It depends on your situation, but many first home buyers get in with a 5-10% deposit using government schemes like the First Home Guarantee, or a full 20% if you'd rather avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance. These schemes are only available if you're buying to live in the property yourself, they don't apply if you're purchasing as an investment. You may also be eligible for stamp duty concessions or the First Home Owner Grant depending on your state. We can connect you with a broker to map out exactly what's possible for you.

That is normal, particularly for first home buyers balancing lifestyle, commute, affordability and future plans. We help you turn broad preferences into a practical location strategy. That includes discussing what matters most to you, researching suitable areas and explaining the trade-offs between different suburbs. The goal is not to tell you where you should live, it is to help you make the decision with better information.

Yes. That is part of the value of having an independent advocate. If your preferred location, property type and budget do not align, we will explain why and work through the available choices with you. That might mean changing the location, adjusting the property type, reconsidering certain features or waiting until your position changes. We would rather have an honest conversation early than encourage you into a purchase that does not suit your needs.

Yes. Before recommending a property, we assess it against your agreed brief and examine the factors that could affect its suitability, condition, value and future resale appeal. Depending on the property, this may include comparable sales, location and street quality, planning considerations, building and pest findings, owners-corporation information and other relevant risks. We explain what we find so you can make the final decision with your eyes open.

Absolutely. Our job is not to get you to buy as quickly as possible. If the due diligence reveals a material issue, the price exceeds what we believe is reasonable or the property no longer fits your brief, we will tell you. Missing one property is frustrating. Buying the wrong one can affect you for years.

Same expertise and negotiation, different lens. For investors, we're optimising for wealth building. For home buyers, we're optimising for how you'll actually live in the property, so the priorities and the properties we bring you look different. One thing doesn't change: we're paid a fixed fee either way, so we've got no reason to talk you into paying more for either kind of property.

It happens, and it's rarely the end of the story. We keep searching and adjust the brief where needed, so a missed opportunity doesn't derail your timeline.

We don't provide financial advice ourselves, but we work closely with brokers and financial advisers, and can connect you with one if you don't already have someone, so your finance and property search move in step.

It varies depending on the market and how specific your brief is, but most clients are settled within a few months of starting. We'll give you a realistic timeframe once we understand what you're looking for.