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6 things to reconsider before you make an offer on your first home

Published on December 7th, 2020
  Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
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House hunting is an equally exciting and demanding experience. With the abundance of options on the market, it may be hard to make a decision. However, when you finally come across the perfect home for you and your family, you need to make sure you approach the matter correctly. This is imperative, especially if it’s the first time you’re going through this process. Thus, keep on reading this article that focuses on what you should reconsider before actually making an offer on your first home.

How much money can you borrow?

First of all, you need to act reasonably when purchasing a house. Before actually making an offer for the home you’ve set your mind on, make sure your lender accepted your loan application.

Verify your eligibility for grants

When buying your first home, you might be able to benefit from receiving a first-home grant. Thus, you ought to consider verifying your eligibility for it. Additionally, having a family member as a legal guarantee might be helpful in aiding you purchase your dream home.

Establish the accurate worth of the property

Before proceeding to make an offer, be sure you know the appreciative worth of the house. In this regard, there are specialised sites that in exchange for a minimal fee provide their clients with accurate information concerning the estimative value of properties.

However, you should also compare the property with other similar ones. For more accurate information on the subject, you may take this issue to a real estate agent. You shouldn’t make an offer if you’re not entirely positive that it’s worth your money and it’s the right place for you and your family.

The assistance of a solicitor

In the overwhelming process of filling in all sorts of legal documents and papers, the assistance of a solicitor is essential. You need to understand the process you’ll be going through and a specialised person will explain all the issues thoroughly. Thus, you’ll get acquainted with every section of the contract before actually signing it.

The inspection of the property

The decision of purchasing a home is a very important one. In this regard, you should thoroughly inspect the property. Make sure you visit the property on different occasions and make notes concerning traffic, noise, parking, the feel of the neighbourhood. You can even talk to a couple of people in the area before actually moving there. You might also consider taking a couple of photos to analyse the house more attentively. And lastly, hire a professional inspection team to make sure you’re making the right choice.

Information about the area

Investigating the area’s council plans will indicate important information. For instance, the frequency of flooding – this might lead to increasing insurance costs – rights of access that might prevent you from renovating your home, plans for the infrastructure of the neighbourhood, etc. These are all important factors that you need to find out before actually making an offer.

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This guide provides general information and does not consider your individual needs, finances or objectives. We do not make any recommendation or suggestion about which product is best for you based on your specific situation and we do not compare all companies in the market, or all products offered by all companies. It’s always important to consider whether professional financial, legal or taxation advice is appropriate for you before choosing or purchasing a financial product.

The content on our website is produced by experts in the field of finance and reviewed as part of our editorial guidelines. We endeavour to keep all information across our site updated with accurate information.

Approval for home loans is always subject to our lender’s terms, conditions and qualification criteria. Lenders will undertake a credit check in line with responsible lending obligations to help determine whether you’re in a position to take on the loan you’re applying for.

The interest rate, comparison rate, fees and monthly repayments will depend on factors specific to your profile, such as your financial situation, as well as others, such as the loan’s size and your chosen repayment term. Costs such as broker fees, redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, aren’t included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts may result in a different comparison rate.

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