You’ve followed all the prescribed steps to buying a house. In the process, you’ve found a three-bedroom home in Townsville, a townhouse in Brisbane, or studio apartment in Toowoomba. It’s the perfect home to live in with your family, friends, or by yourself. Now that you found the right place, what do you need to do to make things official?
Contract of Sale
You will need a contract of sale when buying or selling a property. The terms for each contract differs per state. A contract of sale prepared in Adelaide may not pan out in Queensland, and vice versa.
Lawyers or licensed conveyancers can help you get these contracts. A standard contract will include the name of the purchasing party, the proprietor or selling agent, the price of the property, payment conditions including the initial deposit and mortgage terms, and the cooling off period on the settlement.
The contract of sale will also indicate safety requirements such as smoke alarms, the price of any fixtures or furnishings, and special conditions. Sellers are also obliged to supply you with disclosure documents of any defects.
Finalise Home Loans
When you’re buying a home, there’s a big chance that you’ve taken out a mortgage to pay for it. There are different types of mortgages and home loans: variable rate, fixed rate, combination or split-rate, honeymoon rate, and home equity loan or line of credit mortgage, among others.
Variable mortgages have interest rates vary depending on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official cash rates. They’re flexible, generally cheaper, and transferable to another property but has little in the way in terms of service. Fixed rates feature static interest rates for about five years, not cheaper or expensive. A combination loan merges the two, while a home equity loan might be of better use for investors and firms.
If you’re single or a low-income owner, you can still get a loan. Lenders look at all aspects of your finances, not just your income, to see if you’re financially solvent. Having a considerable amount put away for deposits is one way to impress your lender while going into a joint-venture enables others to share the risk and repayments with you every month until you and your partners pay the loan off.
Conveyancing
After you’ve decided on a house and put out payment for it, it’s time for the property dealer to sign over ownership to you. Conveyancing means the legal ownership of the proprietor over land or property is conferred to another party. In the case of house shopping, that’s you.
You can choose between a conveyancer or a lawyer to conduct this process. Conveyancers come cheaper because of cheaper indemnity insurance and the fact that they didn’t have to go through law school to become certified. Lawyers up to date with conveyancing laws can help with the transfer process, draft legal documents, and assess other parts of the deal.
Throughout the process, make sure to keep your files organised. You never know if you’ll need a piece of legalese for a later process, or have it amended. When you’ve got your papers in order, you can quickly settle disputes or process transactions quickly in case of renovation or sale.