5 Budgeting Mistakes Home Buyers Make (And How to Avoid Them Before Buying a Home)
5 Budgeting Mistakes Home Buyers Make (And How to Avoid Them Before Buying a Home)
5 Budgeting Mistakes Home Buyers Make (And How to Avoid Them Before Buying a Home)
Conversation w/Hannah Richards from Oren Brokers & Stacey from Beagl Buyer's Agency
Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make, but many buyers focus solely on saving a deposit while overlooking the bigger financial picture. Smart budgeting before purchasing can help you avoid unnecessary stress and set yourself up for long-term success.
1) Is it best to pay off debt or save a deposit first?
From years of sitting with people and their budgets as a financial coach, I can tell you this: the very first step is always building an emergency buffer. Without it, even the best intentions fall apart. You pay off debt, life happens, and suddenly you’re right back where you started.
Once that buffer is in place, look at any high‑interest debt. If you can restructure it into a lower-interest option, you’ll free up breathing room in your budget.
From there, the “debt vs deposit” decision really depends on your debts and market conditions. For example, when Perth prices were rising 18–20% in 2025, many buyers found property values were increasing faster than they could save a deposit or payoff debt. In that environment, getting into the market sooner made a meaningful difference.
But in a more moderate growth environment, if you’re carrying higher-interest debt, it may make sense to prioritise paying that down while you build your deposit.
A mortgage broker can’t give financial advice, but we can map out your home-buying goals and show you different scenarios so you can make an informed decision with clarity.
2) What expenses do buyers often forget to budget for?
These categories catch people out all the time, even the most organised households:
Pets. I’ve seen so many budgets derailed by unexpected vet bills, especially as pets get older. Even with insurance, premiums drastically increase as the pet gets older, and sometimes you’re not always fully covered. Or on the flipside, perhaps you don't yet have a pet, but decide to get one later down the line. If this is a possibility, I would have a go at factoring it into your budget now. The food, insurance, and medical costs can add up to more than you might expect.
Gifts and life events. Banks don’t ask about this category specifically, but it adds up fast: birthdays, weddings, hens, baby showers, Christmas, and all the small celebrations in between. It’s one of the most common “invisible spend” categories I see in real budgets.
Home maintenance. It's also important that you work with your broker to factor in home maintenance costs into your budget if you don't have strata fees, as many people underestimate the ongoing costs of repairs, upkeep, and unexpected fixes once they move from renting into ownership.
3) How do you help clients plan for interest rate changes?
My background as a financial coach really shapes how I approach this. I’ve seen firsthand how stressful it can be when interest rates rise and there’s no buffer or plan in place. It’s one of the quickest ways for long‑term goals to get pushed years down the track.
Now as a mortgage broker, from our very first appointment, I walk clients through the differences between variable and fixed rates. Not just technically, but in terms of how they feel in a real household budget.
If someone chooses a variable rate, it’s because they genuinely have the capacity to absorb increases. Maybe they have a strong surplus, consistent wage growth, or other assets growing steadily.
If someone’s budget is tighter, we’ll often look at the stability a fixed rate can provide, alongside a simple budgeting system that helps them stay ahead of changes. The goal is to build clarity around where money is going and create flexibility if repayments increase over time.
It’s all about giving people the tools to plan, as well as have budget transparency at all times, aiming to develop a habit of paying yourself into savings first so you're escaping paycheck to paycheck living.
4) Are you seeing more opportunities for buyers at the moment with price shifts and off-market listings, and how can buyers be best prepared to take advantage of them?
Yes, absolutely. Many of my clients are finding themselves as the only ones submitting offers, and there are more off‑market opportunities popping up as sellers are struggling to sell their properties.
Because this is also a market where you can accidentally overpay if you’re not careful. Seller expectations are still catching up to the new conditions, and valuations don’t always match the contract price. That’s why I often encourage clients to get independent guidance on value and borrowing capacity before making an offer, so they’re not relying purely on listing price or emotion. Before making an offer, it’s worth getting your broker or buyer’s agent to give you an independent sense of value so you’re not caught out later.
5) If you could give buyers one piece of advice around budgeting or finances before they purchase, what would it be?
Ultimately, my biggest piece of advice is this: start with a holistic financial plan.
Long before I became a mortgage broker, I helped people map out their long‑, medium‑, and short‑term goals as a budget/financial coach. It’s still the most powerful way to make sure your mortgage supports your life, not the other way around.
When you know what you’re working toward, the mortgage becomes just one part of a bigger picture. You’re less likely to stretch yourself because you fell in love with a property, and more likely to choose a home that fits comfortably within your long‑term vision.
That’s where financial confidence really comes from.
