Your First Home Without Any Savings or a Mortgage.
What the...?

Meet a couple of modern-day geniuses. Unlike many other millennials that have giving up on home ownership, this couple have managed to build their first home without borrowing any money from the bank and without any savings.

How on earth is that possible, you ask?

Well, the couple were pretty savvy and took the opportunity to withdraw 20k each from their superannuation – a policy introduced as a measure to support Australians through the economic uncertainty as a result of COVID-19.

This gave snake catcher Chris Gorter and his partner Christie Waddups $40,000. They then were able access a first home owners grant and the federal Government’s HomeBuilder grant, bringing their total to $80,000.

While some would think this isn’t even enough for a house deposit, these clever souls knew it was just about finding the right location. They discovered blocks of land on Russel Island come at a tiny price – finding a block there for a mini $21,000! Nope, there’s not a zero missing.

Russel Island is just 40km from the Brisbane CBD, so it’s still possible to work in the city if you so desire. Christie recently lost her job in retail in Paddington, but when things turn around, she could easily commute – it wouldn’t be too dissimilar to a commute from the Gold Coast.

With their $59,000 left after buying the land, the couple will build a tiny home. Their budget will cover septic, foundations, electrical, plumbing, transportation costs and local planning applications through the Redlands Council.

The 1-bedroom home will be a quaint 30 square metres. The couple also plan to install a shipping container for storage and some decking to create an outdoor living area. If everything goes to plan, the couple will be all moved into their tiny home by the end of the year.

The couple knew it would be a hard slog to get a loan approved with one partner not working, so this really seemed like the only logical option. While they’re aware they’ve dipped into the retirement savings, they feel it is a smart option.

They haven’t spent $80,000 on shoes.

“Superannuation [investment] is tumbling anyway so we’re just trying to come up with options of how to get a roof over your head in a cheap and sustainable way,” Mr Gorter said. 

“We figured it would be more prudent in the long term to access super for our home.”

He said people needed to know this was an option and urged buyers to consider thinking outside of the box in order to get on to the property ladder.

“There are a lot of people – particularly young people – that are priced out of the market and it’s really hard for them to save for a deposit,” Mr Gorter said. 

If you’ve been financially impacted by COVID-19, you too could access your super and invest it wisely in property. See the eligibility criteria below:

• you are unemployed
• you are eligible to receive one of the following
  • JobSeeker payment
  • Youth Allowance for job seekers (unless you are undertaking full-time study or are a new apprentice)
  • Parenting payment (which includes the single and partnered payments)
  • Special Benefit
  • Farm Household Allowance
• on or after 1 January 2020 either
  • you were made redundant
  • your working hours were reduced by 20% or more (including to zero)
  • you were a sole trader and your business was suspended or there was a reduction in turnover of 20% or more (partners in a partnership are not eligible unless the partner satisfies any other of the eligibility).

While it’s not a great idea generally to take your money out of super, if you’re turning it into another investment and in this couple’s case, killing a living expense at the same time, it’s smart use of your money. In fact, it’s super thinking – turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Tiny homes and low-priced land is just one way to enter the market, if you’d like advice on other ideas, I’d love to show you some savvy investment strategies.