The First Home Owner’s Grant Guide 2017: Victoria

Searching for and buying your perfect first home is an exciting time. Congratulations for taking the first steps towards it! You may have heard about the First Home Owner Grant, especially now that you’re in the market for your first home. There are also duty concessions available from the Victorian Government to help you on your way with this important step in your life.

This article will help you understand what’s on offer, and provide some important information about eligibility for these initiatives. You may be eligible for a First Home Owner Grant of $10,000 as a first home buyer. It’s a grant available for eligible first home buyers who enter a contract to build or buy a new home.

Further, as an eligible first home buyer, you may get a reduction of the amount of stamp duty you have to pay. It will depend on the value of your new home, a full exemption, or reduced rate of duty can be applied, given that definite residency requirements and other eligibility criteria are met.

How much is the First Home Owner Grant?

The current First Home Owner Grant is $10,000. This amount is payable to eligible applicants who purchase or construct a brand new home. In any case, the purchase price or cost of construction can’t exceed $750,000.

Who are eligible applicants?

It’s important to make sure that the applicant is someone who will be on title as an owner of the home. The application must satisfy all five eligibility criteria for the grant. Before getting into the five eligibility criteria, it’s important to think about whether an applicant has a spouse or partner. It is important because the spouse or partner will also have to fulfil some requirements as part of the application.

What is meant by a spouse or partner?

Does the legislation define what a spouse or partner is? A spouse is someone to whom you are married legally. A partner is someone you’ve lived with in an honest domestic relationship. The applicant’s spouse or partner can’t have received a grant in any state or territory of Australia before in order to be deemed eligible, and can’t also have owned any residential property at all before July 1, 2000.

What are the criteria for eligibility? 

 An application must meet the five eligibility criteria to be qualified for the First Home Owner Grant. As with an applicant’s spouse or partner, no applicant can have previously received a grant from any state or territory of Australia. Secondly, the applicant or their spouse or partner must not have owned residential property, whether on their own or with some other person before July 1, 2000.

Ordinarily, an applicant must be a natural person aged at least 18 years at the time of settlement or completion of construction. Furthermore, an applicant must also be a permanent resident and an Australian citizen or New Zealand citizen holding a special category visa. There is also an important citizenship requirement that must be satisfied. To be qualified for the grant, the property purchased must be occupied as a home for a continuous period of at least twelve months, commencing within twelve months of completion of the eligible transaction.

In most cases, the lender will assist the applicants with their application. For more information on the First Home Owner Grant in Victoria, you may contact Pearl Financial.

This guide was correct at the time of publishing, however we encourage you to speak to your trusted professional adviser or check with the relevant government department to ensure that benefits, conditions & requirements have not changed.

Author: Shane