Benefits of owning your own home

• Buying property has long been recognised as one of the safest investment options, because depending on location and other factors the value of your home will appreciate over time.
• Building up equity in a home by making regular mortgage payments is one of the best ways for many people to save a large amount of money over time.

Quick Tips

Tip 1

Get to know the location you are looking at buying in.

Tip 2

Make a list of your criteria – what you're looking for in a property.

Tip 3

Do your homework on recent sold prices and comparable sales.

Tip 4

Get your home loan pre-approved.

When you have found the one

Contracts

Contracts will detail the property address, selling price, deposit, terms and conditions, party names, special inclusions and date of settlement.

Exchanging contracts

Neither you nor the vendor is legally bound to a purchase until the written and signed contracts have been exchanged.

Exchange

When both you and the vendors have signed the contracts they are exchanged and the purchaser also needs to pay a deposit at this time.

Legal representation

Legal representation is essential to ensure a smooth transaction when buying and selling property. While this contract is usually prepared by the seller's solicitor, your legal representative should check the details and make sure zoning, heritage or title restrictions don't clash with your intended use of the property. They should also help you arrange the inspections you should do before you exchange contracts and check that all property taxes are paid, and that the seller is actually entitled to sell the property.

Between exchange and settlement

This time period is usually six weeks, however this can be modified if both parties agree to extend or reduce the time frame.

• During this time you should arrange insurance for the property, finalise the financed balance of the purchase price and sign the mortgage documents.
• Your lender will most likely arrange a valuation of the property and require you to take out building insurance effective from the exchange date – unless you're buying a strata property.
• Settlement will then take place when the balance of the purchase price is paid and the keys and title deeds are handed over.