Grant For Investing in Real Estate - How Much Will I Get?

Like many first home buyers you are probably wondering about the First home owners grant for investing in real estate. Am I eligible and how much will I get? Due to the current financial crisis there have been some changes to the grant for investing in real estate that are very beneficial for anyone who is thinking of making their first real estate investment. In fact the government has just doubled the grant for investing in real estate. The $7,000 grant has risen to $14,000 whilst the $14,000 grant has been increased to $21,000. Let's have a look at the different types of grants for investing in real estate and the history of the first home owners grant and real estate investing.

The Grant for investing in real estate (first home owners grant/scheme) was first introduced in 2000 in an attempt to help first home buyers make their first real estate investments or buy their first home. In reality the grant simply offset the taxes that home buyers need to pay when buying a property. In its original form the grant for investing in real estate was set at $7,000 - how things have changed of late.

How Much Will I Get?

Currently all first home buyers who are purchasing an already existing property will be entitled to a grant of $14,000. If you are purchasing a newly built home or build your own property you will be entitled to $21,000. For the first time in the history of the first home owners grant the new home owners may be able to use some of the grant money to pay for their property rather than just use it to pay for the taxes.

Am I Eligible?

The eligibility criteria of the grant for investing in real estate is pretty straight forward. You (and your partner) must not have received an Australian home buyer's grant before. You (and your partner) must not have owned residential property prior to 1st of July 2000 in Australia. You (at least one person) must be an Australian citizen. You must be a real person eg. Not a company. Finally you (at least one person) must occupy the house for a minimum of 6 months commencing within the first 12 months of purchase.

This last criterion is the most important if you are thinking about claiming the grant for investing in real estate for an investment property. This definitely doesn't mean that you can't get it you just need to be smart about it. Many property investment courses say you can't use it for an investment property but this is simply not true. One of the best property investment tips I ever received was to use the first home owners grant for an investment property that needed some small renovations. I went to a property investment course that taught me about the best ways to renovate for capital gains and then used the grant for investing in real estate to pay my mortgage for 6 months whilst I renovated the property. It was the perfect way (and still is) to get into the investing property world.