Everyone is telling you the best thing to do and being incredibly helpful, but now you are really confused. It’s not that hard, so don’t overthink it. Just take a few simple steps:
- You need to know how much you can borrow.
- You need to look at the areas you wish to purchase and get to know the prices.
- You need to know how much you need to put in.
- You need to know if you can obtain a loan (pre-approval).
- You find a place in your price range and purchase.
- You change your pre-approval to purchase.
- The Lender and your conveyancer/solicitor normally do the rest between them for settlement.
- You need to organise house insurance.
- You need to organise packing and shifting, putting on the utilities; ie: electricity, gas, internet etc.
- On settlement day your conveyancer/solicitor will call you when settlement has happened and you then pick up the keys from the real estate and move in.
- We have a Maximum borrowing capacity calculator, but do not use it just yet. First, work out how much you could comfortably pay per week or month with the lifestyle you want. From this we can work out how much you feel comfortably borrowing.
- Have a look at realestate.com.au or any of the real estate web sites, put in the postcode/suburb you are looking for and the amount you think you can purchase for and see if you can afford that area. If not you can look at the surrounding suburbs. You need to know what you are aiming for and you need to narrow down what you are looking for to really get to know the prices and market of that particular area.
- Most of lenders will lend up to 95% of the purchase price, which means you need to put in the 5% and also have enough funds for the stamp duty and other costs. Go to the stamp duty calculator and it will give you all the government costs. What other costs, you ask? Many lenders charge Lenders Mortgage Insurance known as LMI, if you borrow more than 80% of the purchase price.
- Next find a location that suits your needs – job proximity, schools, etc. Now the fun of house hunting! Our suggestion is to drive around the area you have chosen and write down or high light on a map, the streets you like best. Go online and have a look to see if anything’s for sale and look at previous sales. You will also find statistics and information on the area. There are lots of apps and programs you can put in the area you want and each time a new property comes up for sale in the area you get notified.
If you are looking in an area you do not know, but feel you would like to live there, you might what to rent for a while in the area to see if it really is what you want.
When you locate the property you need to negotiate the price or go to auction. Do not get disheartened if you miss out. If you know the prices of an area and know how much you want to spend – stick to your guns. Many people jump into making a sudden decision and then worry about it. This can be prevented by thoroughly knowing the area you are looking to buy in. Once you have made a decision, stick with it, don’t start second guessing yourself. It is a major decision and quite stressful, but do your home-work and stick to your price and you will be happy.
Always remember that nothing kills big plans more than people with small plans and no imagination.
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