The Quick-Start Guide to Your First Property: Pick Up Your Keys Simpler, Smarter and Sooner

If saving hard isn’t working, you need a new property strategy

You’ve done everything right ― got a job, cut back on spending, saved consistently ― and yet property prices keep pulling further away. Like millions of other young Australians, you feel locked out, watching the dream slip away despite your best efforts. Let’s get real: saving a 20% deposit isn’t practical in today’s market. You need better strategies. That’s where The Quick-Start Guide to Your First Property comes in.

In this essential playbook, personal finance expert Glen James and top mortgage broker Rachelle Kroon share the hacks that are actually getting first-time buyers into the market right now. Drop the outdated advice and discover what’s really working in the 2020s: parental guarantees, rentvesting, government schemes, creative lending structures and more. The Quick-Start Guide to Your First Property translates complex finance jargon into plain language and gives you a clear roadmap to property ownership.

Whether you’re looking for your first home or you want to start investing, you’ll get actionable tips to:

Clarify your foundations: master your income, debt and money mindset before you buy.
Enter the market sooner: with as little as a 5% deposit using government schemes and guarantor strategies.
Tap into strategic investing: live where you want and invest where you can, with rentvesting and shared equity.
Get clear on everything you need to know: like property cycles, asset types and the whole buying process from start to finish.
Build your property team: understand what mortgage brokers, buyer’s agents, conveyancers, accountants and negotiators do ― and who really works for you.

Full of practical tips and none of the fluff, this book shows readers that buying property is still possible, even in today’s ultracompetitive climate. The market has changed. Your strategy for getting started needs to change with it. How are you going to get started quick?

Interested in other ways to grow your money simpler, smarter and sooner? Check out the awarding-winning The Quick-Start Guide to Investing for everything you need to get started with shares.

Glen James is an Australian personal finance educator, best-selling author, and host of leading personal finance podcasts including 'money money money' and 'Retire Right'. A former financial adviser, he is known for his clear, practical approach that helps everyday Australians make smarter financial decisions without jargon or hype. The Quick-Start Guide to Investing, was named Book of the Year and Personal Finance and Investment Category Winner at the 2025 Australian Business Book Awards.