Helpful Hints

• Find a good solicitor to assist you in the settlement process. Your solicitor can peruse your contract of sale, and ensure all relevant title searches are undertaken, and related stamp duty costs are paid to the relevant parties
• Ensure you arrange a building and pest inspection before finance date. Ensure this is one of the conditions of sale in your contract.
• Insurance cover - as soon as you have signed a contract to purchase a property, you will be liable for the building. Therefore, it is advisable that you request to have a clause built into the contract quoting you are not liable for the building until settlement date.
• Request 21 days finance. This will give you plenty of time to arrange your home loan.
• Pre-Approvals are a great way to ensure you have your loan conditionally approved prior to signing a contract. The approval is subject to a suitable valuation of your property and is generally valid for three months.
• Savings - Try to save a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, and show genuine savings over a six month period. (This will give you a much wider selection of lender loans to consider). If you don’t have 5% genuine savings, there are other options available.
• FHOG – First Home Owners Grant. The government grant of $7,000 is available to home buyers purchasing a property for the first time. This is not considered by lenders to be genuine savings. Use this grant to put towards the associated costs of your home purchase.
• 100% Property and Mortgage Stamp Duty exemptions exist for first home owners up to a purchase price of $250,000. A saving of over $3,000!
• Employment – Don’t change jobs just before you purchase a property. Lenders prefer to see stability of employment during their assessment process.
• Fixed vs Variable Interest Rates… Not sure which way to go? Why not split your loan? Many lenders will allow you to split your loan at no extra cost.