In a nutshell – there are five critical steps to buying a house in New South Wales. First, it’s paramount that you wear the project manager’s hat and instruct your team to make it happen.
Set up a Whatsapp group or an email channel for team collaboration.
Here’s what to expect as well as some really good tips and hacks.
- Organise your finance
Get preapproval on your finance – at least six months in advance. Know your budget.
HACK – Not all brokers are equal – find a broker and ask about their approval track record rating.
The broker I used is Gina Neoh, who has an excellent approval success rate of 97% https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginaneoh
2. Identify the location
Circle a region or area you want to buy in and focus on this area. Decide on the type of property you want such as how many bedrooms, bathrooms, garages, etc.
HACK – Make searching and inspections easy. Set up alerts on your app of choice www.realestate.com.au or www.domain.com.au. Find out what agents work in the suburb that you are focused on – get to know them to form a relationship – consider them part of your team. Opt-in to their databases and have listings sent straight to your email box to take advantage of off-market opportunities.
HACK – If you want to secure a property, have your 10% deposit ready to go – Jon Luton from Byron Bay Real Estate Agency said properties for sale in the Byron Region are hotly contested and are sold ‘in the twinkle of an eye.’
3 . Submit an offer
When you decide to place an offer on a property, you need to request the agent to give you a copy of the sale contract for that property.
HACK – send the sale contract to your conveyancer/solicitor to check for any red flags. After they advise that it is in good order, submit your offer.
Many agents will also request a deposit at this time. When selecting a conveyancer, you should check they are registered with NSW Fair Trading – this is a requirement by law.
HACK – even though you can make a verbal offer and submit your offer in writing.
4. Negotiate the contracts for exchange
Once your offer has been accepted, and you have paid the deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price it’s time to exchange and sign the sales contract. This is a legally binding agreement that completes the purchase process.
HACK – A five-day cooling-off period after the date of exchange is standard when buying a house in NSW. This period allows a purchaser to withdraw from the contract with written notice. If you do withdraw from the contract during cooling off, you will be required to pay the vendor 0.25% of the agreed purchase price.
5. Prepare for settlement.
After the contracts have been exchanged, you will then have approximately six weeks (this can vary from 4 – 8 weeks) until settlement. This period is used to finalise the payment on the property and for your conveyancer/solicitor to prepare legal documents in preparation for settlement day.
HACK – Place the champagne on ice and wait for the notification that …. the property legally belongs to you and pop the cork, and start celebrating!