The prospect of buying a property right now has many people taking a step back amid uncertain times.
However, for those who adopt a long-term view and who have secure employment, this could be an ideal time to enter the market. Interest rates are low and competition for property is low, making it the perfect time to negotiate.
Mortgage Mates, the brainchild of founders Daisy Ashworth and Jess Vesely, aim to make it even easier for Australians to enter the property market, by matching like-minded individuals so that they can purchase properties together; whether to live in or for wealth-generating purposes.
“Through entering a range of preferences, including location, type of property and price, Mortgage Mates match individuals based on their profile choices,” co-founder Daisy Ashworth shares.
It also enables people to take their first step into the property market but with “less financial risk and increased protection”, she says.
Two pathways are on offer – ‘buy’ and ‘build’. While the ‘buy’ component allows people to pool their resources towards an established property that they can select on a third-party real-estate platform, the ‘build’ side allows them to purchase a piece of land and develop a property.
Ashworth explains that this agreement can include “sub-dividing the property and building two separate properties for each party to live in; building an investment property; building one or more properties on their land which meets their needs (i.e. disability friendly); or building a ‘co-living’ property where all owners live on the property and share the resources and amenities”.
Mortgage Mates makes it possible for buyers to enter the market in less time, but it also allows them to purchase in a location that they most desire to live in, or one that is most geared toward giving them a strong return on investment.
“By matching with another user who shares your housing aspirations, you can afford to purchase a home to live in, land to build on or an investment property with less financial risks and increased legal protection,” Ashworth adds.
“Parties are strongly encouraged and are more likely to put a legally binding Co-Ownership Agreement in place to ensure that should one party want to sell their share or are unable to meet their repayment requirements, there is a set of rules outlined prior to purchasing the property to guide what happens in this instance.”
