It’s been quite the couple of years for the property market! Soaring home prices, a huge increase in demand for regional properties [+ prices] and an uncertain economic environment thanks to the pandemic.
So you would think all of those factors would make it super hard for a young couple in their twenties to buy their first home, right?
Well, sure, it’s not easy but it absolutely is possible.
We spoke to young couple, Jacqui and Logan about how they did just that with the help of the lovely Erin from BDCU.
1 :: Jacqui and Logan, let’s start with the point where you made the decision to buy your first home.
Jacqui :: We’d been saving for a little while, we both had pandemic proof jobs – I’m a real estate agent and Logan is a builder – and we just wanted to get our foot on the property ladder, so made the decision to start looking around and see what was available.
Logan :: Before that though, we focused on the money side of things and worked hard to cut down on our spending and focus on saving enough for a deposit.
Jacqui :: Once we felt like we had a good amount for a deposit, we got in touch with BDCU – we already did our personal banking with them – and stepped through the pre approval process with Erin at BDCU.
We just wanted to make sure we had the finance all ready to go in case we went looking, found our perfect home but then couldn’t make the finance work in time.
2 :: Smart! So then the fun part starts….looking for a house to buy.
Jacqui :: I’m a real estate agent so was across the local property market and we had a clear idea about the type of house we wanted to buy.
Logan :: Something that we could move into straight away [Jacqui was pregnant with our first child at the time] but also something we could renovate and add value to.
Jacqui :: It’s handy having a builder for a partner for that!
Logan :: We looked at eight properties before we found the one we ended up buying.
3 :: So how did Erin and BDCU manage the whole process? Going through something brand new like buying your first home can be pretty stressful!
Jacqui :: Not at all. Erin was super organised and got all the information that she needed from us in one go. There was no going back and forth. BDCU has the systems in place to make sure information doesn’t fall through the gaps.
Logan :: Plus, having banked with them for some time, we knew we were dealing with the local team – they knew us and we knew them. You’re not dealing with some faceless person on the end of a phone in a completely different city.
Jacqui :: Another thing Erin did was communicate with us really well. Because of the work Logan and I do, it’s hard for us to take personal phone calls at work so Erin would call us after hours – that made a difference because you have the head space to deal with those sorts of calls when you’re not juggling lots of different things on a building site or doing a property inspection.
4 :: And of course the pandemic got involved!
Logan :: Yeah, we got our pre approval the day NSW went into the second lockdown in 2021 and we bought the house in October 2021.
Jacqui :: All our communication with Erin was via phone and email because of the lockdown but it didn’t matter. Everything was as organised as ever from BDCU’s end. Erin set realistic expectations for us and met every one of them. It was all pretty cruisy, actually.
5 :: How did it feel when you got the keys to your property?
Logan :: Jacqui was 21 at the time and I was 25 so we didn’t think we’d be able to afford what we ended up with – a three bedroom Californian bungalow just a few minutes from the town we wanted to live in. So it’s a great feeling to not only be accepted for a loan by the bank but to have an asset like this too.
Jacqui :: We just got the renovation plans back from a friend of Logan’s who’s an architect so now we’re focusing on that.
6 :: What would your advice be to anyone, especially young people, wanting to get on the property ladder?
Logan :: It involves a bit of sacrifice around saving up as much money as you can for a deposit but it’s so worth it – it just gives you more options.
Jacqui :: And I’d definitely say speak to your local bank – for us it was BDCU. You’re not just a number, you’re a real person to them. We felt Erin was really on our team when it came to helping us achieve the goal of being able to buy our very first home. And that’s important to have someone in the bank on your side like that.
Love it! What a great story – congrats to Jacqui and Logan. And so cool to hear a good news story about people in their twenties getting on the property ladder. It’s totally doable. Sounds like you just need to get the right people/ bank in your corner!
This article was proudly brought to you by the supportive team at Community Bank BDCU sharing the inspiring stories of locals doing amazing things.
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