What kind of buyer are you going to be? We weigh up the options of becoming an owner-occupier or rent-vestor. 

Transcript:

So, you’ve taken the first step towards home ownership… saving like a demon. And now that you’re winning the adulting game, what kind of buyer are you going to be? That’s the big decision that’ll affect all future decisions UNTIL THE END OF TIME… well, not really, but on the property buying side at least.

Stumped? Well, when you come to this fork in the road, there’s two paths to consider: 

• Owner occupier –forget those future kids, just look for something that suits you right now…and get into the property market. 
• Rent-vestor – sometimes you can’t afford to buy where you want to live, but being a landlord might be your in! Stay living in your suburb of choice (and keep eating at your favourite local brunch spot) while someone else is helping to pay your mortgage in an up and coming suburb (winning!). It is also worth remembering that interest rates generally vary between investor home loans and owner-occupier home loans. 

Each option has pros and cons, of course. You need to think about loan types (yes, they’re different), the rules around government grants and stamp duty (which are different in each state), and the implications when tax time rolls around (nobody wants to be on the tax office’s bad side). 

Before you get overwhelmed, there are specialists who can help with all your questions, so it’s probably best to draft in their help at this point. And when your plan’s sorted, you can just worry about saving that cashola.

Originally published on flatmates.com.au