FHOG Eligibility

Hi Guys,

Pls help in this issue.

I bought a House and Land Package in April 2009 and filled the FHOG application on 1May 2009 and submittted to my bank. The builder started
construction recently and it now looks like I wont be eligible for FHOG as the 26 weeks has crossed from the date of contract signed.

Our house construction started 10 days late i.e. after 26 weeks from the date of the signed contract. Now my bank comes back and say that I wont be eligible for the grant will be only paid $7k basic. where by I will be loosing around $14k of my money!!!!

My bank kept the FHOG application (signed by us) for 6 months and did nothing, and now they come back and say that we wont get the grant.

In summary, I have to pay expensive price with bank's and my builders negligence. builder says the loan was not approved on time so the constrcution is delayed.


Please advise what to do to claim my actual grant that I am can claim?

Thank you all for your responses in advance.

Cheers

bjn2009
 
Hiya BJ

Sounds like a major let down .

Id lean on the lender just a little harder, while the OSR has rules, there are ways around these rules, OR if the loan is for owner occ purposes you will have other remedies

So we can help out a little better can you pls tell us which lender pls.


ta
rolf
 
Thanks Rolf,

I din get by the stmt 'if loan is for occ purposes' , the loan was for us and the lender is Railways Credit Union.

All the loan specialist they title them selfs got least knowledge on construction loans, yet we went through them coz of cheaper interest rates.

Do you recon we have chances to get the grant?

Thanks,

BJ
 
Thanks again Rolf,

I think the lender Railways Credit Union , Queensland is not the member or non member in this Banking Ombudsmans ,

The loan is surely for us as Owner occupied loan, u recon I should still write to this Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman? or write to Office of Revenue Commissioner who grants the loan?

Thanks,

BJ
 
Hiya

if the lender isnt a member, then there is little point bothering with the Ombudsman.

You next best bet is to get the full actul details documented end to end, including all file notes and phone convos emails etc that took place.

With that information, id be making an appeal to the OSR.

On the surface it does look like 6 mths window for a loan approval is unusual,,...........but then,we dont know what went on

ta
rolf
 
Sorry Rolf,

the loan approval took about one month 2 weeks. 6months is the time they kept our signed FHOG application and they did not even remind us that the deadline for construciton date was near as once we submitted the applicaiton it was their responsibility to work on that FHOG application.

Summary:

contract was 24 April 2009 signed
FHOG signed one submitted to RCU on 1 May 2009
Loan got approved in June 15 2009
Construction started on 3 Nov (this is 10 days late form the 26 weeks of the 24 April contract signed).

Based on above, the RCU recons we migth not be eligible for grant as 26 weeks has crossed by.

RCU is now asking us to write a letter to OSR and has asked our builder to write a letter as to why the construciton start date was late.

We were no were invovled in delaying the construction process, but we wont get the amount. our builder, RCU, lawyers took what ever money they required from us. even if we were eligible we canno get the grant which looks unfair :(

Thanks Rolf , would appreciate your suggestions.

BJ
 
Id start with doing what the RCU suggest and take it from there

Looks like the issue may not be the lodgement of the FHOG, but the 26 weeks from date of land acquisition ?

ta
rolf
 
Hi Rolf,

Yep the issues 26 weeks from the date of contract signed. but we did not cause any delays, it was the bank and our builder who took time.

Builder says bank did not approve the loan on time, so it delayed their process.

this is causing me lot of stress, and it's not my mistake for construction date to start so late. yet I have to pay huge price.

Ta,

BJ
 
Sounds like you didn't get the grant as your building work didn't commence within 6 months of signing contracts.

You can't expect the lender to warn you about this sort of thing. They don't provide this sort of advice. The processing of the forms won't really matter as it is the date of construction that is important.

The builder was probably delayed by waiting for council approvals etc. Did you inform them of the need to start building within 26 weeks?

Your best bet is to apply to the OSR for special consideration.
 
Thanks Terry,

I now applied for special consideration detailing the reason for delayed construciton start date. I hope to hear from them soon.

Thanks Rolf and Terry for your suggestions, very much appreciated.

I hope to hear from them next week.

Ta,

BJ
 
Thanks to all,

I now received my grant after applying for consideration, I clearly stated in my letter that it wasn't my fault for the construction start date to be delayed. I obvisouly had to provide enoug evidences to prove that. :)

Ta,

BJ
 
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