Adult IQ First Home Toolkit
Buying your first home is a big milestone. Make sure you understand the costs, ask the right questions, and know what you're getting into before you commit.
Buying your first home can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Between working out what you can afford, comparing properties, understanding inspection reports, and preparing for the ongoing costs of ownership, there is a lot to consider. And the decisions you make before signing can have a significant impact on your finances for years to come.
The Adult IQ First Home Toolkit is designed to help you navigate the process with greater confidence and a clearer understanding of what homeownership really involves. It brings the key information, checklists, calculators, and tracking tools together in one connected workbook, giving you a practical resource to use before you buy and throughout your years as a homeowner.
What's included?
Affordability Calculator: Establish a realistic home-buying budget using three comfort levels, explore potential mortgage payment breakdowns, and understand how interest rates can affect what you can afford.
Property Comparison: Compare up to four homes side by side, including estimated monthly costs, cash required at closing, potential repairs, and your own ratings and rankings. This helps you look beyond the asking price and assess which property makes the most sense for you.
Inspection Checklist: Work through 55 inspection items organised by room and area. Record what appears satisfactory, what needs monitoring, and what may require repair, replacement, or specialist attention, including estimated costs.
Maintenance Schedule: Organise 34 recurring home maintenance tasks, track due dates, identify overdue work, and plan your maintenance budget using a 12-month calendar.
Home Systems Tracker: Keep track of the age and estimated remaining life of major home systems, including your roof, HVAC, water heater, and appliances. Use this information to prepare for future replacements and plan ahead financially.
Ownership Costs: Understand the ongoing cost of owning your home by tracking monthly expenses, comparing actual costs against your plan, and monitoring mortgage principal paid, interest paid, and your remaining loan balance.
Repair Log: Record repairs and upgrades, including contractors or vendors, costs, and warranty information. Entries also feed into your ownership cost tracking, helping you build a more complete picture of what your home costs to maintain.
More than a home-buying checklist
The real value of this toolkit is that it doesn't stop once you've purchased your property. It helps you think through affordability before you start looking, compare homes after viewings, prepare for inspections, and manage the financial responsibilities that follow.
Because the workbook's sections are connected, information can flow between relevant tabs, reducing duplicate entry and making it easier to keep your records organised. You can update the tracking year, personalise your details, and use the workbook as an ongoing reference as your circumstances change.
The toolkit is also designed to be practical. You don't need to be a property expert to get started. Work through the relevant sections at each stage of the process, enter your own figures, and use the information to ask better questions and make more informed decisions.
Who is this toolkit for?
Whether you're preparing to buy your first home, comparing properties, getting ready for an inspection, or settling into a home you've recently purchased, this resource helps you approach the process with a plan.
A home is more than a purchase price and a monthly mortgage payment. It's a long-term financial commitment. Understanding the costs, recognising potential problems, and planning for maintenance can help you avoid unwelcome surprises and make better decisions along the way.
Download the Adult IQ First Home Toolkit and give yourself a practical, organised starting point for one of life's biggest financial decisions.
Please note: This toolkit is an educational and organisational resource. Calculations and cost estimates depend on the information you enter and are not guarantees of actual costs. Confirm mortgage figures with your lender, property information with your real estate professional, and property condition and repair requirements with qualified inspectors or specialists. The toolkit does not replace professional financial, legal, lending, or property advice.