What to look for in a property
When you’re thinking of buying, your requirements will vary depending on your personal circumstances and on the sort of property you wish to buy. You may be looking for a family home, a “sea change” property or a holiday home. Once you have found the property of your dreams, you may want to pause for a while and reflect before making an offer or signing on the dotted line.
Consider the following checklist:
➢ Before you decide on anything do you have your loan approved?
➢ Will you enjoy living in the neighborhood?
➢ Is the house sound? If you have any doubts at all, hire building and pest inspectors to check.
➢ Is it in an area likely to hold resale value or benefit from capital growth?
➢ Are there any long-term costs or issues such as body corporate fees, jointly owned driveways?
➢ What type of Title is the property? Is it Torrens Title, Company Title, Strata Title, or some other? Ask your solicitor to advise
on the Title.
➢ Does the entire house, including alterations, have the required Council permits?
➢ Is it built for the climate? Is it insulated? Will it be warm in winter, cool in summer?
➢ Have you asked your local council about planning issues like the possibility of any big developments planned or
construction of new roads nearby?
➢ If big changes are needed to make the property comfortable, then it’s a good idea to know the costs before you make an
offer.
➢ Is the house and land suitable for your stage in life – are there too many stairs, is the garden too steep?
Then think about the detail:
➢ Does the house have enough bedrooms?
➢ Are you happy with the garden – or its potential?
➢ Will you have good access to the facilities you need such as schools, doctor, medical centre’s and shops?
➢ Are there enough bathrooms?
➢ Is there enough garage space? Is the garage accessible from inside the house?
➢ Will you have problems with traffic or noise?
➢ Is the kitchen serviceable?
➢ Is it safe for your family, e.g. children, the elderly or disabled?
➢ Is it suitable for pets?
➢ Are you happy with the building’s security?
➢ Check under the house – is it dry?
➢ Is the block well drained?
Financing your dream
➢ How much you can afford? As a rule of thumb, mortgage lenders will normally lend about three and a half times your
gross taxable income. The figure will vary depending on your living expenses and other debts. However, this figure
combined with your deposit will give you a good idea of your safe limit.
➢ Confirm your limit with your loan consultant or a lender before you start looking at properties.
➢ How much deposit will you need? Most lenders will lend up to 80% of the value of a property. If you need to borrow more
than this you may be required to take out mortgage insurance, which insures the lender against a borrower
defaulting, however, remember the borrower is still liable for all the money owing to the lender plus costs associated
with defaulting.
Making an offer
When you have found your dream home and all the checks are complete and acceptable, it is time to make an offer even if the property is going to auction. If you choose to wait until auction day, be aware someone else may make a pre-auction offer that could be accepted.
➢ When making an offer you will find dealing through an agent is the easiest approach. It takes much of the emotion out of
the transaction for both you and the vendor.
➢ If you have done your research you will know how much you can afford to offer and what is a fair and reasonable price
for the property.
➢ You may be tempted to make a very low offer in an attempt to grab a bargain but others may also be making offers and
if these are higher you could miss out.
➢ If you really want the property make sure your offer is realistic and in line with current market value.
