Process steps to buying a house in Victoria

I have fallen in love with a house. I am taking DH to see it on the weekend and crossing my fingers he likes it too.

Assuming he does (which isn't guaranteed, we like different things) and we decide to make an offer, what do we do now? I've never bought a house and DH has only bought in the UK and the rules are different.

We had a chat to a bank a few months ago but didn't follow up as we decided to stop looking and save more money to buy next year. We didn't like the particular bank manager, so we'll need to talk to someone else. We talked to a mortgage broker who then tried to sell us investment properties... so not going with them.

I have had a quote for a property and pest inspection from archicentre. Can anyone recommend anyone else? It's a 60's property that has had an extension done so there may be hidden issues. The local area has a termite problem as well, according to the council website, but that seems to be the norm in Australia anyway.

We'll need a lawyer obviously. I will want any offer to be subject to both finance and property inspection. I've been reading about various ways to be ripped off by real estate agents, so am feeling very wary. Can anyone recommend a property lawyer? via PM.

The banker we talked to mentioned something about mortgage insurance being added to the loan. Is that doable? I know it's stupid, but that may be our only option.

It would be smarter to wait a while and save some more, but I need this house :) I have been seduced by the garden. There will need to be work done to the house itself. It needs new bathrooms and possibly a new kitchen - definately a new oven. I noticed the eaves are a bit poorly and home to spiders.

Any idea what bathrooms, kitchens or ovens cost these days? We'd want to install a carport or something too, assuming we can get approval and it fits.

I also want a building health person to assess it for EMFs, and things like that, which is not standard, but is important to me. Would it be best to organise the inspections before we even talk contracts? How does it normally work?

Any advice would be appreciated. I need to know process steps so we don't miss out on anything.

Hi love- what area of Melbourne are you in?
My mortgage broken was excellent, I can pm his details if you like?
He looked after everything for me as DH and I had no clue.

Ooo, lovely.

Real estate
A guide for buyers and sellers

When we purchased our first house we could have added the insurance to the loan. Definitely.

As for bathrooms kitchens and ovens, well, you know they can cost ANYTHING! But it's kind of good that the seller hasn't done it already, as they will be trying to get their money back + on any renos, and this way you get to do the reno in your own taste and budget.

We tried to get a carport here, but local council insisted it have a facade that matched our house - even though we assumed it would be ok as a number of neighbours have done carports. However the council pointed out that just 'cos they had done them, didn't mean they were approved.

For our current house we just used the local property law firm. They were fine. Thorough, reasonable. They only do property so they knew it well.

You can make your purchase subject to all sorts of things. We were told to be careful about just using 'finance' because we had been made aware of a situation where a couple wanted out of a house so they said the bank would not finance them. The seller, (an investor already) wrote up details of a finance agreement and said he'd give them finance - thereby making their out-clause void.

I went to a broker, got some great information about various mortgages. Then i went straight to the 2 banks that seemed to offer the packages i liked the most and spoke with them. I ended up happy with one and it was NOT what the broker had worked out for us. I'm a little skeptical of brokers now!

Emma - if you can PM his details that would be good. We should probably talk to someone else. The first broker was dodgy so I dont want to just go by his word. We're looking in the eastern suburbs.

Thanks for the link Lenny. That will keep me busy for a few hours :)

I'm scared we won't be able to afford it or it will have something seriously wrong with it or DH wont like it or we can't afford the renos....or the sky falls on our heads :)

I completely understand the falling in love part. We visited a house with a bay window and a lemon tree. 45 minutes later we bought it whilst I was having pre-labour contractions and knowing I was being induced on Monday!

You can buy a house without a mortgage approved. It just needs to be approved a few weeks prior to the settlement. I'd recommend a long settlement in your situation (at least 90 days) to sort out your mortgage.

We just got a mortgage with NAB after being with Credit Union Australia for our other mortgages. The NAB staff were really great and their package was excellent.

Archicentre are all that you need. They are the main ones in Victoria.

We've used the same solicitor to sell and buy a few places. They are in Moonee Ponds so if that's convenient let me know and I'll PM you the details.

Mortgage insurance is a reality for many people. We needed it for our first mortgage as we borrowed 98% of the property value. It's annoying but a fact of life. Most banks will loan you the amount for the mortgage insurance too! Very convenient for them!!

I would do the inspections before you talk money or contracts. That way if it's a dud you haven't wasted your time.

If you decide you want it then put in an offer. It depends if it's been for sale for a long time, how many others are interested, if it's going to auction etc etc. There are lots of scenarios from this point but it basically depends on how much the vendor wants to sell.

Good luck!

FF - Moonee Ponds is a bit away from us, but I'd rather use someone known to be good, if that makes sense. If you can PM the details then I'll talk to DH.

This house has a bay window and a lemon tree too!! And a vegie garden.

I need to read about settlements etc. The vendor may want a quick sale. it was tenanted, but it's now empty with a new coat of paint and hire furniture. Of course, we're going OS for 3 weeks in November. We also have a lease until Feb. Not the first time I've broken a lease though. Not even thinking about that.

I bought a property report and the value on the report may make it outside our range. The price is advertised as $x+ and that + is meant to be about 10-15% apparently.

I'd be talking with a few bankers, home lenders ASAP and see what they offer re rates, borrowing power, mortgage insurance. we ended up going with bendigo bank for our home loan and have been super happy with them as people (we have become friends with the manager hahahaha!). some banks can offer pre-approval really quickly, whuch is great as you can then start making offers and bidding with confidence knowing what the limit is etc.

Um, yep, you need a solicitor or lawyer or conveyancer. we went with a solicitor that was just down the road and had a flat rate. really, all they do is sign off the paperwork, and check the section 32 etc. we paid about $1300.

as for inspections...i would only really do it if i really believed it was a goer. we had a building inspection done through archicentre and TBH they told us nothing we were not able to work out ourselves. they can only see what is on show...no looking in roofs etc. of course, for peace of mind it is worth it, but in our case we opted not to do it again unless we could see potential structural probs and needed to know extent and timeline of when it would need to be fixed.

another tip i have if you start seeing a few places (the bug catches quickly once you start lol!) is to take a camera so you can remember what place is what...we seriously couldnt remember what our place looked like when we bought it..could only remember that we loved it :rofl:).

kitchen and bathroom can be the big ticket items. we were pretty conservative with our kitchen and all up cost about $13,000 (we had to remove a wall!). the kitchen itself was $6000. plus electrician, gas plumber, benchtops, tapware and stove/oven/rangehood.

we used archicentre as well to do the building inspection and they were fine.
we also used a solicitor (i think from memory she was in boronia- that may be closer to your area?) i can look up the details if you like?
also used an awesome mortgage broker who was based in richmond but came out to our house for a consultation. we were really happy with him and the help he provided.

Just PMed you the details of the broker we used. He's based in Bundoora but travels all over.

Good luck!

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we used archicentre as well to do the building inspection and they were fine.
we also used a solicitor (i think from memory she was in boronia- that may be closer to your area?) i can look up the details if you like?
also used an awesome mortgage broker who was based in richmond but came out to our house for a consultation. we were really happy with him and the help he provided.

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Solicitor & mortgage broker details would be great.
I really want to know details about the house condition, even crawling into the roof to look at insulation and under the house to assess the stumps. Dont think archicentre do that.

yeah they do all that. they told us a lot about the condition of under our decked area (which we knew before purchasing would need to be replaced) and also the stumps etc. we found their report really thorough.
i'll pm you xo

hows it all going Tashybabe? do you think you'll buy it? fingers crossed for you. so exciting!!!

Hiya. We revisited during the day and DH wasn't keen :(
I was able to see that it would need a lot more work than we could currently afford. I think I was definately sucked in by the gorgeous garden. The roof, fences, bathrooms and kitchen all need work or replacing. So we're not going to make an offer. I had a little cry about it but even I could see it wouldnt work. Amazing the effect of a garden though. And we love the neighbourhood.

Thanks to everyone who sent me details for solicitors and mortgage brokers. We're going to save some more and look again next year.

awww sounds like my dh. mr practical.
I'm always getting sucked in by the emotion but he can see the faults.
oh well, the right one will come along soon I'm sure.

Oh, bummer. I hope that the perfect home and garden can come up for you soon xx

He is Mr Practical which is fine. He's had experience buying houses and doing them up. Noone has ever accused me of being practical :) He tried to break it to me gently and he gave me some space to have a sulk and a weep. I just want my perfect house. I'd already stupidly been on the RSPCA dog adoption site to find a dog as we cant have one while we rent. I'd already projected a life where we have a child that lives, the dog, the house, the garden.... We'll get there one day, I hope.

Meanwhile I did learn that a garden is easier and cheaper to create than a house. If we found the right house with a rubbish garden, I could create a nice one and that would be better than a lovely garden with a rubbish house. Some people may think this is bleeding obvious. I refer to my previous comment about my being practical. Pragmatic, yes. Practical, no.

I also learnt I still fall in love with the wrong type of house. I hope I dont need years of therapy to overcome this like when I used to fall in love with the wrong kind of man ;) My history of choosing crap flats to rent is a standing joke in my family. It seems I still have to overcome this 'problem'.

It was a lovely garden though *sigh* maybe I should also refrain from looking at houses in Spring.

House hunting is so hard. We were ready to buy and it still took us nearly 15 months of actively going to inspections most weekends. We bid on or made offers on 3 or 4 houses that we loved but didn't get. It was only when we least expected it did all the stars align and we got the eight house in the right area at the right price.

It can be heartbreaking. I hope you find something quickly.


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House hunting would drive me mad, although me and my DH want to build ours must be crazy lol as i know what it is invovled yikes!!


i hope you find the perfect house for you