Can I Still Buy a Home With No Deposit?

No-deposit home loans may seem like an impossiblehelp of a no deposit home loan secure the home with
dream in this market. Current conditions for borrowersliterally no deposit.
and for lenders may appear tight when you read allThe no deposit loan can be a win-win for everyone.
the headlines but the world has not stopped.You can - finally - get into the real estate market and
Before the Global Financial Crisis no-deposit loansfor the guarantor there is limited exposure to risk.
were just another mortgage product. They were usedParents acting as guarantor for their children wouldn't
by people who had not saved the 20 per cent deposithave to pay any repayments. Furthermore, the
that traditional lenders require before offering aguarantee can be retired at any time and the
mortgage and buyers who can demonstrate that theyborrower is not required to pay expensive mortgage
have the capacity to service the mortgage.insurance.
Pity the poor souls in the USA who are now beingThere's more to these little understood products: they
dispossessed of their homes after being soldare not limited to first home buyers. Investors are
unaffordable mortgages, many of them no depositfrequent users of no deposit loans. Deposit bonds can
home loans. Of course many of those borrowersbe issued by a lender against for example cash
were not suitable applicants for any home and manydeposits or some of form of funds that the insurer is
purchased houses that were over-valued in the firstprepared to accept as security. A deposit bond can
place.be used, where applicable to the lender, for no deposit
No deposit home loans do exist but they may requireloans as the deposit required to secure a property. A
a guarantor for the deposit component of thedeposit bond requires another asset that can be used
mortgage. The guarantee is limited to the amount ofas collateral, for example a house or land.
the deposit. This is very significant as it gives peace ofIt works in a similar way to a conventional no deposit
mind to the borrower. Further, all the guarantor requiresloan; the difference being it is usually an investor with
is to have sufficient equity in their own home.other assets, that is, the buyer.
Each mortgage lender will have their own criteria but, inThe ability to buy on no deposit is not without its risks
theory a no deposit loan requires a guarantor, forof course. The loan repayments need to meet the
example a parent or sibling, or a guarantee limited toborrower's capacity to repay. Any deterioration in the
the 20 per cent deposit requirements.value of the home will cause negative equity. That
If for example you are purchasing a house forneeds to be considered.
$350,000, the "normal" deposit required would beSo, despite the onset of the GFC, no-deposit
$70,000. For first home buyers who will be eligible formortgages are still available under the right
stamp duty concessions and the Government's Firstcircumstances.
Home Buyers Grant, the buyer can in fact with the