Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper – how to apply

The lending partner will ask you to provide relevant documents to verify your eligibility. If you haven't already, you should complete the Home Buyer Assistance Finder assessment tool to check you meet the criteria.

You'll need documents to prove:

• your age
• your citizenship
• 3 months’ genuine savings (via bank statements of accounts in your name)
• your existing rental records (if you are renting)
• your income eligibility (via an ATO tax assessment notice and full tax return for the previous financial year)
• how you will fund purchase costs, including stamp duty
• if you work in an eligible occupation
• if you have a dependent child or children
• your financial assets as a percentage of the purchase price
• that you aren’t eligible for a standard home loan
• that you will occupy the home as your principal place of residence
• that you will meet the ongoing eligibility requirements of the initiative.

The lender will assess your eligibility to participate in the initiative using the same criteria as the assessment tool before starting its own home loan application process, which considers your age, gross income and ability to service the mortgage.

Once you have progressed through the lender's application process, you'll be notified when Revenue NSW grants pre-approval. You then have 3 months to purchase a home.

You need to consider the following aspects of the Shared Equity program when looking for a home to buy.

• The location, which determines the price threshold.
• The government's equity contribution, which depends on your personal circumstances and whether you plan to buy a new or existing home. 
• Your contribution, which must include a deposit of at least 2% and any additional amount you are assessed as having capacity to pay.

Example:

Chris is going to buy an apartment in Sydney for $950,000 – the maximum allowed purchase price. To cover the 2% deposit, they would need $19,000.

Additional costs

You contribution will also need to cover transfer duty and other purchasing costs, including conveyancing and legal bills, registration and settlement fees, plus any building and pest inspections you need.

First home buyers may be exempt or eligible for a reduced rate of transfer duty.  Use the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS) calculator to see how much you'll pay.

See the Customer information guide for all the details. 

Exchanging contracts generally needs to occur before the end of the pre-approval period, which can be extended, once, upon request. 

You will be entering into an eligible property agreement on:

• an existing home you are going to acquire, or
• land AND an eligible comprehensive home building contract (for a brand-new, yet to be built home).

See what happens next for information on reducing risk at this stage.

Final approval

At the final approval stage Revenue NSW will finalise the details of your financial contribution and the amount of equity the government will provide, based on the property you will be purchasing. You can then purchase the approved property, as a participant in Shared Equity!