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Client case study

First Home Over The Scheme Cap

The scheme cap is a rule for the scheme, not a ceiling on what a nurse can buy. $45k over the line and the outcome was the same: no LMI.

Updated Jayden VecchioDirector & Mortgage BrokerReviewed byJoshua VecchioDirector & Mortgage Broker
Fact checked
Grey weatherboard home with window awnings and a garden in New Farm, Brisbane
On this page

  • Loan

    $940.5kCBA · 90% LVR

  • LMI

    $0Nurse and podiatrist waivers

  • Over the cap

    $45kBrisbane cap is $1m

The Borrowers

Hanna is a part-time nurse with Queensland Health since 2022, on $96k. Jonah is a podiatrist with Queensland Health since mid-2025, on $101k. First home buyers living in Fitzgibbon, on Brisbane's northside.

The Goal

Buy a $1.045m home to live in at Eatons Hill with about a 10% deposit.

The Problem

Their buying plan leaned on the First Home Guarantee, the 5% deposit scheme. Its Brisbane price cap is $1m, so at $1.045m the house was $45k over and the scheme was off the table. Without it, a 90% loan on a standard product means LMI.

What We Did

Jayden, one of our Brisbane mortgage brokers, treated the cap as a fork in the road, not a dead end. Both buyers work in professions some lenders waive LMI for: nurses and allied health, including podiatrists.

He ran the comparison on the waiver route, documented their registrations and income, and lodged with CBA. The conversion from pre-approval to formal approval went through the same day it was lodged.

The Result

$940.5k approved at 90% LVR with LMI $0. Being $45k over the scheme cap cost them nothing in LMI.

They did pay full transfer duty of about $33.4k. Queensland's first home concession for an established home stops at $800k, so duty applied whichever side of the scheme cap they bought. Settlement is booked for 16 November 2026.

Loan Details

Loan details
DetailFigures
LocationsLived in Fitzgibbon QLD; purchase in Eatons Hill QLD 4037
PropertyEstablished house, home to live in, first home
Purchase$1.045m
Loan$940.5k at 90% LVR
Lender and rateCBA variable, 6.36% at approval (October 2026), P&I, 30 years, about $5,858 a month
LMI$0
CostsAbout $41k including $33,437.50 stamp duty; cash to complete about $145.5k
Fees$395 annual package fee, $200 settlement fee
TimingContract 26 Mar 2026; finance date 15 Oct 2026; formal approval 16 Oct 2026; settlement booked 16 Nov 2026 (not yet settled)

Loan details

Detail

Locations

Figures
Lived in Fitzgibbon QLD; purchase in Eatons Hill QLD 4037
Detail

Property

Figures
Established house, home to live in, first home
Detail

Purchase

Figures
$1.045m
Detail

Loan

Figures
$940.5k at 90% LVR
Detail

Lender and rate

Figures
CBA variable, 6.36% at approval (October 2026), P&I, 30 years, about $5,858 a month
Detail

LMI

Figures
$0
Detail

Costs

Figures
About $41k including $33,437.50 stamp duty; cash to complete about $145.5k
Detail

Fees

Figures
$395 annual package fee, $200 settlement fee
Detail

Timing

Figures
Contract 26 Mar 2026; finance date 15 Oct 2026; formal approval 16 Oct 2026; settlement booked 16 Nov 2026 (not yet settled)

Rates are the rate at approval on the date shown. They are not current offers.

Buying Above The Scheme Cap?

We'll check whether a profession waiver gets you to 90% with no LMI.

Book a free assessment

or call 1300 088 065

Hunter Galloway Finance Pty Ltd T/A Mortgage Broker Brisbane - Hunter Galloway ABN 20 605 252 926. Credit Representative 476903 is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Your full financial situation would need to be reviewed before any offer or product is accepted.

Client examples are based on real situations. Names and identifying details have been changed.