“Too good to be true”: how to spot and avoid a bad first home deal

Eloise Hughes and Shane Jacobs believe they were nearly tricked into paying too much for their first home.

The couple, currently living on the northern Gold Coast, stumbled across an online ad but soon realised it was “too good to be true”.

“We found on Facebook an ad that was very appealing for someone like ourselves, who had no experience,” Ms Hughes said.

“They said everything we wanted to hear … [but] we were going to be paying top dollar for something that wasn’t even worthwhile.”

When Eloise Hughes and Shane Jacobs were trying to buy their first home, they almost fell for a deal that would have given them a poor house for their money. Picture: Nigel Hallett

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The couple recently moved from Sydney to live with family in Queensland, hoping to afford a home in their price range.

The Facebook ad they found offered a low deposit for first home buyers, giving the pair a chance for an affordable place to get into the housing market.

The two almost sealed the deal in April, where houses were found by Ray White to sell at a median of $676,000 over the past ten years.

This made April the month of the year where Brisbane houses typically sold at their highest prices.

April is the month of the year where Brisbane homes sell for their highest prices, according to research from Ray White. Picture: Lachie Millard

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Ms Hughes said the home she and Mr Jacobs almost bought – a new build on a block of land – would have cost more than $700,000.

But when they went to the display home, they found a barebones property at only 180 sqm in size, built with materials they felt were subpar.

“We were going to pay over $700,000 for this house that didn’t even have brick – it was just this foamy stuff on the outside,” she said.

“Not just that … that was going to lock us on a five year [fixed] interest rate for 7.99 per cent.”

Feeling ripped off, the couple pulled out before anything was put to paper.

The two are now moving to a Villawood community, where they feel they’re getting the right value for the money. Picture: Nigel Hallett

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They recently bought a new block of land in Gleneagle, southwest of Brisbane, within a masterplanned community by Villawood.

“We didn’t think that we would be able to get another house for 12-24 months time,” Ms Hughes said, but added government incentives helped them get over the line for an affordable new property.

“We’ve put a deposit down for the land, and we’re also working with our own separate builder now.”

“That first bad experience we had, we definitely felt pressured – we were made out to be the silly ones if we were questioning anything,” she said.

“[Now] we’ve got an amazing broker who’s working with us, with the money we’re able to save.”