Ben and Zoe buy their first home

Ben and Zoe are in their 20s and have been talking lately about buying their first home together.  Ben is an academic at a University in a 3 year contract role and hopes his contract will be renewed, but he wants to make sure they will not lose the new house if it takes him several months to find another job.  Zoe works full time in marketing for a big corporation.  She would like to take time off work when they have their first child, which they think will be in a couple of years’ time. 

​

Ben and Zoe want to make sure they can afford the repayments on a mortgage even if interest rates rise and they also want to have plans in place for any gaps in employment.  Their Gold Leaf Financial Planner calculated how much money to set aside for gaps in employment, how much to save as a deposit, how much to borrow to take advantage of the first home buyers government concessions and to make sure they can repay the mortgage when interest rates rise.  The planner also recommended insurance cover that would help them keep the house in the event either of them became ill or disabled and unable to work or, if they were to pass away. 

By saving a 20% deposit, structuring the loan and borrowing what they can afford, they will save approximately $180,000 in interest and repay their home loan many years sooner.

​