Why first home buyer Marissa Li bought an apartment in Pavilions, Mirvac's Sydney Olympic Park development
Marissa Li was the first person to buy an apartment in Mirvac's Sydney Olympic Park development Pavilions back in 2017.
The 27-year old first home buyer, who was also the first to settle on her apartment in the 35-level Scarlet, the tallest building at Pavilions, was able to secure the apartment with a five per cent deposit through Mirvac's The Right Start initiative.
Now having moved in, Marissa is paying $100 a week less in mortgage repayments than she was at her rented Wolli Creek apartment. She paid the further five per cent deposit required in instalments over the three years that Pavilions took to build.
When Marissa began looking for her first home three years ago, The Right Start gave her the opportunity to get her foot in the door with a low deposit and ahead of investors. With reassurance from a family member who had bought at Mirvac’s Harold Park development, Marissa felt confident about Buying off the plan.
“As someone starting out, buying at Pavilions through The Right Start made a lot of sense to me,” Marissa said.
“I knew it was the only way I could afford to buy and have a few years to save. If I have a set goal I can save towards that, instead of waiting and only saving a bit here and there.”
Marissa attended the launch with her mother and aunt and being first in the line was able to secure the cheapest apartment. But she later changed her mind and decided to pay a little extra to have an apartment with a better outlook over the park-like courtyard garden.
Mirvac’s General Manager of Residential Development in NSW Toby Long said it is always a special moment to see people like Marissa moving in to their apartments.
"It makes the efforts of our development and construction teams, to keep working through all the challenges of the past few months, all the more worthwhile,” Long said.
“It’s been a long journey from the nervous excitement on the day we launched Pavilions to now, where we have a beautiful building with apartments designed and built to the quality that people expect from Mirvac. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved and to see the beginnings of the Pavilions community.”
Marissa has had plenty of time to consider whether she made the right decision to buy and is adamant she has no regrets.
“I am 110% pleased that I bought. I guess you always doubt yourself but I’m much happier to be paying off a mortgage than dead money in rent.”
Marissa’s happiness with her move is not confined to financial concerns but also the ability to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
“I try my best but if the development can lead the way, that fits into my lifestyle,” Marissa said. “The sustainability at Pavilions is very appealing for me. The toilet and laundry use recycled water and the bins are designed so that recyclable waste is separated. I have my Brompton bike and I’m thinking about selling my car and just using the car share that is available at Pavilions when I need it.”
Pavilions is now completed, with apartments selling from $625,000.