Is it time to move out of your rental property and look at buying a place of your own? Then its time to get organised with your finances, especially when it comes to saving for your home loan deposit.

Working to put aside as much money you can for your home loan deposit means that you are likely to have a wider range of home loan options available to you. While there are no-deposit home loans available on the mortgage market, these can attract other costs, such as a higher interest rate.

Generally, most type of home loans will require a deposit of at least 5 to 20 per cent of the value of the property, whether you borrow from an independent lender, or one of the big banks, such as Westpac.

Ideally, you should aim to save at least 20% of the deposit to avoid the added cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). This is required by most lenders, including Westpac, if you borrow more than 80% of the value of a property. The purpose of LMI is to protect Westpac in case you are not able to make any of your loan repayments.

The price of property has generally sky-rocketed over the past years, so saving a large deposit is not always possible. The good news is that LMI can be capitalised, which means the cost is added on to the total cost of your Westpac home loan.

One of the criteria you need to meet for your first westpac home loan is the ability to show that your deposit consists of genuine savings. Westpac define genuine savings as regular deposits made into your own bank account over a minimum of three months, share certificates or a term deposit you have held in your name for at least three months. Once you have owned property, the money from the sale of a previous property can also count toward you genuine savings.

Genuine savings are required so you can prove to Westpac that you have managed your money and have gradually increased your savings over time, rather than having a lump sumwhich may have been a giftinto your account just prior to you applying for a loan.

So, how can you save up for a Westpac home loan deposit? Creating a saving strategy is simplespend less than you earn and save the rest. Speak to your financial broker for information on your first home loan application.