Excitement, pleasure, pride. These are the feelings that buying a home can bring whether it is your first home, your next home or an investment property.
Choosing the right home for you comes down to knowing what you need; what you can afford and knowing exactly what's available at the time you are ready to buy.
Knowing what you need
Although it seems obvious, the type of home you buy should reflect the lifestyle you are planning for the future. Think about such aspects as household numbers, proximity to local amenities, including schools, t he sorts of work and leisure activities you like and the length of time you expect to live in the home.
Knowing what you can afford
Speak with your bank manager or consult our Ray White Financial Services consultant to pre-determine your budget level and perhaps obtain pre-approval from the lending institution prior to going out 'to buy'. This puts you in a position where you are able to make 'a cash offer.'
Knowing what is available
Newspapers, real estate publications, real estate offices and the internet are all good places to begin your search … this web site is updated daily featuring the very latest listings to the market. Each week we post a list of open homes for the coming weekend and you are invited to register on this site to receive automatic notification of properties that may suit your needs.
Knowing local values
Research sales in the areas you are looking and may be attend any auctions of properties to help establish current values. Attend as many open homes as possible. Ask any one of our sales agents for additional advice … they will be happy to help.
You've found your perfect property
When you find a property that suits your requirements, ask the agent for sales statistics of similar properties in the area. If the property is to be auctioned, obtain a copy of the auction agreement and send it on to your solicitor. Remember, when purchasing at auction, you must pay a 10% deposit on the fall of the hammer.
We recommend that purchasers arrange a building inspection prior to purchase and also obtain a copy of the LIM report. We also recommend you organise an independent valuation.
Concluding a Sale
Once your offer has been written and negotiations are finalised you will sign a Sale & Purchase Agreement and pay a deposit; usually 10% of the sale price. Copies of the contract will be sent to your solicitor and yourself.
*If the property you wish to purchase is going to be auctioned, please go to our 'Guidelines on Purchasing at Auction'.
Settlement Day
This is when ownership of the property is transferred to you and financial transactions are completed. Prior to settlement day you may request a pre-settlement inspection of the property to ensure nothing has changed in its status since purchase and agreed chattels are in place. Once all settlement procedures have been finalised the keys will be released to you.
The home is now yours … congratulations !
Buying at Auction
Buying at auction is probably the simplest and most straight forward method of purchasing a property. The process is quick, transparent and simple.
Once you've identified the property you desire, the simple steps to follow are:
Preparing for the auction Let your salesperson know that you have interest to ensure you are kept fully informed of all developments and to ensure you are contacted should a pre-auction offer be made.
- Satisfy yourself as to any building or structural matters-you may wish to obtain a building report from a reputable company specialising in "pre-purchase" inspections.
- Satisfying yourself as to any local authority compliance issues - the vendor may provide an up to date LIM (Land Information Memorandum). Give this to your solicitor to check.
- You may wish to get your solicitor to peruse a copy of the Auction Conditions of sale (Certificate of title attached) to satisfy yourself there are no contractual issues pertaining to the sale. These Conditions of Sale will also state the chattels, settlement date and any special clauses relating to the sale.
- Ensure your finance is in place as all auction purchases are unconditional. If you are the successful purchaser at the point of signing the contract you will be required to pay a sum of 10% of the purchase price to our trust account.
We always advise people to arrange finance a little beyond what you would like to pay - property is a long term investment and nothing is more frustrating than loosing your dream for the sake of a few thousand dollars.
Bidding
There are no tricks to bidding - simply let the auctioneer know you are bidding (usually by raising a hand). If the property has reached the Reserve and you hold the highest bid you will become the joyful new owner - if it goes beyond you, you have a period of disappointment but have learnt a great deal about the current market.
If you see other people bidding for any property at our Auctions, be assured that these are all genuine interested bidders/buyers - we do not have "dummy bidders".
At times potential bidders and buyers may hold back and wait for others to do the bidding, wait for the auctioneer to take $1,000 bids, or for the property to be "on the market". Given this, the Contract of Sale and the Sale of Goods Act 1908 permits the auctioneer to place bids on the vendors behalf in order to move bidding towards a price level acceptable to the vendor.
Any vendor bids will only be exercised by the auctioneer at his discretion and will most certainly be below the reserve price and below a price level which the vendors would consider accepting (Therefore helping buyers to buy - not penalising them in any way.)
Good luck with your purchase.