5 Pro Tips to be Buyer Ready

Making the decision to buy a home is often cause for huge excitement and trepidation. As one of the largest purchases you’re ever likely to make, you want to be sure to get it right. There are a ton of things to prepare, and it can feel overwhelming. But this handy checklist helps guide you in the right direction.

1. Get your finances in order

No number is potentially more important that your credit score. This number determines your credit worthiness and helps lenders make a decision on:

• whether to offer you a loan;
• how much they are prepared to lend you;
• what interest rate they offer you.

(Pro Tip: Be aware that a credit report and credit score are related, but different.)

You can get a free credit score from a number of online providers, and the results may vary depending on what reporting agency is used. So, you may need to check with more than one to get a consistent and reliable measure of your credit rating. For those with a low credit score, improving it will take at least six months – so get started ASAP.

2. Shop around for a mortgage lender

The next stop is to find a mortgage lender. Definitely do some homework here – there are a huge number of home loans available and it can be a bewildering process. Arming yourself with some general knowledge about the loan process is important, as is shopping around. The lending industry has become increasingly competitive, so remember, what a lender offers first isn’t necessarily their best deal. Making it clear you are shopping around will often provide enough pressure to draw the lender into revealing a better offer, sooner.

3. Get pre-approval on finance.

Once you’ve chosen a lender, identified your budget and raised your deposit, be sure to secure loan pre-approval. Conditional pre-approval doesn’t guarantee you will receive final loan approval, but you can be fairly confident you will. There are some big benefits to pre-approval – you know your exact budget while house-hunting, plus you can move fast when you find your dream home. With the ability to act quickly, you can beat the sometimes-fierce competition, plus it gives you extra bargaining power. Sellers often give preference to a buyer who has finance ready to go over those don’t, even if they have offered a larger sale price.

4. Contact your Award Winning local Agent – Rosalie Crowder

Once you’ve found a mortgage lender, have your pre-approval and deposit ready to go, let the house hunt begin! This is a great time to call Rosalie, introduce yourself and give her your brief. Having 18 years experience, Rosalie has the extensive market knowledge only a long-term, local professional can provide. It’s a great idea to subscribe to view new listings, prior to being launched to the market.

5 . Have your support team ready.

Once you find the perfect property, you need a support team on standby to help you finalise the nitty gritty. Your building and pest inspectors should become your new best friends – they alone stand between you and buying a potential lemon. Always engage a licensed inspector, Rosalie can put you in touch with qualified inspectors within the Hills.

With a solicitor or conveyancer – as with most professions – not all are created equal. The best referral is often through people you know, and be prepared to talk to a few solicitors/conveyancers to find one that fits with you and your sale needs.