What is the Victorian State Homebuyer Fund and how do I apply?

Eligible homebuyers can now receive a contribution of up to 25 per cent towards the purchase price of their property in Victoria, reducing their minimum required deposit to five per cent and avoiding the need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

For eligible Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander homebuyers, this contribution is up to 35 per cent and the minimum required deposit is three and a half per cent.

What is the fund?

The Homebuyer Fund is a shared equity scheme, meaning that the financial contribution from the Homebuyer Fund to the purchase price is made in exchange for a proportional interest, or share in the property.

As the value of the property changes, so too will the value of the Homebuyer Fund’s interest in the property. This means the Homebuyer Fund will share in any capital gains proportionate to its interest in the property.

Participants can repay the Homebuyer Fund’s interest in their property over time, including through refinancing, using savings, and must do so when the property is sold and in other circumstances.

Who’s eligible?

To be eligible to participate in the Homebuyer Fund, buyers will need to meet a certain criterion, including like having saved the required minimum deposit of your property price, earn $125,000 or less per annum for individuals, or $200,000 or less per annum for joint applicants, and occupying the purchased property as your principal place of residence.

Buyers will need to meet all of the eligibility requirements and have an approved loan from a participating lender to be eligible for the Homebuyer Fund. Eligible participants must become registered owners of the property they buy.

What property is eligible toward the fund?

The property purchased must also be in Metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong or another eligible regional location within Victoria.

The property must be a standard residential property such as a house, townhouse, unit or apartment (vacant land is not eligible) and must be $950,000 or less in Metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong, or $600,000 or less in other eligible regional locations.

The purchase can be for an existing or new property, given a certificate of occupancy has been issued prior to the date of the contract of sale.

The property must also be vacant when purchased or, if under a lease, the lease must expire within 12 months of the acquisition date and the tenants must vacate the property.

So what’s next?

Buyers will need to gather the required supporting documentation and approach a participating lender.

Once approval has been received for a compliant home loan from a participating lender, the lender will lodge an application for the Homebuyer Fund with the State Revenue Office.

If the application is successful, the buyer will then be granted provisional approval for the Homebuyer Fund, which means a contract of sale for an eligible home must be completed within six months.   

Once the property has reached settlement, and as with most settlement transactions in Victoria, the contribution from the Homebuyer Fund will be provided via the independent Electronic Lodgement Network Operator (ELNO) workspace for the settlement of the property, unless alternative arrangements have been negotiated and agreed upon.

To find out more about the fund, visit the Victorian State Revenue Office online, here.