Can someone please explain the process of buying a house in NSW to me? From what I’ve read / understand I think it is something along the lines of this:
1. Inspect the property.
2. You would then arrange for a pest and building inspection if you are very interested in the property (Do you do this before you put an offer in?)
3. Ask the agent for a copy of the contract.
4. Submit a written offer to the agent & state the reasons for the offer & an expiry date, and attach a cheque for the deposit (would you make this 10% of your offer or like $1000 or something)? Does the vendor list what deposit they want in the contract?
5. Once you haggle/agree on a price (or terms) with the vendor, have your solicitor look at the contract and the pest/building inspections. Once you and your solicitor are happy, you sign the contract and your solicitor ‘exchanges’ the contract and you pay the deposit & this makes it unconditional and no one can steal the property from under you (gazumping?).
6. Once the contract is exchanged, you then get your finance in order (or get pre-approval before u even put an offer in to make sure u can get finance) for the settlement date, and I think you get home building insurance for the property from the date you have paid your deposit/exchanged as you have a financial interest in the property? Is there anything else you need to get organised?
7. Arrange for a pre-settlement inspection the day before you take over to make sure everything’s in order and as it was when you inspected the property, does this need to be in the contract or should it just be a verbal arrangement when settlement date is approaching?
8. Get the keys on settlement day, do you pay the vendor for the council rates that have already been pre-paid for the year and that on settlement day or a different time?
I’m not sure if all of that is in the right order or if I’ve forgotten about anything? Can someone let me know if thats pretty much all you do or what else goes on so I can be prepared for it! I reside in NSW & the property purchase will be a NSW property. I think the bank gets the FHOG off the govt and I don’t have to pay stamp duty either.
Thanks for your help
Surely someone must have an idea of the process of buying a house in NSW???
Thanks !!
I think everyone may do it a little differently. But for me:
1. Inspect
2. Go off and determine your start price (ie look at sales history, residex, etc)
3. Make the offer to the agent (up to agent how he/she wants it – I have never needed to put it in writing)
4. Once final offer negotiated, sign a sales contract (add your terms). From here you have a 5 day colling off period.
5. In those 5 days have your inspections done and contract reviewed by solicitor.
6. 10% or the agreed % deposit must be paid in full by the end of the colling off.
7. Arrange insurance
8. Arrange final inspection
9. If your solicitor is not keeping you informed, keep in touch with them.Hope this helps.
MatIs this for NSW or just in general??
If you negotiate and agree on a price before you have done the inspections, and they bring back something unfavourable like i dont know termites, are you able to negotiate the price down further to allow for repairs or is it too late to do this?
If you pull out of a contract within the cooling off period thats when you lose 0.25% right?, if you pull out after the cooling off period (say you cant get finance) does it still go off 0.25% or something different??
Thanks for your help.
This is for NSW.
Yes you will loose your .25% if you fail to re-negotiate.
In a slow market or a potentially risky purchase you could do the reports first. This means someone else could buy before you decide.
So for me the .25% is insurance (ie no one can take the property) and I have usually factored a repair budget. And so long as the reports dont show anything too exy I proceed.
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