Australian government opens up more housing assistance places for the 2025 financial year.

https://www.housingaustralia.gov.au/support-buy-home

Another 50,000 places have been made available for the federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) for the period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.

The HGS includes the First Home Guarantee, which gives eligible first home buyers the opportunity to purchase a property with a 5% deposit, without having to pay lender's mortgage insurance (LMI). A total of 35,000 places are available.

The HGS also includes the very similar Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee – except this applies to first home buyers in regional locations. For this scheme, 10,000 places are available.

The final program in the HGS is the Family Home Guarantee, which supports eligible single parents and single legal guardians to enter the market with a 2% deposit, without having to pay LMI. A total of 5,000 places are available.

With all three programs, you must be an owner-occupier. Also, property price caps apply and there are income limits of $125,000 for individuals and $200,000 for joint applicants.

Contact our team for more info about how the Home Guarantee Scheme could help you get into the property market sooner!

GIVEAWAY TIME: Jack Botts Australian Summer Tour 2024 at Delatite Winery

Delatite Winery is hosting a live performance by Jack Botts on Friday 8 March 2024. A fast emerging Australian artist and Summer staple, we love his music and think you will too (not to mention the High Country backdrop). 

We’re giving you and three friends the chance to win tickets, exclusive access to a table for the afternoon and a bottle of wine!*

For your chance to win:

1. Like the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page @peakfinancebroking

2. Follow @peakfinancebroking on Facebook and/or Instagram 

3. Tag three friends you’ll invite along for this magical afternoon if you win in the comments of the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page @peakfinancebroking ✨

+  share the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page to your story to double your entry 

*Prize details:

• 4 x General Admission tickets to Jack Botts Australian Summer Tour 2024

• 1 x Table for four (4) people - Enjoy exclusive use of a table for four, all afternoon long!

• 1 x Bottle of your choice from Delatite Winery’s selection of ‘Estate Wines’

  Valued at approx $300.

Time, date and location:

Fri 8 Mar 2024 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC+11)

Delatite Wines, 390 Pollards Rd, Mansfield VIC 3722

NOTE: Tickets for children under 10 can be purchased at no additional cost: https://www.trybooking.com/events/1158756/sessions/4337911/sections/2170031/tickets

Terms and conditions

• The giveaway is a game of chance of all available entrants which meet the entry conditions.

• The giveaway opens Wednesday 24th of January 2024 and entries close Wednesday 31st of January 2024.

• Entrants must be over the age of 18.

• Liking the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page @peakfinancebroking, following @peakfinancebroking on Facebook and Instagram and tagging three friends in the comments of the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page @peakfinancebroking together gains one (1) entry into the giveaway.

• Sharing the giveaway post on our Instagram and/or Facebook page to your story gains one (1) additional entry (NOTE: social media accounts must be set to public for stories to be visible to us and private accounts can direct message a screenshot of the shared post on their story to have their entry counted).

• The winner will be chosen randomly and will be notified by direct message on instagram and/or Facebook, as well as in a public announcement on our Instagram and Facebook accounts. The winner must be available to attend Jack Botts Australian Summer Tour 2024 at Delatite Winery.

• Travel, accommodation and other costs are not included in the giveaway.

• We reserve the right to change the competition terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.

Building a Granny Flat in Victoria no longer requires a planning permit.

Source: https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/guides-and-resources/strategies-and-initiatives/small-second-dwellings

To make it easier to build a small second home, the Victoria Planning Provisions, all planning schemes and the building regulations have changed.

Following the Victorian Government’s Housing Statement: The decade ahead 2024-2034, a small second home up to 60 square metres, also known as a granny flat, secondary dwelling or an accessory dwelling unit, no longer requires a planning permit in most cases where there are no flooding, environmental or other special planning controls.

A small second home still requires a building permit, to meet siting, amenity, design and safety requirements – and cannot be subdivided or separately sold off from the main home.

Anyone can live in or rent-out a small second home, including a family member, dependent person or unrelated persons such as a renter.

The secondary home cannot be connected to a reticulated natural gas supply, and it does not need to allow for car parking space but must must be self contained, requiring some kind of kitchen and bathroom, and there can only be one secondary home on a lot.

Rules can differ between local councils, but across the state, as long as the property owner has obtained an occupation certificate, the secondary dwelling can be lived in by family and friends or leased to renters.

In 2009, changes to legislation made it easier to build a secondary dwelling in New South Wales without development approval if the dwelling meets certain criteria; while the South Australian Government is seeking to clarify rules around granny flats and to streamline the approvals process.

Queensland's government recently made changes to legislation which restricted secondary homes to only to being used for dependant relatives, meaning ancillary dwellings can now be offered to renters.

Councils still have development approval and, while state planning rules do not prevent leasing granny flats to someone outside the family, many councils stipulate their own conditions.

Building a granny flat could open the door to multi generation living or an extra income. Contact our team to discuss your options!