One simple thing stood between me and a mortgage to buy a house at 25 - and you ... trends now
A woman who bought a house at 25 has revealed she was able to qualify for a home loan by cancelling her Afterpay account.
Bridget Carkeet, now 28, bought a four-bedroom house at Ipswich, 40km south-west of Brisbane in Queensland, for $500,000 in 2021.
But to qualify for the loan, she had to close down her Afterpay and Zip Pay accounts.
'They were not really in use but I still had them active,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
Experts warn a credit card with a $15,000 limit - even if it has nothing outstanding - could cut your potential maximum available loan by $71,000 if it's not cancelled.
By closing down both accounts, Ms Carkeet was given the green light for her mortgage and even allowed to borrow another $2,000 from the bank.
And as a result, Ms Carkeet was able to buy a house on her own at Karalee, a 15-minute drive from work at a private allied health practice near Ipswich Hospital.
'The advice that was given to me by my banker was to try and make sure that my lending capacity was at the best it could be,' she said.
A woman who bought a house at 25 has revealed she was able to qualify for a home loan by cancelling her Afterpay account
As a clinical exercise physiologist who helps children regain or enhance their mobility, she was able to get a loan with a 10 per cent deposit, and spared from lenders' mortgage insurance because she is a health professional.
Her clients are children who qualify for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, ranging in age from one to 17 who have suffered a brain tumour, have cerebral palsy or other mobility challenges.
'I just followed my own passion in that healthcare field - I didn't necessarily decide based on what jobs are available,' she said.
'I went with what I enjoyed, making an impact on their abilities to care for themselves and to progress into normal schooling.'
She was able to borrow $450,000 when Reserve Bank interest rates were still at a record-low of 0.1 per cent and banks offered fixed mortgage rates starting in the two per cent range.
'The interest rates were quite low and it was a similar amount for me to be renting,' she said.
'I tried to get in as soon as I had the savings and as soon as I had a secure, permanent, full-time job.'
