Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever have to make in your lifetime and requires good planning to ensure your complete satisfaction.
Buying your first home can be an exhilarating experience, provided you do some research, stay within a comfortable budget and work with reputable professionals who will guide you through the process.
AFFORDABILITY
Be pre-approved for a mortgage loan before you look at property to avoid falling in love with a home you cannot afford. Make sure you ask your lender about your variety of loan options and get an idea of how much savings you will need for a deposit payment and associated settlement costs.
DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR AGENT
Establish a relationship with one of the friendly sales staff at Gibson Partners. Keeping in regular contact and being registered on our database allows us to notify you when new properties come to the market. A trustworthy agent can also walk you through the process of buying a home to make sure everything is done right.
RESEARCH THE CURRENT MARKET
Attend “Open Houses” and Auctions so that you have good knowledge of the type of property you’re looking for and the current market values within your budget .Compare the prices of sold properties and also the asking price of properties currently on the market to the ones you are interested in. Keep within an area/suburb as values can vary substantially if you compare properties from different demographics.
SEEK LEGAL ADVICE
Once you have found a property you are interested in seek the advice of a solicitor/conveyancer to look through a copy of the Contract For Sale and advise you accordingly. They will generally advise you to perform a building and pest inspection of the property and a strata search if you are buying a strata property.
INSPECTIONS
It is in your best interests to arrange for building and pest inspections before you unconditionally purchase a property. This will highlight any issues with the construction of the home, but you can also learn a lot about home maintenance and what to expect in terms of repairing or replacing systems and appliances as an owner.
MAKE AN OFFER
When you decide on a property, submit an offer to the agent. The owner of the property has the right to accept that offer or respond with a counter offer. This continues until an agreed price and settlement terms are reached. Remember not to blow your budget!
FINALISE THE SALE
After the contract has been signed, make sure to stay in touch with the agent from whom you purchased from and your lender to be sure your financing is taken care of along with all insurance needs.
PERFORM A PRE-SETTLEMENT INSPECTION
Make sure you perform a final inspection a day or so prior to settlement to ensure the property is in the same condition that it was when you purchased it.
UNLOCK THE DOOR
Congratulations…your mortgage has started and your new home is yours to enjoy!