He then breaks down the different kinds of loans, including variable, fixed-rate, interest only, and pri...

Andrew Wheatley is the Owner and Lead Mortgage Broker of Wheatley Finance. With over 20 years of industry experience, Andrew has helped countless clients demystify their mortgages. He was also awarded the FBAA Victoria Broker of the Year Award, in both 2021 and 2022.  In this episode, Andrew explains all things guarantor loans, including what it is, and how it works. He also debunks some of the co...

Paul Benson is the Principal Financial Planner at Guidance Financial Services. With over two decades of experience in the financial advisory industry, Paul has helped countless clients achieve their financial goals, including saving for their first home deposit. In this episode, we'll be discussing the big challenge that many first-home buyers face - the deposit. Paul will share some common mistak...

Zeher Khalil is the Founder of Site Inspections, a Victorian firm of expert property inspectors. Also joining us is Ed Waldman, Site Inspections Sales and Marketing Manager. Site Inspections has recently risen to internet stardom, with Zeher's inspection videos going viral, earning him the title of "The TikTok Inspector".  In this episode, Zeher and Ed explain how they get started in TikTok, befor...

Jarrod McCabe is the Director of Wakelin Property Advisory, a property advisory group that focuses on the importance of asset selection. With over 20 years of experience in the industry across valuations and investment advisory, Jarrod is proud to offer a skillset that delivers for clients. In today's episode, Jarrod explains what asset selection actually means, and breaks down foundational concep...

Veronica Morgan is a Residential Property Expert and Buyers Agent, as well as the host of two television shows, including 'Location, Location, Location Australia'. As one of the most respected voices in the Australian property landscape, Veronica now shares her tips on her podcasts, including the excellent 'First Home Buyers Guide'. In this episode, Veronica explains the biggest mistakes that firs...

Emily Wallace is the Founder of Emily Wallace Buyer's Advocate, a business that specialises in buyer's advocacy for first-home buyers. Emily has a wealth of knowledge in buyer's advocacy, and is passionate about helping make the process accessible for everyone. In today's episode, Emily shares how the recent Reserve Bank changes are impacting property transactions, and just what this means for fir...

Kent Lardner is the Director of Suburb Trends, a property research firm that utilises statistics to rank the top streets in every suburb of Australia. Suburb Trends is trusted by some of the biggest names in the Australian property industry and is a quick, easy way to help narrow down your options when house-hunting. In today's episode, Kent explains the trends he's seeing in the market right now,...

The New South Wales government has recently introduced a new initiative called First Home Buyer Choice, which means that first-home buyers will have the opportunity to pay a property tax on their land's value, as opposed to a large upfront stamp duty.  In today's episode, Michael breaks down the latest changes for first-home buyers in NSW, with the First Home Buyer Choice legislation that has come...

Welcome to our very first listener mailbag episode, where we're answering your burning questions about the home-buying process!  In today's episode, Michael explains what to look for when choosing a mortgage broker, including what questions to ask to ensure you're getting the best broker for your needs. He also breaks down the general home-buying process and shares his tips for the average person...

Lan Ta is a Buyers Agent and the Owner of Chic Buyers Agent in Sydney's inner-west. We're lucky to have Lan back with us again, after her last appearance on our episode 'Doing your research: How to find your perfect property', where she explained the process of how to research properly when looking for your perfect property. In today's episode, Lan talks us through the crucial process of getting y...

Belinda Botzolis comes from a diverse background, having worked in property valuation, property tax, and now as a property strategist in her current role with Metropole. Metropole provides strategic property and wealth advice, and Belinda is passionate about her work and finding quality properties. In today's episode, Belinda takes us through the important idea of taking emotion out of property pu...

Belinda Botzolis is a Property Strategist for Metropole, where she works to provide strategic property and wealth advice. Belinda has a diverse background, which includes experience in property valuation and property tax. She has a keen eye for identifying quality properties, and a wealth of knowledge about identifying quality properties. In today's episode, Belinda explains how to identify a qual...

Janice Padovani is a Sydney-based property lawyer, who works as the principal at JP Property Lawyers. She's assisted countless first-home buyers with the legal portion of purchasing their property and is a wealth of knowledge on the topic. In today's episode, you'll hear the final part of our three-part series on the key terms you need to know when buying your first house. Michael and Janice discu...

Janice Padovani is a Principal Lawyer at JP Property Lawyers. She is an experienced property lawyer based in Sydney, who has a wealth of knowledge about the legal side of purchasing a property.  In this episode, you'll hear even more must-know legal terms for when you're buying your first home. Michael asks Janice about title searches, caveats, and more. These are all crucial terms to underst...

Janice Padovani is an experienced property lawyer, who currently works in Sydney as the Principal Lawyer of JP Property Lawyers. She has assisted countless first-home buyers with the legal aspects of purchasing their properties and is a wealth of knowledge on the subject. Legal jargon can sometimes seem incomprehensible, but it’s one of the most important things you’ll need to understa...

Monique Verga, buyer's agent at Amy Lunardi Property in Melbourne, has over 10 years of experience across the property market. Before becoming a buyer's agent, Monique worked as a sales agent, where she was involved in over 500 transactions. Now, she's here to help you get the most out of your conversations with real estate agents.  Monique shares her unique insight on both sides of the prope...

This is the second part of our conversation with John Ng, an experienced mortgage broker, and the owner of Money Jar Concept, a brokerage based in Melbourne's Inner West. After five years of running his own business, John has a wealth of knowledge that he loves sharing with first-home buyers in his community.  In this episode, John breaks down some of the unique terms you may hear from banks...

This is the first of a two-part episode with John Ng, an experienced mortgage broker and owner of Money Jar Concept, a brokerage based in the inner west of Melbourne. John is passionate about supporting his community through providing ethical guidance on all things finance. In this episode, John introduces himself and shares his experiences as a mortgage broker, and how his business was born out o...

Rhiannan Jenkins is a seasoned buyer’s agent and property consultant at Hunter James, one of Sydney’s premier buyers agencies. In today’s episode, we are focusing on the hidden or commonly unknown costs of buying your first home. In this episode, Rhiannan discusses some of the most commonly known costs, the unknown costs as well as providing some details on what these costs actua...

Lan Ta is a buyers agent based in Sydney who assists people to reach their property goals sooner via her company, Chic Buyers Agent. In today's episode, we’ll be focused on a topic that was requested by a listener, ‘How to research for property’. We’ll discuss what a first home buyer needs to consider when researching a property, how to create a property wish list and how t...

Larni Spillsbury is a credit repair expert and Director of Wipe Credit Clean, a company focused on assisting people to repair or improve their credit score. Today, you’ll hear about all things credit scores. A topic that’s not often discussed but one that can have an important role in your ability to get your home loan. We’ll explore what a credit score is, why your credit score...

Betsy Westcott is a Financial Wellness Coach with a background in financial planning, who’s passionate about helping people find financial freedom by understanding and nurturing their relationship with money. She’s also the Chief Revenue Officer of an upcoming FinTech company called Fupay. As a first home buyer, understanding and developing good money habits is a key foundational conce...

Elaine Davies is a Sydney-based buyers agent with over 15 years of experience. She's the author of "Mind, Body, Sold", a holistic guide to buying property like a pro. And she's also the Founder of New Road Property, a buyers agency dedicated to helping people realise their property dreams. In today’s episode, Elaine discusses what a buyers agent is and does, and how they can help first home...

Evelyn Clark is a Director and Finance Broker at Everlend, a mortgage and finance broker based in St Kilda, Melbourne. Everlend has a focus on empowering and educating their customers to make their own informed financial decisions. In today’s episode, we’ll walk you through the role a mortgage broker plays in the first home buyer's journey. We'll break down what a mortgage broker actua...