BUYING PROPERTY

Buying property is one of the most stressful and expensive things you will ever do. It is vital that you seek legal advice from someone experienced in property law and who knows the area.

BEFORE YOU START

The first round of decisions you will likely need to make is in regard to finance. You may wish to obtain a pre-approval from your bank or non-bank lender so that you know how much you are able to borrow.

MAKING AN OFFER

Once you have found a property, you can make an offer to the agent. If your offer is accepted, then the agent may ask you to sign a Contract in their office and pay a 0.25% deposit. If this happens, then a cooling off period of usually either five or ten business days will apply. Alternatively, the agent may issue a Sales Advice, in which case the vendors legal representative will issue a Contract to us. Either way, you will need to provide the agent with our details so that they can be included on the Contract.

PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTIONS

Once your offer is accepted you will need to arrange a pre-purchase pest and building inspection reports. These are written reports about the condition of the property and helps you find out any potentially costly problems. If you’re not sure who to trust to do this inspection, talk to us.

SIGNING THE CONTRACT

If the agent has issued a Sales Advice, then the Contract will be signed once the vendors legal representative has provided the Contract to us.

There may be several things that can be negotiated in your favour, and you need to be absolutely clear on your rights and responsibilities before signing.

When you do sign the Contract, you will need to pay the 10% deposit (or as agreed). This is held with the real estate agent and is released to the Vendor (seller) after the property is settled. If you don’t have a 10% deposit available, please discuss this with us.

SETTLEMENT

After the Contract has become binding, we will have a number of tasks to perform including:

Stamping of the Contract and Transfer

Liaising with your bank/ lender in regard to the Mortgage

Checking with various government authorities to see if they have a vested interest in the property

Checking to see if there are any outstanding debts to local council etc

Calculating adjustments for council, water rates and strata levies

Making final checks on the title

Once settlement has taken place, you will be able to collect your keys from the agent’s office. Ownership of the property is transferred to you on this day.

Please feel free to discuss the specific property you are considering buying with Michelle.