The $25k HomeBuilder grant is part of the government's COVID-19 stimulus package. It will provide eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate their existing home. Quick clarification: During the podcast I got my words muddled and said 'sustainably' renovate rather than 'substantially' renovate, the correct word in this context is definitely 'substantially'.In this episode we go through:What the HomeBuilder Grant isWho it's for and who it's not forHow and where to apply for itWhere to find details on the grant for your state or territoryWhether the grant be used with other grants, schemes and initiativesWhether the grant can be used towards your depositGo to the episode web page for details of where to apply for the HomeBuilder Grant.Follow the Dream Home MovementFacebookInstagramFollow Carl and Jo VioletaFacebookInstagramWebGuest bioJo Violeta is the host of the Dream Home Movement podcast and runs the awards winning mortgage brokerage Violeta Finance with her husband Carl. Think of Jo as your property finance translator. She explains complex finance concepts in a way that's easy to understand and accessible, so you can be feel confident and empowered.Here's a list of the relevant state and territory bodies and their preferred contact details:Australian Capital TerritoryACT Revenue Officehttps://www.revenue.act.gov.au/New South WalesNew South Wales Revenue OfficeHome.Builder@revenue.nsw.gov.au1300 130 624.Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory’s Revenue Officehttps://treasury.nt.gov.au/dtf/territory-revenue-officeQueenslandQueensland Office of State Revenue (OSR)https://www.treasury.qld.gov.au/budget-and-financial-management/revenue-and-taxation/HomeBuilderGrant@treasury.qld.gov.au1300 300 734.South AustraliaSouth Australian Revenue Officehttps://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/TasmaniaState Revenue Office of Tasmaniahttps://www.sro.tas.gov.au/VictoriaState Revenue Office Victoriahttps://www.sro.vic.gov.au/Western AustraliaWestern Australia Revenue Officehttps://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-financeTranscriptPlease note: This is an automated transcript, so it won't be perfect.00:00:00 - 00:00:05have you heard of the $25,000 homebuilder Grant? Well, if you have, you've00:00:05 - 00:00:09probably got questions about it. And if you've got questions about it promising00:00:09 - 00:00:16, you, you are not alone. Carl and I have received so many questions about the00:00:16 - 00:00:20homebuilder Grant recently. So I thought, Hey, let's do an episode about it.00:00:20 - 00:00:28I'm going to explain what it is, who it's for, who It's not for how to apply for it00:00:28 - 00:00:32and also answer some of the commonly asked questions about the grant. Now,00:00:32 - 00:00:39if we haven't met before Hello, I'm Joe Via letter. I own a an award winning00:00:39 - 00:00:43mortgage brokerage with my husband, Carl. We help families and small00:00:43 - 00:00:49businesses achieved their finance and property dreams by helping them secure00:00:49 - 00:00:53a fair deal on their home loans. Their property investment loans, their00:00:53 - 00:00:58commercial property finance and also save money on their mortgage00:00:58 - 00:01:03repayments through refinancing and access funds for their home renovations.00:01:03 - 00:01:09You confined us all over the Internet at Violet of finance. It's just got one t in it00:01:09 - 00:01:13, and we love to hang out on Facebook and Instagram. So please do come00:01:13 - 00:01:20along and say hi to us. They're all right Let's get stuck into the $25,00000:01:20 - 00:01:25homebuilder Grant. Welcome to the Dream Home Movement. This's your00:01:25 - 00:01:31weekly dose of home and property inspiration. Bring you clever tips and00:01:31 - 00:01:37advice from the very best experts and really like Renno storeys with your host.00:01:37 - 00:01:46Joe Violeta Thie $25,000 Homebuilder Grant is a $688 million scheme that's00:01:46 - 00:01:52part of the Australian government's covert 19 stimulus package. Now I know00:01:52 - 00:01:56that I have lots of listeners all over Australia, but I also have plenty off00:01:56 - 00:02:01international listeners for the dream home movement as well. And so I'm sorry00:02:01 - 00:02:08to my international listeners, but this is a new Australian government grant.00:02:08 - 00:02:12But you're very welcome to continue listening to the episode. And also we've00:02:12 - 00:02:20got plenty off really valuable, really fun episodes coming up that applied Tio.00:02:20 - 00:02:26You will apply to you no matter where you live, so I hope you will tune in to00:02:26 - 00:02:31those. Okay, So back to the home builder Grant. What is it? Well, it's00:02:31 - 00:02:41designed to provide a $25,000 grant to build a new home or sustainably00:02:41 - 00:02:47renovate your existing home. There are no caps on the number of grants00:02:47 - 00:02:54available. So in Australia, we've got the first home loan deposit scheme, for00:02:54 - 00:02:59example, which is the first home buyers. And there's a cap on that, which is00:02:59 - 00:03:05there's only 10,000 places available per financial year. There's no cap on the00:03:05 - 00:03:12number of grants For the homebuilder grant, however, there is a time limit,00:03:12 - 00:03:20and there's some flexibility built into the time limit as faras the timeliness00:03:20 - 00:03:26between contracts being signed that has just been built into the scheme recently00:03:26 - 00:03:31since it was first introduced. S O. If you're going to look at applying for the00:03:31 - 00:03:36scheme, you'll need Teo. Contact your relevant state authority and I'll go00:03:36 - 00:03:39through who you're relevant. State authorities are state or territory. Authorities00:03:39 - 00:03:46are later on in the episode, but basically without getting into the final finer00:03:46 - 00:03:51detail, the time limit is that the contract for the build or renovation must be00:03:51 - 00:03:59signed between the Fourth of June 2020 and the 31st of December 2020. So00:03:59 - 00:04:04this if you're listening to this episode in real time, it's being published on00:04:04 - 00:04:11Thursday morning, August 27th, 2020. So you've still got time, Tio, get00:04:11 - 00:04:18organiz DH and This is the bit where there's been a few little tweaks. So00:04:18 - 00:04:22originally they were saying that construction must commence within three00:04:22 - 00:04:27months off the contract date. I think there might be a bit of discretion in there,00:04:27 - 00:04:33a bit of flexibility. So again, you need to cheque with your relevant state or00:04:33 - 00:04:37territory authority. And I'll tell you what those are later on in the episode of00:04:37 - 00:04:45Also Got All those details in this show notes as well. So who is eligible for the00:04:45 - 00:04:52$25,000 homebuilder Grant? Well, first of all, it's for owner occupiers. So00:04:52 - 00:04:57you need Teo, the property that you're renovating or you're building you need00:04:57 - 00:05:04It needs to be for you to live in. Yeah, okay. On DH there. It's also available00:05:04 - 00:05:09to first home buyers, which is great, but also, you don't have to be a first00:05:09 - 00:05:15Homebuyer to access the grant s o. A lot of thie grants and schemes that are00:05:15 - 00:05:21available around property in Australia are really targeted to first home buyers.00:05:21 - 00:05:25But this has opened up Teo. Everyone, regardless of whether your first home00:05:25 - 00:05:31by our or you currently own a property, we have owned a property in the past.00:05:31 - 00:05:37Okay, so you also need to be now this is going to sound a little bit funny. You00:05:37 - 00:05:44need to be a natural person, so that doesn't mean you only I don't know. Eat00:05:44 - 00:05:52organic food and don't colour your hair. What it means is that you can't be a00:05:52 - 00:06:01company or a trust, so the you need to apply as a person and you need to be 1800:06:01 - 00:06:08years or years old or older and an Australian citizen. Now there's also a limit00:06:08 - 00:06:14on how much you can end. So if you're an individual, not in a couple, then00:06:14 - 00:06:24you need to have earned $125,000 or less per annum per year or $200,000 or00:06:24 - 00:06:32less for a couple combined. And the income will be based on your 2018 201900:06:32 - 00:06:40tax return or later. So if you done your 2019 2020 tax return, then it will be00:06:40 - 00:06:47based on that. So who is the grant? Not for Well, I mentioned before that it's00:06:47 - 00:06:54for owner occupiers, so it's not for owner builders, and I know that's really sad00:06:54 - 00:06:58news for a lot of our listeners. because a lot of our listeners are owner builders00:06:58 - 00:07:04or interested in becoming becoming becoming owner builders. And it's not for00:07:04 - 00:07:12investment properties only either. It's for owner occupiers. Now, if you are00:07:12 - 00:07:16wanting Teo, access the grant for a new build. So you wanting to build a00:07:16 - 00:07:24property, build a house, then the property value, including land, needs to be00:07:24 - 00:07:32under $750,000. What can exceed $750,000 which some people may feel like00:07:32 - 00:07:37you know, is not that much, especially considering it's including land. But in00:07:37 - 00:07:41you know, I live in Melbourne and in many of the out of suburbs you can get00:07:41 - 00:07:47house and land packages for $750,000 or under. Now, if you want to access it00:07:47 - 00:07:52for a renovation, the renovation contract needs to be between00:07:52 - 00:08:01$150,000.750,000 dollars, and the value of your existing property must not00:08:01 - 00:08:09exceed $1.5 million. And also, I'm going to read this okay, and then I'll00:08:09 - 00:08:13explain what it means. This is from the original documentation official00:08:13 - 00:08:19documentation from Treasury about the homebuilder grant, and that is that the00:08:19 - 00:08:25renovation works must be to improve the accessibility, safety and livability off00:08:25 - 00:08:30the dwellings. You'd need toe unpack of your builder. Exactly whether or not00:08:30 - 00:08:34that applies to the renovation works that you're thinking off. But some00:08:34 - 00:08:41examples off what it can't before are things like swimming pools, tennis courts00:08:41 - 00:08:50, outdoors bars, saunas and sheds or garages that are not connected to the00:08:50 - 00:08:55property. All right, so you think that you might perhaps be eligible for the00:08:55 - 00:09:00homebuilder grant, and you've got a new build or a renovation plan?00:09:00 - 00:09:06Awesome. So now how do you apply for it? And how do you get some Mohr00:09:06 - 00:09:14deeper detail? Well, you need Teo go through your relevant state or territory00:09:14 - 00:09:18body will probably thinking, Well, what's that? What does that even mean?00:09:18 - 00:09:24We'll go through the list off places that you need to go to get information and in00:09:24 - 00:09:31the show notes. I'll have the details so it might be email address or phone00:09:31 - 00:09:36number or website, whatever that your particular state or territory wants to00:09:36 - 00:09:42provide, like how they want youto contact them. So we've got the revenue00:09:42 - 00:09:46office. That's for the Australian Capital Territory. New South Wales Revenue00:09:46 - 00:09:50Office, Northern Territories Revenue Office, Queensland Office Off State00:09:50 - 00:09:56Revenue, South Australian Review New offer. State Revenue Office off00:09:56 - 00:10:01Tasmania State Revenue Office Victoria and finally, Western Australia00:10:01 - 00:10:07Revenue Office. Those are the places that you need to go to Teo, get more00:10:07 - 00:10:18detail and also to apply. Already, let's get stuck into some off those commonly00:10:18 - 00:10:23asked questions. So one of the most commonly asked questions comes from00:10:23 - 00:10:30first home buyers, and it is. Will this be paid in addition to the first00:10:30 - 00:10:35homeowners grant and the first home loan deposit scheme? If, of course, you00:10:35 - 00:10:42are eligible for those and yes, it will be okay, so that's good news. Now, if00:10:42 - 00:10:46you're not sure what the first homeowners grant ears and what the first00:10:46 - 00:10:52homeland deposit scheme is, you can head over Teo website, violeta finance00:10:52 - 00:10:56dot com dot ua. And we've got blogged posts with the details of those on there00:10:56 - 00:11:02, and I'll pop links to those blawg articles in the show notes as well. And then00:11:02 - 00:11:09the other question that is quite common. And, gosh, I just I was sort of00:11:09 - 00:11:13tossing up. We're not even to raise this because I don't really have an answer00:11:13 - 00:11:18for it. but I'm going to do it. Okay, So the other question that's quite common00:11:18 - 00:11:26is, can you use the $25,000 homebuilder grant towards your deposit? And the00:11:26 - 00:11:37answer is, we're still waiting for lenders to finalise their They're lending policy00:11:37 - 00:11:45around homebuilder Grant, so there's no kind of big blanket Answer yes or no00:11:45 - 00:11:54answer. It really depends on the individual lenders and bank banks lending00:11:54 - 00:12:02policy. So what you want to do, in that case is speak to your mortgage broker00:12:02 - 00:12:09and just create your deposit strategy with them based on your individual00:12:09 - 00:12:14circumstances. WHO which bank you're going toe. Apply floor based on your00:12:14 - 00:12:19needs and your goals and your you know whether or not you're meet their00:12:19 - 00:12:26servicing criteria. So I can't give you a definitive answer on the podcast. And00:12:26 - 00:12:30I'm sorry about that. I would love to be able to, but yet it's a discussion to00:12:30 - 00:12:36have with your mortgage broker. And, hey, if you don't already have a00:12:36 - 00:12:40mortgage broker, I happen to know a really good one. He's backing this Carlin00:12:40 - 00:12:46. You're very welcome to contact him. So yes, call my husband my partner in00:12:46 - 00:12:52violent of finance and eye contact details in this show notes as well. So that is00:12:52 - 00:12:58thie $25,000 homebuilder Grant. I hope that was helpful. Thank you so much00:12:58 - 00:13:04for tuning in next week. Next Thursday, we have Sam's been at back on the00:13:04 - 00:13:08show. He was on the show a few months ago, and he is going to talk to us00:13:08 - 00:13:14about what a buyer's advocate does and why you should consider working with00:13:14 - 00:13:18the buyers Advocate for your next property purchase. And we've got plenty00:13:18 - 00:13:23more exciting shows coming up for Siri's for So I'm looking forward to those,00:13:23 - 00:13:28and I'm looking forward to chatting with you again soon. Thanks for joining us00:13:28 - 00:13:32on the Dream Home movement. Be sure to come over and say hi on Facebook00:13:32 - 00:13:37and Instagram. I hope that your dream home projects are going well, and I00:13:37 - 00:13:39look forward to chatting with you again next week.