First home buyers.

Victorian first home buyers may access a full duty exemption up to a value threshold and a partial concession above it, plus the First Home Owner Grant for eligible new homes. Eligibility depends on the purchase price, whether the buyer or their partner have owned property before, residency requirements and whether they intend to live in the home. Eligibility turns on those factors, and is worth checking against the actual contract before committing, not after.

In the contract and section 32 the things that cost money later if nobody reads them first are worth looking for: the special conditions, the settlement date, deposit terms, owners corporation charges, easements, planning overlays and any building work done without a permit. For most private sales there is a short cooling off period after signing, subject to a penalty; that right does not apply at auction, which is why an auction purchase needs the contract reviewed beforehand.

Beyond the deposit and duty, lender fees, building and pest inspections, rates and owners corporation adjustments, and legal costs are worth budgeting for, so the full settlement figure is clear early rather than surfacing as a surprise in the final week before the keys arrive.

The First Home Super Saver Scheme lets first buyers make extra voluntary super contributions and later withdraw them, within set caps, to help fund a deposit, using the tax treatment of super.

The Help to Buy shared-equity scheme lets eligible buyers purchase with the federal government taking an equity share, which lowers the deposit and loan needed, though places are limited and price caps and ongoing obligations apply while you are in it.

An auction purchase is unconditional the moment the hammer falls: there is no cooling-off period and no finance condition unless the vendor agrees to one beforehand in writing. If you plan to bid, having the contract reviewed and finance formally approved first is worthwhile.