Buyers Guide

Decide on your priorities. What home you would like to purchase in terms of size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, garage, open space, location, local character, public transport, schools and price.
Reach out to the local real estate agents. Register your name on their active database and discuss your property requirements. Ask them to let you know when suitable properties become available for sale.
Attend auctions and private sale properties open for inspections.
Regularly check local and daily newspapers.
Register for email alerts and check the following Real Estate web sites daily:

Seek advice from a financial advisor, accountant or lender to get the honest scope of the full costs associated with buying a home.
Confirm with your financial institution or bank the amount they are willing to lend you and calculate this with your capacity to repay.
Home loan interest rates are variable, so you need to allow some leeway in case this should happen.
It is vital that you organise your finance before making an offer or bidding at an auction. Seek approval in principle. Securing pre-approval before searching for your home is helpful so you know your price range.
Make arrangements to cover the deposit prior to making an offer to purchase or prior to bidding.
Arrange to have the appropriate mortgage funds available in time for settlement.

Once you have found a property you love, ensure you view the home during the week as well as on the weekend. Maybe even at different times during the day.
Consider having the property inspected by a qualified building inspector to assess whether there are any structural defects, ultility concerns or pest infestations that might affect your buying decision.
Look at the location, size and style of the property in relation to your requirements i.e. size of the property, proximity to schools, access to public transport etc.

Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act requires the vendor to provide a statement about the financial, legal and planning details of the property, before a contract of sale or contract note is signed.
As the purchaser, read the Section 32 thoroughly.
The vendor and purchaser must sign the section 32 before the contract is signed.

The agent is duty bound to submit all offers to the vendor.
The property remains on the market while the vendor considers all offers. If your offer is the first one submitted it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be accepted.
You can make an offer that may include a date by which it will lapse if the vendor does not accept it.
An offer may be made subject to a finance clause i.e bank approval, Owner Corporation building extension, sale of an existing property or another condition such as a builder’s inspection.
You can make your offer conditional on certain items being included or excluded from the contract. Any special conditions such as these must be written into the contract.
An offer is not legally binding on both parties until the buyer and seller have signed a contract of sale or contract note.
A contract of sale or a contract note must contain details of the property, the price, the deposit and settlement terms.
The agent is not obliged to give you another opportunity to increase your offer.
It may be worthwhile making an offer for the property before it goes to auction as this gives you an opportunity to negotiate through the agent and perhaps to stipulate any particular conditions you require in the sale.

You are entitled to a cooling off period of three business days (Victoria). This means you are legally allowed to withdraw from the contract if you change your mind during this time.

The property exceeds 20 hectares in size and is used mainly for farming.
The property is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes.
You received independent advice from a solicitor before signing the contract.
You previously signed a similar contract for the same property.
You bought the property at or within 3 clear business days before or after a publicly advertised auction.
You are an estate agent or a corporate body.

Should you cancel the contract you will be required to provide written notice to the vendor or the vendor’s agent within the cooling off period.
The Purchaser is entitled to a full refund of all money paid, except for $100.00 or 0.2% of the purchase price - whichever is greater.

Please note this is general information only. You may wish to contact your solicitor for specific advice prior to buying your home.

Preparing to buy your dream Surf Coast home.