Going through the buying process can be a daunting and emotionally stressful time but if you are prepared for the hassle, you can get through the process with your sanity more-or-less intact. Here is the basic progression you can expect:

Top 6 Buying Process

Finding a home

Make sure to take advantage of all the available options for finding homes on the market, including using your real estate agent, searching for listings online and driving around the neighbourhoods that interest you in search of for-sale signs. Also put some feelers out there with your friends, family and business contacts. You never know where a good reference or lead on a home might come from.

Consider your financing options and secure financing

It is important to have your finance pre-approved and in place prior to making offers. This will ensure you are making offers on homes that actually fall within your budget and you can afford. It will also make the buying process a lot easier and more streamlined – you will also be able to negotiate with confidence knowing that your finance has been pre-approved.
“Having Your Finance Pre-Approved Can Save You A Lot of Stress, Time & Headache”

Have a solicitor/conveyancer ready

This is a very important step in the buying process and you should know who your conveyancer is and have them on standby. Your conveyancer will assist you in some very important steps such as;

Types of title and forms of ownership
Your cooling-off rights
Circumstances in which a party can avoid settlement
Available grants, concessions and rebates
Fees and charges, including rates & taxes to be adjusted
Change of ownership notifications
Reviewing the contract before you sign
Searching the certificate of title to ensure proper ownership

Searching with government departments and local authorities for anything affecting the property
Advising on the information in the statutory disclosure statement
The preparation, certification and stamping of documentation
Liaising with your proposed lenders and financiers
Calculation of adjustments of rates and taxes
Preparation of settlement statements
Assistance with signing the memorandum of transfer; and
Attendance at settlement on your behalf

“Amongst other things a Conveyancer will help with Compliance with all special conditions and time limits”

Making an offer

Your real estate agent will help you decide how much money you want to offer for the house along with any conditions you want to ask for, like having the buyer pay for your closing costs, offer subject to finance or subject to a building and pest inspection.

Your agent will then present the offer to the seller’s agent; the seller will either accept your offer or issue a counter-offer. You can then accept, or continue to go back and forth until you either reach a deal or decide to call it quits.
If you reach an agreement, you’ll make a deposit into the agents trust account and then you have a five day cooling off period to pull out of the contract should you decide not to proceed.

After the cooling off period you will have the time you specified in your conditions to obtain satisfaction on the terms you included i.e.

21 days for having successfully received finance approval from your lender (assuming you placed a finance clause in your contract)
14 Days to get a building and pest inspection conducted (assuming you placed a building and pest clause in your contract)
14 Days to obtain independent information from council i.e. is the land zoned to be sub-dividable subject to council approval? (assuming you placed this clause in your contract)

During this time if any condition you laid out in the contract is not met i.e. building and pest inspection highlights some major concerns or your lender will not loan you the money on this property for any reason, then you must notify the agent within this time that for the reason stated, you will not be proceeding with the sale.
Unless you notify the agent otherwise, then after the timeframe stipulated within your conditions, your contract will then become unconditional and as such you will be committed to settle on the contract on the date specified.

Obtain a Building & Pest Inspection

Even if the home you plan to purchase appears to be flawless, there’s no substitute for having a trained professional inspect the property for the quality, safety and overall condition of your potential new home. If the home inspection reveals serious defects that the seller did not disclose, you’ll generally be able to rescind your offer and get your deposit back.
“Negotiating to have the seller make the repairs or discount the selling price are other options if you find yourself in this situation”

Settle or move on

If you’re able to work out a deal with the seller, or better yet, if the inspection didn’t reveal any significant problems, you should be ready to settle on your new home. Settling involves organising and signing various contracts in a very short time period and this is where your conveyancer will really earn their fee.

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