Buying costs
Understand the deposit, transfer duty and the other cash your purchase needs.
Explore the guides
Cash needed to buy a NSW home: beyond the deposit
Build an upfront cash budget with deposit equity, transfer duty, inspections, legal costs and adjustments, without counting your deposit twice.
NSW stamp duty: understand your calculator result
Understand NSW transfer duty with 2026–27 worked examples, dutiable value, first-home concessions and the limits of an online estimate.
How Offset Accounts Work: Putting Your Idle Cash to Work Against Your Loan
How offset accounts work for property buyers: what the interest saving really looks like, offset versus redraw, the fees and fine print, and who benefits most.
Fixed vs Variable Home Loans: Choosing Certainty or Flexibility
Fixed vs variable home loans compared for Sydney buyers: what each really costs you, the trap in break fees, offset accounts, and how a split loan gets you both.
Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR): The Number That Quietly Sets Your Budget
What loan-to-value ratio (LVR) means, how it's calculated, why 80% is the line that matters, and how a low valuation can quietly push your LVR up.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), Explained: The Premium That Protects the Bank, Not You
What lenders mortgage insurance really is, when a Sydney buyer has to pay it, what it can cost, and the legitimate ways to reduce or avoid it - explained plainly.
How Much Deposit Do You Really Need in Sydney?
How much deposit you really need to buy in Sydney - the 20% myth, lenders mortgage insurance, the 10% you hand over at exchange, and what changes at auction.
Home Loan Pre-Approval, Explained: What It Really Buys You
What home loan pre-approval actually is, what it doesn't guarantee, how long it lasts and why it matters before you bid at a Sydney auction - explained plainly.