I’m looking at buying my first home – what do I need to know?
Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele guide you through the steps you’ll need to go through when purchasing a property.
This sponsored story is brought to you by Raine and Horne Murraylands.
You’re old enough now that you’re thinking about settling down.
You’ve started saving, and you’ve seen some nice places for sale around the Murraylands.
Now what?
Back up – there are a few steps you’ll want to take before you start making love-heart eyes at a home with a “for sale” sign out the front.
Buying your first home can be a daunting process, especially when it’s such a huge life decision.
So let’s break it down for you: what do you need to know about buying a home before you get too emotionally involved?
We’ve asked Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele to guide us through the process.
Getting your finances in order
First, unless you’re made of money, you’ll want to get pre-approval for a home loan.
Basically, you want to give your lender all the information they’ll need to say yes, they will lend you the money you need when the time comes.
To work out how much you can afford in regular loan repayments, they will need to know about your income and any other debts you have, including credit cards and Afterpay.
They’ll also want to know how much you have saved for a deposit: the first down payment you’ll make on your new home.
How much will you need?
“Some lenders are taking a lower deposit, but as a guide, 10 per cent (of the purchase price) is a good starting point,” Casey says.
“Having a decent slice saved definitely puts you in a better position to secure something.”
You’ll also need to be ready to pay:
- stamp duty, a state government tax
- lender’s mortgage insurance, which protects your lender if you can’t repay your home loan
- other fees and charges from your financial institution
On the flip side, government help is available for first home buyers, including a first home owner grant of up to $15,000, stamp duty relief for newly built homes, and limited places in a first home guarantee program.
If that sounds complicated, well, it can be.
“Ask your real estate agent and your professional people for their advice,” Michael suggests.
Finding a home
After you and your lender are satisfied that you’re ready to buy a home, then comes the fun part: looking for a property.
Have a think about some of the factors that will help you decide whether a home will suit you:
- location
- land size
- bedrooms, bathrooms and layout
- whether renovations will be needed
You might also get a feel for the market in the area where you’d like to live, keeping an eye on the types of properties that are coming up, what features they have and how much they’re worth.
“Use the search parameters on realestate.com.au or raineandhorne.com.au so you don’t get teased by properties outside your budget,” Michael suggests.
He recommends getting out to as many property viewings as you can, too, so you can see what’s out there.
“Buying a home is a massive, life-changing decision, and you want to make the decision that’s right for you,” he says.
“If you’ve looked through a number of homes, when the one comes up that is truly the right one for you, you’ll feel confident in being able to put your best foot forward with an offer.”
On the bright side, while homes are still selling relatively quickly, conditions are not as frantic for buyers as they were a year or two ago.
“Properties in that affordable range, $500,000 to $700,000, are moving in a couple of weeks rather than a couple of days,” Casey says.
“Prospective purchasers are able to take a little bit more time to look around instead of making snap decisions.”
Making an offer
When you find that home that ticks all the boxes, the next step will be the big one: making an offer to buy it.
This stage of the process is the one that has changed the most in recent years, given how much demand there is for housing in the Murraylands at the moment.
It still pays to put a strong first offer forward – but again, conditions have eased slightly in the past year or two.
“There’s a little bit more wiggle room than there was,” Casey says.
“If there’s a property that does interest you that you think may be slightly out of reach, it’s worth putting forward an offer – you may be able to negotiate something.”
Make sure you include as much information as you can on the form you’ll submit to the real estate agent, Michael advises.
If six offers come in saying “finance pre-approved”, but you go the extra mile and include details about the mortgage broker, building inspector and conveyancer you’ve got lined up – or indicate how much of a deposit you’ve got or how long it will take for you to get finance approved – your offer will look that much stronger when it’s laid on a table in front of a seller.
A good real estate agent will help you through this process, Michael says.
After the seller says yes
So you get that magical phone call: your offer has been accepted and the place will be yours.
After the initial thrill dies down, there will be paperwork to do.
You’ll need to sign a contract for the purchase of the property and finalise that home loan you’ve lined up with your lender.
Then there’ll be a settlement period, the period you have to wait before the property becomes legally yours – usually at least four weeks.
Then, once you’ve got the keys, you’ll need to get any renovations done and start moving all your stuff in … but you’ll have plenty of energy for that as you embark on the next exciting chapter of your life.
- More information: Visit www.raineandhorne.com.au/murraylands, call 8532 3833 or drop into the office at 4 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge. Or, for information on buying your first home, visit moneysmart.gov.au.
Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.
Peri Strathearn
