When to Start Planning Your First Home Purchase

Start planning at least six to twelve months before you want to buy. That gives you time to build a deposit, tidy up your records and work out which schemes you can actually use.

Landscaping income can swing with the seasons, the weather and the job pipeline. Lenders know this, so they look closely at how you earn. The more prepared you are, the fewer surprises you get when you apply.

How Do Landscapers Prove Their Income to a Lender?

Lenders want evidence that your income is steady. If you are an employee, recent payslips and your latest tax return usually do the job. If you run your own landscaping business or work as a sole trader, expect lenders to ask for tax returns and notices of assessment, and sometimes more.

If you are self-employed, the income your tax return shows matters more than the income you earn on paper. Heavy deductions lower your taxable income, and that can lower what a lender will let you borrow. Talk to your accountant about this well before you apply, because changing how you report income takes time to show up in a tax return.

If your paperwork is not standard, a broker can point you to lenders who assess self-employed applicants differently. Our page on self employed loans for tradies covers the options, and our Home Loans for Landscapers page explains how we work with your trade.

What Is Your Borrowing Capacity Before You Start House Hunting?

Your borrowing capacity is the amount a lender is willing to lend you, based on your income, debts, living costs and deposit. Find it out before you look at properties, so you only inspect homes you can actually buy.

Credit cards, ute finance and buy-now-pay-later accounts all reduce what you can borrow. A credit card limit counts even if the balance is zero. Closing cards you do not use is one of the quickest ways to lift your capacity. The trade-off is that a closed account can take a little while to clear from your credit file, so do it early. You can read more on borrowing capacity before you speak with us.

Which First Home Buyer Schemes Can a Landscaper Use?

Which scheme suits you depends on your state, your deposit and the price of the home you want. The main federal options are the 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy and the First Home Super Saver scheme.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets eligible first home buyers buy with a 5% deposit and avoid lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). It has no income cap, but you must live in the home, and the home must be at or under the price cap for its location. Applications go through a participating lender, not Housing Australia directly. The trade-off is that you still carry the full loan and all the costs, because the backing protects the lender, not you. See our page on the 5% Deposit Scheme for tradies.

Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme. The government puts in between 5% and 30% of the price of an existing home, or up to 40% for a new one, and takes a matching share of the home. You need at least a 2% deposit from savings. There are income limits. For 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the limit is $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint applicants. The trade-off is that the government shares in any rise or fall in your home's value, and you may have to buy its share back if your income stays above the limit for two years in a row. You can read more on the Help to Buy scheme page.

You cannot use Help to Buy together with other shared equity or loan backing schemes. You can still use state grants, stamp duty concessions and the First Home Super Saver scheme.

Saving a Deposit With the First Home Super Saver Scheme

The First Home Super Saver scheme lets you put voluntary contributions into super and later withdraw them, plus earnings, towards your first home. Up to $15,000 a year and $50,000 in total count towards release.

As an illustration, $50,000 of eligible before-tax contributions could give a maximum release amount of about $47,690, which includes associated earnings. Released amounts are taxed, with withholding based on your marginal rate less a 30% offset. If you do not sign a contract or recontribute within the time limits, extra tax applies. You must request a determination from the ATO before you buy, and release usually takes 15 to 20 business days. Speak to your accountant about how this fits your tax position.

The main trade-off is that the money is locked in super until you meet a condition of release, unless you use it for your first home.

A Scenario: The Sole Trader Who Waited Six Months

Consider a landscaper who runs their own business and wants to buy in about a year. Their tax return shows low taxable income because of large deductions, and they carry a credit card with a high limit and a ute loan.

The solution is to start early. They clear the card and close it, keep the ute loan on schedule, and talk with their accountant about their next tax return. They also check the price cap for their postcode in Housing Australia's postcode search tool. At the next review, their borrowing capacity is higher and their paperwork matches what lenders ask for.

The outcome is that they apply with a clean credit file, a clear picture of what they can borrow and a short list of schemes they can use. They spend their time inspecting homes within budget, not scrambling for documents.

Getting Pre-Approval Before You Make an Offer

Pre-approval tells you roughly how much a lender may lend you, so you can bid and make offers with confidence. It is not a final loan approval, and the lender can change its mind if your circumstances or the property change.

If you plan to use Help to Buy, Housing Australia says not to put down a deposit or bid at auction without conditional approval. Get your finance lined up first. Our page on getting loan pre-approval explains the process.

Why Your State Matters More Than You Think

Stamp duty concessions and first home owner grants differ by state, and many apply only to new homes. In New South Wales, homes valued at $800,000 or less are exempt from transfer duty for eligible first home buyers. In Queensland, a first home buyer pays no duty on a new home or vacant land, and a home valued at $700,000 or under attracts no duty. Check the rules for your state before you pick a suburb.

We work with trades every day through our finance for tradies service and can match the right scheme to your state and situation. See also our home loans for tradies page.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We will go through your income, your deposit and your options so you know where you stand before you start looking.

Frequently Asked Questions