I’m thinking about buying my first home – what do I need to know?

Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox guides you through the steps you’ll need to go through when purchasing a property.

I’m thinking about buying my first home – what do I need to know?
Raine and Horne Murraylands' Michael Cox can help you through the process of buying your first home. Photo: Raine and Horne Murraylands.

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 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?

“The days of a $2000 deposit on a house and land package are gone,” Michael says.

“Generally you probably want to go in with at least a 10 per cent deposit.”

You’ll also need to be ready to pay:

  • stamp duty, a state government tax
  • lender’s mortgage insurance, which protects yourlenderif 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.

When the right home comes up, you want to be ready to go. Photo: Raine and Horne Murraylands.

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.

“Time on market is still very, very short at the moment – predominantly a few days or a week – so it’s really important to keep on those websites daily, or register with an agent so you can get an alert as soon as a property is listed.”

Michael 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.”

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.

If you’re thinking of going in with a low-ball offer and negotiating back and forth, the way that your parents did 30 years ago or your friends did 10 years ago, forget about it.

“Everything is very different now,” he says.

“Because there are generally multiple offers on a property in the first few days, it’s really important to put your best offer forward from the get-go.

“Sadly, in this market, second chances are relatively uncommon.

“If you love the property, you’ve done your homework, you’ve looked at other properties, for you it’s worth a certain dollar value, go straight to that dollar value.”

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.

Michael Cox and the team can help you through the purchase process. Photo: Raine and Horne Murraylands.

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.

What do you want to know about the Murraylands’ property market?

Raine and Horne Murraylands are your local real estate specialists, and they’re keen to answer your questions.

Leave your real estate question in the comments, or email peri@murraybridge.news.

Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Murray Bridge News’ Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.

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