Under the MyHome blueprint, the Tasmanian government will contribute up to 40 per cent of the cost of a new home, or 30 per cent of an existing home.<\/p>\n
It will have to be paid out within 30 years \u2014 through either selling the property or purchasing the government’s share at the current market value.<\/p>\n
Going in with the government is the only way the NDIS call centre employee can afford his first home.<\/p>\n
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Mr Huitema says neither he nor his partner are particularly well paid. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n
“Me and my partner, I think if I’m being self-aware, we’re a bit lower on the socio-economic scale,” Mr Huitema said.<\/p>\n
“We’re honest workers, but at the end of the day, neither of us are particularly well paid.”<\/p>\n
The most he can afford to pay is $540,000, which according to the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania is lower than the median house price of $602,500 in his area, Launceston.<\/p>\n
But first, many things have to fall into place \u2014 all at once \u2014 for him to use the scheme.<\/p>\n
MyHome requirements:<\/p>\n
Settlement for house and land packages takes up to 115 days; existing homes 90 days; new builds 70 days<\/p>\n
Income limits apply but not for all, with first-home buyers who qualify for the First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Concession and purchase an existing home exempt<\/p>\n
A building inspection report is required for existing properties<\/p>\n
It can take 90 days to reach a settlement through the scheme, so Mr Huitema will have to find a vendor willing to wait.<\/p>\n
To purchase an existing property, a couple’s annual income cannot exceed $112,468 \u2014 although this test does not apply to some first-home buyers.<\/p>\n
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He will be competing against buyers who can present an unconditional offer. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n
Participants have to find a property that is in good enough condition for the government to want to invest in it, or build a new home.<\/p>\n
‘I have massive concerns’: Home owner told bank he didn’t sign payment form<\/a><\/p>\n When Matthew Mapley questioned why the bank had paid his builder for unfinished works, it said it had his written authority \u2014 except he hadn’t signed it.<\/p>\n Mr Huitema will be competing against investors who can present an unconditional offer as opposed to his many ifs and buts \u2014 pending the approval of a building inspector, government and bank.<\/p>\n “I feel like I have to offer quite a bit more to sweeten the pot and make it worth it,” he said.<\/p>\n He has indicated to about 15 real estate agencies his interest to buy through the MyHome scheme.<\/p>\n “I got one call back,” he said.<\/p>\n “It’s hard to say if it’s the MyHome scheme or it’s just the way the market is being.”<\/p>\n His offer, although it was the highest, was knocked back. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n One real estate agent laid it bare to a first-home buyer, who had fruitlessly been making offers through the scheme, including three that were the highest.<\/p>\n “MyHome is a great scheme but unfortunately when going against other offers, vendors tend to go with an offer that is less of a time frame,” the agent wrote in an email seen by the ABC.<\/p>\n ‘Not many people want to give away a home’<\/p>\n Penny Connor from EIS Property said of the two MyHome buyers she had had, one was successful.<\/p>\n “They dangled a bit of carrot to the owner, I think,” she said.<\/p>\n “Obviously a significantly more amount of money.”<\/p>\n She said the “drawn-out process” made these offers “a little less attractive to some owners”.<\/p>\n Tough competition likely for co-ownership scheme<\/a><\/p>\n The Help to Buy scheme will open to applicants soon. However, new research finds almost half a million households could be eligible for just 10,000 places in the co-ownership scheme.<\/p>\n “We’re acting for our vendors, and we want to get the best result for them,” she said.<\/p>\n “So, of course you’re going to recommend something that’s far quicker.”<\/p>\n She said most of her properties in Hobart were of the higher price mark, while the more affordable ones \u2014 especially ones in good condition \u2014 remained “very highly sought after”.<\/p>\n “Unless you actually have a very generous owner or seller, who’s pretty much willing to give their property away to help a first-home buyer, I don’t think the scheme \u2026 well, that’s essentially the only way that it’s going to work,” she said.<\/p>\n “And there’s not many people who want to give away a home.”<\/p>\n Recently, her agency advertised eight new homes, built by Loreto Community Housing, only to MyHome participants for a month.<\/p>\n Penny Connor says the “drawn-out process” makes the offers less attractive. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)<\/p>\n “They literally pulled it out to those people to try and give them a bit of a chance, I suppose, which was lovely,” she said.<\/p>\n The three MyHome offers EIS Property received are yet to reach settlement.<\/p>\n The administrator of the scheme, Homes Tasmania, said some dwellings and all land sales were offered exclusively to MyHome participants for the first 30 days, adding it as a “very successful” approach.<\/p>\n Another Hobart agent, Ben Ayers from LJ Hooker, said of the 20 buyers he has had on the MyHome scheme this year, about five have been successful.<\/p>\n He said buyers under this scheme were left searching for a “diamond in the rough”.<\/p>\n “Pretty much you want a property that’s fairly immaculate, so it doesn’t need any work \u2014 and that can range from cosmetic work through to structural as well,” he said.<\/p>\n One agent said MyHome buyers were searching for a “diamond in a rough”. (ABC News: Jacinta Bos )<\/p>\n Northern Tasmanian agent Daron Gumley said he had come across two MyHome buyers \u2014 one was successful and the other did not follow through because it was taking too long.<\/p>\n “I think there’s a lack of awareness of the actual scheme itself,” he said.<\/p>\n While he cannot advise buyers, he said he had told about 20 of them the scheme existed.<\/p>\n ‘A lot of negative feedback’ about a ‘good scheme’<\/p>\n Tasmanian-owned Bank of us has been given the sole right of lending through the scheme.<\/p>\n Tasmanian government slammed for not signing up to housing scheme<\/a><\/p>\n Tasmania is the only state or territory that is not joining the federal government’s Help to Buy home ownership scheme, which aims to reduce the time it takes home buyers to save for a deposit.<\/p>\n Homes Tasmania said the agreement came out of a national procurement process.<\/p>\n When Victoria and New South Wales implemented a similar scheme, customers had more than one financial provider to choose from.<\/p>\n The federal Help to Buy scheme also has multiple lenders.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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