“I was staring down the barrel of being homeless.”
59-year-old David was at risk of homelessness before he bought a new affordable home through HomeSeeker SA.
“I was staring down the barrel of being homeless. I had been in insecure housing, so just getting a roof over my head was my priority,” says David.
“I’m a Christian, and I was thinking that the Lord moves in mysterious ways, because I always said I would never do two things – live near the beach and buy a home off the plan – and I have done both!”
David bought his new affordable home through HomeSeeker SA using ‘shared equity’ through the South Australian Government’s housing finance company HomeStart Finance.
Shared equity is a finance option that helps you cover the gap between what you can afford and the cost of a property. With a shared equity loan, HomeStart Finance can contribute up to 25% of the purchase price of your home, meaning you only need to make initial repayments on a mortgage for the remaining 75% of your home’s value. If HomeStart retains its 25% stake at the time of sale, for example, they will share the profit (or loss).
David says the shared equity option was the difference that made it possible to help buy his new affordable home and avoid potential homelessness.
“I roughly knew what my financial target was. When I went to HomeStart I had just been divorced and I got a settlement payout, so we sat down and they told me how much I could borrow, and that the government could also throw in 25%,” he says.
“So with all that I could go to about $500,000, and the place I bought at Taperoo through HomeSeeker SA was $483,000. That left a bit of room just in case there were any contract variations.
“As the building continues to progress and I make my progress payments, that’s when I should see the shared equity component click in.”
David says getting a roof over his head was his primary focus during the process of buying an affordable home.
“It didn’t really have any other questions or issues – just get a house – and it all fell into place thanks to HomeSeeker SA,” he says.
“Someone said to me that irrespective of what happens it will be a good investment, so go for it. It was that simple really.”
