Melissa Attard from Melbourne is looking to buy for the first time with her husband, who is also a first-timer. They have been together for more than 20 years and have rented in Melbourne over that time. Attard says their experience with renting has been good; though, they have had to find new accommodation on two occasions after the landlord sold. First home buyer Melissa Attard, 40, doesn't want to be renting when she is 60. Credit:Luis Enrique Attard, a personal assistant, is 40, and her husband, who works in insurance, 41. They are not particularly old, but they don’t see themselves renting at 60. “My husband wants to own a house more than I do but we are reaching the point where we have spent the past 20 years travelling and, as we get older, we want the security of a house,” says Attard.

They are taking their time to get the right house as they don’t want to compromise and have to sell and buy again, but want somewhere that's going to suit them long-term. They are saving for a 20 per cent deposit, which they are “putting the finishing touches on'', Attard says. That will make it easier for them to satisfy the requirements of a lender. Ideally, they would like to buy a block of land and build a house on it, but if the right established house come along for the right price, they would look at that. “We have a mortgage broker who advised us to just keep powering away with the deposit and get rid of the credit card debt," Attard says. “It's like many things in life, where you just have to focus on it and do it." The couple is young enough that they're unlikely to face extra obstacles to borrowing. But if they were to delay their purchase for five years they might run into some challenges.

Exit strategy Mortgage brokers says lenders start asking additional questions of borrowers once they hit 45 to 50. Jonathan Preston, a senior mortgage broker at Home Loan Experts, says he is getting more inquiries from older borrowers, including those who are separated or divorced and looking to buy a place of their own for the first time. “Once you get to 45 to 50, lenders do want to know how the mortgage will repaid,” he says.

Lenders operate under responsible lending obligations and can only lend to those who have the capacity to repay the loan without financial hardship. It will vary from lender to lender, but generally a lender will not lend for loan terms that extend beyond the likely retirement age of the borrower, Preston says. However, if the loan term does exceed expected retirement age, the borrower would have show how they intend to meet their loan repayments in retirement or have an ''exit'' strategy , says Kirsty Lamont, a director of comparison site Mozo. “Older borrowers should ensure they have a solid repayment plan once they retire, which could take the form of a superannuation payout, or continuing income from investments, like shares,” Lamont says. Another exit strategy that may be acceptable to some lenders is to eventually downsize from a free-standing house to an apartment, she says.

Watch credit history Peter White, executive director of Finance Brokers Association of Australia, says older first-time buyers have to be particularly careful with the comprehensive credit reporting regime. Loading That’s because they have a “longer history” of accessing credit, such as credit cards, which increase the chances that they have missed a credit card repayment, White says. “They have more history than a 25-year-old and it’s more important than ever that bills are paid off on time, or it may make it harder when it comes to getting a mortgage,” he says.