6# TIPS TO HELP YOU BUY A PROPERTY IN 2024
Whether you are buying in Queensland, New South Wales, or Victoria, we have listed the top six tips to help you secure your dream property.
1. BUILD THE RIGHT TEAM
Purchasing a property is stressful and tiring and you want to know that you have the right team of professionals on your side.
We recommend you engage:
- Solicitor who is highly experienced in property law;
- Mortgage broker or banker;
- Building and pest inspector; and
Other professionals you may consider engaging are:
- Buyer’s agent;
- Town planner;
- Architect; and
- Builder and/or tradespersons.
2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Consider your wish-list items and requirements to narrow down your search. Be prepared to search several properties and you will need some serious patience – often it takes missing out on a few properties to find the right one!
Ensure that you carry out your due diligence on the property prior to signing a contract. Consider carrying out a building and pest report, talking to neighbours, making enquiries with Council and arranging for your solicitor to review the contract.
It is often beneficial to get to know local agents who can often advise on upcoming or off-market listings or you may wish to engage a buyer’s agent to assist you with the search.
3. CONSIDER THE FULL TAX IMPLICATIONS
Prior to purchasing, we recommend you obtain advice from your accountant regarding the tax implications of the transaction including capital gains tax, GST, income tax implications and transfer duty.
Your accountant may advise you on how best to structure the ownership of the property (for example, in your individual names, as tenants in common in unequal shares, in a company, trust or self-managed super fund). Ensure the buying entity is confirmed prior to signing a contract as changing this at a later point may trigger double transfer duty in QLD and NSW.
4. Calculate the Full Cost of Purchasing
You should consider what other expenses there will be.
Some examples include:
- mortgage insurance;
- stamp duty/transfer duty;
- registration fees;
- legal fees;
- removalists fees;
- building and pest inspector fees;
- insurance;
- rates, water and body corporate levies; and
- bank and broker fees.
If you are purchasing an investment, you should also allow for:
- increased rates of stamp duty/transfer duty
- potential vacancy periods;
- letting and advertising fees;
- repairs and maintenance;
- property management fees; and
- landlord’s insurance.
5. BE PREPARED TO ACT
Time is really of the essence when it comes to purchasing a property, so when the right property comes up you need to be ready to act.
Speak to your broker/banker and understand how much you can afford and obtain pre-approval.
Keep in mind that your pre-approval will only last for a certain period and it may be necessary to reapply. You should also be conscious that pre-approval is always subject to the lender undertaking a satisfactory valuation of the property and any terms the lender may require.
We strongly recommend that you do not enter into an unconditional contract without first obtaining unconditional finance approval. If you do not have unconditional finance approval in place, it is best to make the contract subject to finance (or arrange this during the cooling off period) to avoid being in default come settlement.
You should also ensure you have the deposit funds available. It is common for 10% to be payable but this can often be negotiated (a deposit should not be more than 10% on a contract as it then becomes an instalment contract).
6. PRE-SIGNING REVIEW
When you are buying one of the biggest assets in life, make sure the contract is completed correctly.
In QLD, we offer a free pre-signing contract review service for standard REIQ contracts.
In NSW and VIC, we offer a comprehensive review of the contract and disclosure documents. Our fee for doing so is currently $399.00 including GST.
