Buying A Home
The Process Involved

Now you have found the property you want to buy, here comes the hard bit, buying the home, for the right price.

You might think it is now the time to undertake the professional inspections,(Click to read about these inspections.), but, you would be jumping the gun. There is no point spending this money now in buying your home, if the vendor will not sell it to you, at the price you are willing to offer. No, before you spend this money, you need to make an offer and have acceptance.

It is now time to consider the steps involved in buying your home. This will usually means a bit of argie-bargie between you and the vendor, or the real estate agent, if there is one.

BUYING A HOME - THE PROCESS

The vendor will have the home on the market at a price. You tell the vendor, usually through the real estate agent, what you will offer to buy it. It may or may not be accepted, and you may even get a counter offer from the vendor.

It is important that you have done your budget, in buying a home, of all the other costs that will be spent, until you legally own the property.

You need to know your limit. 

The negotiation when buying your home, and all that follows can be very stressful, but, if you have done your budget, you should know what you can afford, and that should reduce the stress.

The Agent!

The real estate agent is the negotiator between you and the vendor. The agent's job is to answer your questions, seek variations to the contract, and if you decide to buy the home, to convey offers you make, to the vendor, and, to seal the deal between the vendor and you, once agreement is reached on buying a home.

The agent is also legally entitled to exchange contracts between the vendor and you, which is discussed in another article. The agent should be able to tell you straight away, if your offer to buy the home is in the right price range. The agent will convey any counter offers back to you.

The agent might even try and pressure you to increase your offer, however, it is you that make the decision as to what your final offer is, when buying a home. Don't forget, the real estate agent has a financial interest in getting the deal done.

If you are insistent on buying the property, a price will be eventually agreed upon. You know what you can afford, and depending on what money you have available, you will reach an agreed price with the vendor. In buying a home, this is known as the offer and acceptance.

However, this offer and acceptance is not legally binding on you, or the vendor. The law in NSW requires a contract for the sale of land when buying your home, to be in writing. 

That is what exchange of contracts mean. 

When you have exchanged contracts, you or your solicitor or residential conveyancer, hold a contract signed and dated by the vendor, and the vendor holds a contract signed by you, and dated the same.

Agent Exchange?

So, until you exhange contracts, the vendor can sell it to any other person. If this of concern, you can ask the agent to do the exchange. This gives you 5 business days to either decide to continue to buy the home, or withdraw. Click to read about this exchange of contracts when buying a home.

Once you have the offer and acceptance, whether or not the contract has been exchanged by the agent, this is the time to spend your money on professional services to enquire about the property.

It may very well be that these professional reports provide information on the property about problems it may have. The information in the reports, may be used to decide not to continue, or even may be used to negotiate a reduced purchase price.

Congratulations, you have made all the proper enquiries about the home, and your budget lets you afford to buy the home. 

You now need to consider the other steps that are now taken so that you end up as the successful home owner. 

Buying a home can be a stressful experience.

Let the professionals carry the burden.

Contact:

Phone 02-4333 5313        Fax 02-4333 5144

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