When Jeva and Brady moved from Brisbane to Melbourne in 2021, they never dreamed of owning a home. “We didn't think it was going to be accessible to be honest,” says Jeva. Like so many young couples, the idea of saving up a 20% deposit in a ballooning housing market felt out of reach. But then a friend told them about the Victorian Homebuyer Fund (VHF) and everything changed. “Suddenly, owning a home went from something that I’d completely dismissed to being very real,” says Brady. “It was a complete game-changer.”
The VHF is a shared equity scheme, designed to help Victorians get a foot into the property market. By tapping into the fund, buyers can access money from the state government for their deposit, in exchange for an equivalent share in the property. This increases potential buying power. For example, if you can save a 5% deposit, which would usually attract Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), the Victorian Government will chip in 25% of the purchase price in exchange for equity.
“We did the math and realised we had a 5% deposit,” says Jeva. “We would have been saving for years to reach the required amount to avoid LMI, and overnight we went from permanent renters to actively looking for a property to buy.”
The pair had been renting for close to a decade and, after falling in love with Melbourne’s inner north, were determined to find a way they could lay down their roots and stop paying someone else’s mortgage. “We both knew we wanted to stay living in Melbourne,” Brady says. “This city has so much in the way of culture, music, footy and food.” Even Melbourne’s cold winters couldn’t put them off. “We actually prefer the weather here to up north,” he laughs.
After completing the VHF application process on the Bank Australia website, Brady and Jeva were allocated a Bank Australia consultant to help guide them through the process. “It was so simple,” says Jeva. “Once we knew we met the requirements, we were approved within one or two weeks. Buying a home for the first time can be really daunting, but reassuringly our consultant Nikita was there from start to finish – answering questions and communicating with the government about the scheme.”
They hit the ground running, spending their weekends looking at all types of properties within their price range across Melbourne’s inner north. There were a couple of things on the bucket list: an open kitchen and living space where they could indulge their love of cooking and dinner parties with mates; and room enough that they could both work from home comfortably. But it wasn’t just Brady and Jeva’s dreams that informed the search. There were two other important family members to consider. “We wanted to make sure our dog Waffles and cat Martin had some outdoor access and a nice sunny spot to laze around in their old age,” Jeva says, with a smile.
“After a few missed opportunities, we ended up stumbling upon this townhouse in Thornbury,” says Brady. The pair couldn’t believe their luck. They had been renting in the area, but had thought it was unlikely they’d find the kind of property they were after in their price range. Not wanting to miss out, they seized the moment and put in an early bid to avoid going to auction. “Suddenly we were homeowners,” says Jeva.
Well and truly settled into life in Melbourne’s cosmopolitan inner north, Jeva says there are days when the pair of them still walk in the front door and say out loud, “we love this house!” Every corner now feels like their own: Brady has built his dream vinyl shelf, and Jeva has brought their sun-filled living room to life with a tangle of indoor plants. Both of them value the security and stability that comes with owning their own home, with the worry of unexpected rental issues behind them. “It's such a relief,” says Brady. “Just having this space that we can call our own and being able to plan for the long term. It’s like nothing we’ve ever felt.”
Learn more about or apply for the Victorian Homebuyer Fund shared equity scheme.
