At Clayton Real Estate we understand that buying either your first home or even your 20th investment property, that there is an element of stress. Our commitment to you is to make the buying process as painless and smooth as we can. To help you get started we have compiled some tips to help you. Happy house hunting!
Finance
To avoid the disappointment of finding a property only to find you cant afford it, makes talking to your finance provider as to how much you can borrow and afford to repay essential. Where possible, obtain finance pre-approval to avoid any delays when you have found your property.
Location
Identify and research the suburbs you are interested in. We can assist in providing a suburb report for you.
Features
Take the time to assess the type of home you desire. Consider your lifestyle whether for example an apartment or house will best meet your needs. Work out what your must haves are in a property and a list of your wants. In any checklist regardless of your budget it is unlikely that a property will tick all your boxes.
Doing your homework
Begin to visit homes that appear to suit your needs. You will need to get a feel for prices. Your property search should continue until you walk in to a property that gives you the sense of “this is the one”. If this happens to be one of the first properties you see then obtain comparable sales to give you peace of mind as to fair market value.
Letting us know
We are here to help you find your home. By letting us know we can keep a look out for you, of any new properties that come up for sale. You can join up on our buyer alert website where we can let you know of any new listings before they are even advertised. To become a member click here.
Found the property
We recommend that you arrange a pest and building report and perhaps also get in touch with some of your potential neighbours to make sure there are no hidden surprises.
Making an offer
Once you are happy with the property, it is time to finalise price, terms and conditions. Not every property is negotiable, in fact many of the best properties are much better value at the asking price than another property that is negotiated by $20,000 for example. All this means is that the owner has inflated the price above market value to create an impression with the buyer of a huge discount. If you decide to make an offer be careful that the offer is not too low that may insult the owner and subsequently jeopardise further offers you want considered.
Paying a deposit
Once negotiations are finalised you may be required to pay a deposit. The deposit will be held in a trust account until settlement.
Exchange of contracts
Once all due diligence is completed you are then ready to sign the contract. Once you and the vendor have signed the contracts, the solicitor will exchange the contracts. The contract has now become binding. There is now a period of time usually 42 days until settlement occurs (you get the keys).
Final inspection
The week before settlement you will be advised by your solicitor/conveyancer to inspect the property to ensure it is in the same condition as when you agreed to buy it. Once the inspection has taken place you need to notify your solicitor/conveyancer that the inspection has taken place.
It’s mine!
You will get the keys when the property settles. It is now yours to enjoy!