Buying Tips

When buying, there are a number of things to consider such as budget, time frames, location and the type of house. Once you find the home you would like to buy, you will need to prepare an offer, get a solicitor, building and pest inspections and of course, move! The following article gives some tips on the process from beginning to think about moving and actually buying a home. We are always available to have a chat and give you some obligation free advice so please don't hesitate to be in touch.

FINANCE

A good starting point is to speak to your bank or finance consultant to discuss your borrowing capacity and possibly arrange a pre-approved loan so you know what you can spend. We know a number of people that can service you in this way and you can find them on the Local Business Page of our website.

TIME FRAMES

Time frames may be determined slightly on whether you need to sell first or at the same time, whether your home needs some work done on it and whether you are renting and need to work in with your lease. By getting us in at this early stage, we can help advise you on achieving your time frames and also let you know what to do and not to around your house for a successful sale.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?

You can then start to think about where you want to move to. Think about things like what you want to be near to for example, you may want be in a particular school zone (you can find some links to local schools in our Handy Links section) or close to public transport. From these requirements, you will develop a list of preferred suburbs and even a particular area within that suburb that you do or do not want to live.

WHAT SORT OF HOUSE DO YOU WANT?

Once you have narrowed down your location, you will then need to decide what characteristics you want in your next home. How many bedrooms, bathrooms, what sort of car accommodation, size of land and whether you are looking for a lowest house or a double storey home etc. You can also make a wish list like bush backdrop or colorbond roof – this list might be things you are flexible on. For example, you might want a pool but are happy to put one in if there is room etc.

It always helps to do a bit of research on an area using realestate.com.au, myrp.com.au and the local paper to find out what's been selling in the area you are interested in. Attend open homes in the area to get a good feel for what is selling and what isn't. This will give you a good indication on value for money when it comes to the home you love.

Be sure to fill in our property alert section under our Buying heading so you can be amongst the first to know about new listings and what's happening with our properties.

PUTTING AN OFFER IN / SIGNING A CONTRACT

When you do find the home you like, you will need to make an offer. This is done in writing on a contract and generally with a $1000 deposit paid as a gesture on your behalf to show the vendor you are serious. This will be deposited into a trust account. You are advised to seek legal advice so speak to your solicitor about possibly seeing the contract before you sign it. Your legal fees will probably cost you a minimum of $600 depending on the property, zoning and the searches needed. You will also want to get a building and pest inspection done to give you good peace of mind about the things you can't see in a home. These can be done from around $375 - $450 so are well worth the investment. We have a solicitor and building and pest company in our Local Business section and you will receive 10% off if you print off their listing from our website. You may also want to include a finance clause to give you time to organize things with your bank. This is generally 14 days and is still advisable if you have a pre-approved loan. Best to cover yourself in case something does go wrong with the finance because you will be released from the contract without penalty and your deposit completely refunded to you.

Remember an offer doesn’t only consist of price. You might be able to make a cash offer so the vendor doesn’t have to wait for the 14 day finance period. You may want them to include the pool creepy crawly. You might want to make it conditional upon the sale of your home. All these things should be clearly included in your contract and again, seek legal advice if you are unsure or for anything out of the ordinary.

I'VE BOUGHT A HOUSE, NOW WHAT?

Once the vendor and yourself reach agreement on price, you will be given a copy of the signed contract and will need to begin organizing your finance, solicitor searches etc, building and pest inspections and insurance. You will most likely need to pay a balance of deposit when your finance is approved and the contract is going ahead. This can be anything up to 10% of the purchase price, but generally enough to cover commission and advertising is acceptable. Keep your agent and solicitor informed of your progress so they know what is going on and be mindful of dates for these things to be done by.

You obviously will need to organize removalists, change of addresses with everybody who has your old address (banks, memberships, doctors, Queensland Government for your rego and license etc) and utilities so that you aren't moving into a home without electricity or the phone!

SETTLEMENT

On settlement day, it is advisable to conduct a pre-settlement inspection. This ensures the property is left in the same condition that you saw it in and that all the things included are still in the property. For example a dishwasher, curtains etc. Your solicitor and agent will advise you when settlement has been effected and you can pick up your keys as arranged and move in.

All sounds simple doesn't it! We are always here to be of service so if at anytime throughout the buying process you have a question or want something clarified, do not hesitate to be in touch. This is one of the biggest and most important things we do in our lives so be sure to have an agent by your side that can help make this process as smooth as possible, be sure that you are a partaker of what is "Realty Excellence"!