Buying Tips

Before you begin searching

Choose your suburb/locality

You may have a particular reason for wanting to move into a certain area, such as proximity to work, transport or schools, or personal reasons like wanting to be close to the family, or to cafes and restaurants.

Think about what your needs will be now and in the future
Look for suburbs which are on the rise. Talk to estate agents about which suburbs have had high numbers of bidders at auctions, or a lot of big property sales which have exceeded the reserve price. These are good indications that the suburb is about to boom. Cheaper suburbs which are located next to more expensive suburbs with homes in a similar style are also good ones to target.

Get your loan pre-approved
Pre-approval gives you the confidence of knowing how much home you can afford before you start searching.

Plan to do plenty of searching
It pays to take the time to get a good idea of the shape of the real estate market, so you know when you’re getting a good deal. Inspect as many properties as you can before you make your choice on the one for you.

Before you buy your property

Be aware of extra expenses
When buying a house, make sure you take into account things like taxes, stamp duty, council rates, strata fees, insurance, maintenance costs, and costs of utilities such as gas, water and electricity.

Have a professional pest and building inspection carried out on the home or investment property
Don’t leave anything to chance. Make sure you use a qualified, reputable inspection service with an impeccable track record.

Inspect the property yourself before you settle
Visit the property after the previous owners or tenants have moved out. Make sure the property has been left in accordance with the agreement you have made in the purchase contract.