Buying a house can be a daunting stressful and exciting
process all at the same time especially your first
home, so we’ve put together a guide to help you
understand the steps and what comes next during the
purchasing process.
What Can I Afford?
First step BEFORE you go searching for a property, is
working out what your budget is and how much you
can afford each month in mortgage repayments. You’ll
need to keep up with repairs and maintenance, rates and
insurance This is where we come in! We can assist you
to work out your income and expenses and weigh this
against your deposit funds / the amount of equity you
have in your property you own. This information will help
us work out what price range you can look for houses in.
Get Pre-Approved
Once we’ve worked out what is affordable and your
maximum purchase price, we’ll put an application
together and set about getting a pre approval from
banks to work out how much you can borrow, which will
put you in a good negotiating position when you find a
property you love
Find a Solicitor
It’s an important part of the buying process. A solicitor
takes care of all the legal parts of the process. They
check over the Sales and Purchase Agreement, property
reports like the LIM (land Information Memorandums)
and property titles. We can suggest a few solicitors, or
you can talk to friends and family who have recently
purchased a property and see who they recommend.
The Hunt Beings
Knowing what you can afford and a pre approval in hand
you can narrow your search down and it will be much
easier to find a property. Use all the tools available to you
to find that property. There are many ways of searching,
online, using a real estate agent or newspaper and open
homes. Have a good look around to find out what’s
available. Don’t rush to buy. Take your time and make the
right choice. – such as payslips and tax returns
Tick all the Boxes
Make sure you’ve done all the checks needed to ensure you are happy
with the property like building inspections, LIM reports. Often a
couple of viewing of properties is needed to ensure this is the one!
Making an Offer
You’ve found the house you love and must have it! House buying is a
lengthy process, don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out with the
first house you find. You’ll need to make an offer in writing. If it has
not been prepared by your lawyer, make sure they check it before you
sign the dotted line.
Conditional
Most first offers are ‘conditional’. This means you are making your offer
subject to one or more conditions being met.
Conditions may include:
finance being approved
a satisfactory independent valuation
a satisfactory title search
a satisfactory building inspection
a satisfactory Land Information Memorandum
There are other types of house sales like auctions and tenders
which are more complex. Talk with your real estate agent about
these types of sales.
The seller may not accept your offer and could come back with a
counter offer. This means they might want to raise the amount you’ve
offered, or change some of the other things you’ve asked for. This may
happen many times before you agree on the final price and terms, but
make sure you stay within your budget. We will work with you, your
solicitor and real estate agent to satisfy all the conditions within your
finance approval (if any) and Sales and Purchase Agreement. Once all
the conditions are met, the offer becomes unconditional.
Unconditional
Once you’ve agreed the sale price, settlement date and conditions,
you’ll have an agreed period of time to get the reports and finance
you need to allow the contract to go unconditional and be finalised.
You will make the real estate deposit to the real estate companies
trust account and this will be released to the seller when they are
authorised. Neither the buyer of the seller can change their mind at
this point.
Settlement Day
You’ve probably packed the truck and ready to start moving in.
Sometimes this can take a little while to happen. Your solicitor and
real estate agent will contact you confirming the sellers solicitor has
confirmed settlement has taken place and your keys are ready for pick
up.
