Business Insider has partnered with CUA to help you save for a home.  »

This past week, CUA money expert Emmanuel Davatzis was the guest on a free hour-long finance session that broke down exactly what Australians should be doing to eventually buy a place of their own.

There’s no hard-and-fast rule around saving for and obtaining a home loan, given the varied salaries and living situations, so Davatzis’ suggestions are designed to guide potential homeowners in the right direction.

The session could be broken down into two separate phases, with the intention of making it easier for people to manage as well as minimise the possibility of feeling overwhelmed by it all.

Phase one: Preparing

Depending on which state in Australia you reside, it could take a couple anywhere between one year and eight months to five years and seven months to save for a 20% deposit on a unit, with Darwin being the cheapest and Sydney the most expensive.

While this might seem daunting, it’s best to know a feasible timeline rather than scrimp as much as possible and burn yourself out or lose interest entirely. It’s also important to maintain a healthy lifestyle balance for the same reason, so don’t think you have to rule out the occasional online purchase or a night at the pub — it’s a patience game.

There are plenty of tools at your disposal to help create and adhere to a budget that suits any demographic. CUA’s Savings Planner Calculator and Budget Planner Calculator are great jumping-off points and both can be tweaked to factor in how much you can comfortably save without stretching yourself too thin.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT HERE

Davatzis also recommends setting up a high-interest savings account, separate from your spending account, so you can squirrel away additional money without seeing it in your regular account. Out of sight, out of mind.

Phase two: Investigating

Once you’re in a position where you can see yourself having enough for a deposit in the near future, the next step is to start looking into what’s required of a first home buyer.

Your credit score is crucial when successfully securing a home loan, as a bad credit score shows banks and lenders that you’re not the most reliable of candidates and as such, if you do find someone willing to give you a home loan, it might cost you more in the long run.

To ensure your credit score looks desirable, try to pay off credit cards and other loans on time. That includes seemingly trivial payments like phone bills and pay-later services.

You’ll also need to start shopping around to find out out how much money you can borrow, how high interest rates are, what other upfront costs are required (such as Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance) and at what rate you can pay back the mortgage when the time comes.

Some people choose to use a mortgage broker as the mediator, others don’t. Phase two should predominantly be spent figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t.

From there, the hunt for your dream house officially begins.

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