House Hunting

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clontaago

First Grader
Well my partner I have finally started looking for a house. Any tips/ideas when looking to purchase. I have only owned 1 home and that was about 7 years ago!!
 
Try and have the 20% deposit so you don't get hit with mortgage insurance. Don't want something too bad.
 
House hunting......make sure you have your safari gear on.
 
Apparently its a good time to buy.............Good luck.

as a side note, when someone you don't know well. says "my partner and I" the first thing I wonder is if they're gay ;)
 
Doug, try to find another lender for the 20% then, particularly if they're a soft lender. A 100% equity loan like you can get at St George is a killer.

And you're looking to spend $350,000+? You could get a golf course Estate mansion for that in Duh Boh. ;)
 
but mata, think of the fuel costs travelling to work each day

clon the old saying, worst house in the best street is a good one but it all depends what you want and what you can afford.

you can always write up a list of must and wants, then rate the wants on a scale of 1 to 10 in order to see what is most important. makes it easy to compare numbers between houses.

all in all the way the market is now you need to be keen enough to stay there for a minimum of 5 years preferably 10 to get your costs back so it has to be something you like and can cope with your expanding needs.

oh and before buying do get it checked out by a builder, pest inspector etc and run the proper background checks to make sure its thiers to sell.

and yes im saving, looking at buying next year probably
 
Try and have the 20% deposit so you don't get hit with mortgage insurance. Don't want something too bad.

There is a lender or two that will do loans with only a 15% deposit with no mortgage insurance. Pm me if you want more details.

Where are you looking to purchase?
 
Any tips/ideas when looking to purchase.

IF this purchase is to be your sole major assett and IF your going to go into this jointly with "a partner" (i will assume you mean girlfriend who may become your wife one day?) then, my first suggestion would be read up on family law (de-facto) and consider very very carefully before you commit.
 
Byso - My partner hates the word Girlfriend, and it is a bit juvenileish. As we are not engaged or married, partner is the most apt word I guess.

Tookey - Would be very interested.

Mata - $350 in metro melb doesnt get you much.

Jatz - We live together now mate (have done for past 6 months) so we are way past that.

Fluffy - Yeah we are looking at a house that we will live in long term. 10 years +.
 
Some more tips:

1. Don't F people around and don't let them F you around. For example if you agree on a price don't try and haggle with small amounts after a building inspection report (an old tactic used by heaps of people). Get the report first and use it to negotiate the price so everyone has a set amount firmly agreed upon. Reason is if they get pissed off they will fill the drains with dirt or have some way of making you pay. Also if a vendor attempts to gazump you just walk away no matter how much you love the place. You will find those types always have something else well hidden that will cost you later anyway. Big purchases involve a lot of karma.

2. There is more to having a big house to impress everyone and leave yourself very short of cash. It takes a long time to pay a place off so leave plenty of room and money for things that can go wrong and more importantly for still enjoying life. Nothing worse than having the best place and being miserable.

3. Banks will lend you any amount so long as they believe they can recover it through guarantors or other assets, or by selling the house you buy. Budget carefully so you know what you can really afford and not believe what the banks say you should borrow. I can't tell you how many times i have been offered more money than I could afford to repay.

4. Watch the structure of the loan repayment carefully. They lend you money and you don't start paying the first mortgage payment until some time later but the interest accrues from the day the money is advanced. I will never forget getting my first annual statement to discover after a year of payments I owed them more than I borrowed because of this.

5. Don't believe a single word printed in sales literature or comments made by a real estate agent. Check or get your solicitor to check everything thoroughly. Land size, easements, covenants, future zoning, neighbour developments all get politely mistorted during a sales campaign.

6. Make an allowance of up to 10% to personalise a place so that you are happy living there. If it is brand new it won't matter much, but if not be prepared for lots of cash to go making certain rooms inhabitable (anything with plumbing, electrics or landscaping costs plenty). If moving from a smaller place to a bigger one you will spend buckets on extra furniture.

7. If you have the finance and all the checks can be done quickly think of paying early and get a price discount. On 350k a vendor will lose 2k in 5 weeks.

Hope this helps. Fluffy's tips are spot on.
 
Byso - My partner hates the word Girlfriend, and it is a bit juvenlieish. As we are not engaged or married, partner is the most apt word I guess.

Tookey - Would be very interested.

Mata - $350 in metro melb doesnt get you much.

Jatz - We live together now mate (have done for past 6 months) so we are way past that.

Fluffy - Yeah we are looking at a house that we will live in long term. 10 years +.
With respect Doug, Jatz advice is wise. I'm a week or two short of a ten year anniversary and ten years is a long and diverse road, particularly when the rug rats turn up. It would be worth you knowing your options even if a "worst case scenario" may seem remote now?

I was guessing $350k wouldn't buy much more than a one bedroom unit in MElbourne - I was going on your $70k deposit figure.
 
Doug, I am looking down here as well, and I found there are a couple of lenders who will give you the loan with 15% deposit without the mortgage insurance rort. An appointment with these guys on St Kilda Rd might be a good idea for getting some info on lending options. http://www.homeloanadvice.com.au
 
Cheers Matt. I am seeing another mob tomorrow night but will have to see those guys as well.

Also, I still have a photo of you guys from the box. Whats your postal address, pm me or email me. and I will send it.
 
Tookey - Would be very interested.

Doug I have sent you a PM about the details for these loans. Let me know if you need any further info.
 

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