Buying Tips
Preparing to Buy
As one of the largest investments most people ever make, purchasing a home can be a stressful time. The right advice and preparation at the beginning can make the entire process far easier. Prospective purchasers need to do some homework. Decide what you want in terms of size, location and price range. Register your name and requirements with C.J.Keane & Co. and ask us to let you know when a suitable property comes up.
Organising Finance
When organising finance, you need to know what you can afford. It is vital that you organise your finances before making an offer or bidding at auction. Make arrangements to cover the deposit should your offer or bid be successful, and arrange to have the appropriate mortgage funds available for settlement.
Deposit requirements will vary, but as a general rule of thumb, at least ten per cent of the selling price will be required.
Confirm with your financial institution or bank the amount they are willing to lend you and calculate this with your capacity to repay, without negatively impacting on your lifestyle and other financial commitments.
Don’t forget that (variable) home loan interest rates can move up and down, so you need to have a bit of leeway to cope if this happens.
You will also need to take into account a number of other costs associated with buying a property for which the buyer is liable. These may include the following:
• legal/conveyancing fees
• stamp duty on the transfer of property
• stamp duty on the mortgage
• loan application fees
• insurance
• adjustments such as council rates and water fees
Finding the Right Property for You
Once you’ve identified the type of property you are looking for, the next step is the most exciting – finding the property. Look in your local newspaper, visit popular websites like www.realestate.com.au , go to auctions and open for inspections and conduct research about the market. Our search page would be a good place to start, displaying all the properties we have listed with our agency. We would also suggest visiting your local C.J. Keane branch and speaking to one of our sales staff. Not only can we show you the properties we have listed for sale, but even if we don’t have the property you’re looking for we can contact our other branches on your behalf, or keep your details in case they find something for you later.
When You’ve Found The Right Property.
The best way to present a strong offer on any property is to utilise your purchasing option by signing a contract note offer.
There is a cooling off period which is only available to the purchaser and this allows for an offer to be presented to the owner in writing, on the Contract of Sale. This clearly demonstrates to the vendor that you are serious about your offer.
Once an agreement on price, settlement, conditions etc. has been reached with the vendor, the sale can proceed. An exchange of contracts is the only way to actually buy or sell a property. The exchange of contracts occurs when the purchaser and vendor each need to sign an identical copy of the proposed contract for the sale of land, that land having a title.
If you want to make an offer, be certain that you can follow through by having the following items confirmed:
„« A pre-approval of finance from your bank or lending institution
„« Your own property sold, or at least assessed for value and possible sale time
„« You have a solicitor or conveyancer selected
„« Determine how you will be paying the 10% deposit and associated costs
„« An idea of settlement times required before you take possession
Buying At Auction
Attend a few auctions to learn about how the process works. The property will generally be open for about an hour before the auction, so take advantage of that time and ask the agent any questions before the bidding starts. If you are intending to buy at the auction, all of the above mentioned must be in place, Auction day is final. If you turn up to bid and you are the highest bidder past the reserved price, you are the instant owner awaiting settlement of that property.
Buying At Private Sale
Private sale is the method of selling used most often. Purchasers can inspect the property, make an offer if they wish and the owner can accept it or reject it unlike at an auction. The only real difference between private sales and auctions is that the private sale process is slower and has no deadline.