Some helpful guides to answer your questions …. no questions are silly!!

It's no secret that getting on the property ladder comes with a lot of uncertainty. From market conditions and timing to the best places to buy, it can feel overwhelming. Remember, start with your first home, knowing that it's your first home. Many people make
the mistake of waiting for the perfect property, missing out on the opportunity to build equity.

*The excitement of getting those keys for the very first time can sometimes take over and small details can easily be missed. Don’t let that be you.*

Buying your first home doesn’t need to be scary … things to look for and do:

Pay off your credit cards and reduce as much debt as you can to enable you to be able to be approved to
borrow as much as possible – the banks will want to look at your bank statements and spending over the
3 months prior to you applying for lending.
Find a mortgage broker that is a good fit for you and can help you find out the budget range that you are
shopping in. A mortgage broker will apply on your behalf to different banks to get the best deal to fit
yourself and your needs.
Once the mortgage broker has gotten approval from the bank that works best for you, you will have a
certain length of time in which to go shopping for your dream home (usually 3 months)
Things to look for:
What is the neighbourhood like?
Is it quiet at night?
Is there much crime in the area?
What happens when it rains?
Talk to the neighbours – are they aware of any future development activity?
There are different ways in which properties are advertised on the market:
Set Priced
Negotiable over a certain $,
By Negotiation,
Deadline Sale, Auction (see here for explanations).
Found your dream property! What do you do now?
Put an offer forward, the real estate agent or your lawyer can help you to do this, and if your offer is the
one that the vendor (seller) accepts then:
You will then have a timeframe in which to fulfill your due diligence clauses that you included in your
Sale and Purchase Agreement – generally 10 – 15 working days, these conditions may include:
a) Subject to your pre-approved finance being accepted on that property by the bank
b) Subject to a building report that can highlight any issues that may alert you to property damage
or hidden expenses
c) Subject to a LIM (Land information memorandum) – a report issued by the local city or district
council which provides a summary of all the information that the local authority has on file about that property
d) Subject to your lawyer looking over the documents and being happy with them
You will require a lawyer or conveyancer to help you settle the property – again shop around for
this as there can be quite a range of fees that different companies charge.
When would you like to move into the property? (Settlement day) You will need to take into
account if there are any public holidays within the time between the confirmation and settlement date.
A lot of people chose a Friday for settlement day as this gives you the weekend to get organized if you
work from Monday to Friday. However, there is no set day, and often Fridays are very busy for lawyers
so if a mid-week settlement works for you then it may mean that all of the paperwork is done earlier in
the day and you can receive the key earlier.
‘Start Packing’
On Settlement Day: Once your money has arrived in the vendor’s account, their lawyer will advise
the real estate agent that they can release the keys to you …