299 - How Preparation Helped Katya Secure Her First Home (Case Study)
Buying your first home can feel a long way off when you're not even sure where to start. For Katya, that changed when she and her partner looked at their finances and realised they might be able to buy much sooner than they had expected.
In this episode, Katya shares the real story behind buying her first home in Ryde, Sydney. What started with very little knowledge of the property buying process quickly turned into a focused journey of saving, learning, researching properties and eventually making a successful offer.
Katya's experience is a useful reminder that buying your first home isn't just about having a deposit. It's about understanding your numbers, knowing what makes a property worth buying, and having a process you can rely on when the right opportunity appears.
Here's what we cover and why it matters:
💰 How Katya realised buying could be possible sooner than expected
Katya initially believed she needed a 20% deposit and thought she could be years away from buying. After learning more about the 5% deposit scheme and looking at both her and her partner's savings, they realised buying a home could be achievable.
The conversation also explores Katya's saving habits, including how she had been saving consistently from an early age, and how living at home helped make saving more manageable. It's a practical look at how your financial position can sometimes be different from what you assume.
📚 How learning the buying process changed Katya's approach
Before doing her research, Katya had some ambitious ideas about buying an investment property and even considered complicated ways of buying separately with her partner. Looking at her borrowing capacity quickly changed that plan.
After discovering our course, Katya found the structure and support she needed to make sense of the buying process. She shares how the course and Campfire sessions helped her understand what to do next and move forward with greater clarity.
🏡 How to find a good apartment when there are plenty to choose from
With Sydney prices limiting their options, Katya knew an apartment was the realistic property type for them. That meant being particularly selective about the quality of the asset.
Rather than simply choosing the biggest apartment within budget, Katya looked for characteristics that made one property different from the many others around it. Outlook, natural light, privacy and scarcity became important parts of her decision-making.
The apartment she eventually chose had a north-facing balcony, an outlook over a historic house and a park, and characteristics that Katya believed would be difficult to replicate elsewhere in the complex.
🔍 Why you need to inspect beyond the listing photos
One of the biggest lessons from Katya's property search was the difference between what looks good online and what actually works in person.
She saw apartments that appeared appealing on realestate.com, only to discover issues with outlook, privacy or natural light during inspections. One courtyard looked excellent in the photographs but felt exposed once she was standing inside it.
Floor plans didn't always tell the full story either. One apartment looked smaller on paper than it actually felt in person, reinforcing just how much you can miss until you physically inspect a property.
🤝 Navigating a tenanted property and making the offer
The apartment Katya ultimately bought was tenanted, which meant organising a private inspection and making sure the contract provided for vacant possession.
By the time she was ready to make an offer, she had already researched the property and worked out what she believed it was worth. A Campfire session helped her understand how to approach the agent, ask about the vendor's position and put forward her offer with confidence.
It worked. Her offer was accepted quickly, without the competition escalating into a multiple offer situation.
🎯 By the end of this episode, you'll see how Katya moved from uncertainty to buying her first home by understanding her finances, learning the process, researching properties carefully and being prepared to act when the right opportunity appeared.
Episode Highlights:
01:05 – From Wild Property Ideas to Buying a First Home
07:05 – From Podcast Listening to a Clear Buying Process
10:19 – How Katya Spotted a Rare Apartment Worth Buying
13:21 – How One Partner Took the Lead on Property Research
15:37 – Why Some Properties Look Better Online Than In Person
20:49 – Why You Should Never Buy an Apartment From a Floor Plan
25:37 – Buying the Home Today With a Bigger Plan for Tomorrow
27:34 – Katya's Advice for Anyone Thinking About Buying
30:36 – A First Home, New Floors and What Comes Next
07:05 – From Podcast Listening to a Clear Buying Process
10:19 – How Katya Spotted a Rare Apartment Worth Buying
13:21 – How One Partner Took the Lead on Property Research
15:37 – Why Some Properties Look Better Online Than In Person
20:49 – Why You Should Never Buy an Apartment From a Floor Plan
25:37 – Buying the Home Today With a Bigger Plan for Tomorrow
27:34 – Katya's Advice for Anyone Thinking About Buying
30:36 – A First Home, New Floors and What Comes Next
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Co-Founders
Veronica Morgan & Meighan Wells
Veronica & Meighan are both licensed real estate agents who exclusively help buyers. Together they have nearly 40 years experience as property professionals.
Veronica is principal of Sydney based Good Deeds Property Buyers and is also co-host of The Elephant in the Room property podcast as well as Location Location Location Australia on Foxtel and author of Auction Ready: how to buy property at auction even though you're scared s#!tless!
Meighan is the multi award winning principal of Brisbane based Property Pursuit, chairperson of the REIQ Buyers Agent Chapter & a regular media commentator.
