by Lisa Montgomery

PROPERTY FIRST, FAMILY SECOND?

Leading non-bank lender Resi Mortgage Corporation says choosing between whether to buy a property or have a family first is very much the conundrum facing some borrowers as they continue to chase the great Australian dream.

Resi’s CEO, Lisa Montgomery, says where previous generations were not so concerned about whether their plans to have a family would conflict with their plans to buy a home – the issue of property prices and their impact on affordability remain at the forefront for many in their decision making process.

She says: “Realistically, affordability should always be a key issue for aspiring first home buyers deciding whether it’s property or family first, but at the same time it shouldn’t mean you have to go without one or the other.

It’s more a matter of mapping out strategies that can allow you to plan for and manage that time so you and your partner can work together to achieve a healthy balance between the two.” 

According to figures from the Australian Institute of Family Studies*, the proportion of all new mothers who were in their early thirties has increased from 12% in 1980 to 28% in 2007.

This shows that women are electing to have their children later in life for various reasons including how starting a family will impact on their career and finances.

Montgomery says when couples who plan to have children first start thinking about buying a property there are several issues they need to consider and how they will affect their specific circumstances:

1. What is the intended timeframe for buying your first home and how does that timeframe fit in with your plans to have a family?
2. Who is the major breadwinner or are your earnings equal?
3. How will the cost of taking time out from the workforce impact your collective finances? That is, what will happen to your individual and combined earning capacity in the short and long term?
4. Have you been realistic in your projections for the ongoing cost of supporting children out of your household income?
5. Have you been realistic that unexpected events such as job loss, injury of death of one partner or large interest rate rises may affect how you can meet your ongoing financial obligations?
6. Have you detailed a long term financial strategy to take you through until retirement - and how does property ownership figure in that plan?

“Once you’ve put some timeframes and figures around your plans it will give you both something to work towards – but you will still need to remain flexible and compromise where necessary,” says Montgomery.

ENDS

Media Contact:    Lisa Montgomery, CEO,
RESI Mortgage Corporation: (02) 8204 5012 or 0414 592 553

Karen Bristow - Kardan Consulting: 02 9967 3245

*    Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies Report – 2010 Conference
go to: http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/factsheet/fs2010conf/fs2010conf.html
Published on: 1/03/2011

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