Buying a House

[Pag]

Myself and the girlfriend are currently looking at buying our first home, but I wouldn't mind hearing some do's and dont's on the whole process first. We don't want to build, want to buy established and have a pretty good idea of what we want and where we want it.

But any advice or recommendations for what to look for, experiences with good/bad mortgage brokers, banks or other lenders, anything in a house that we might not have thought about considering? Any help or tips would be appreciated.

[White Line Fever]

Do NOT buy a house on a slope.
Look for a flat block.

Make sure you have access to rear yard for a bobcat etc if you intend any work.

Make a low offer... as in at least 10k under asking price.

Location to a local shop/deli etc helps.

Bernie Lewis was very good as a broker.

Get a variable rate and ride the wave you will end up better.

[Darth Vader]

I'm no expert but...
Rule No.1 - don't deal with a real estate agent. Ask yourself why do some of these charlatans wear Versace suits and drive Beemers to and from their holiday homes on Goolwa beach? Because the successful ones get very rich ripping off people. The less sucessful ones are not worth dealing with.
Private contract will save you a lot of money. My neighbour just sold his house privately and saved a bomb. One of my workmates bought a house in Edwardsstown on a private deal and reckons he saved about $20 grand. I wasn't there nor did I see the contract but I believe what he said.
Apparently you can do all this over the internet except for some of the legals/conveyancing etc but if you are half decent with paper work and attention to detail you will save money - and quite a bit too.
Good luck

[valleys07]

Myself and the girlfriend are currently looking at buying our first home, but I wouldn't mind hearing some do's and dont's on the whole process first. We don't want to build, want to buy established and have a pretty good idea of what we want and where we want it.

But any advice or recommendations for what to look for, experiences with good/bad mortgage brokers, banks or other lenders, Anything in a house that we might not thought about considering? Any help or tips would be appreciated.

First recommendation would be a building inspection. They cost a bit but are worth every cent.
Havent had any bad experience with brokers/banks/credit unions and ive been through the process twice (so if that says anything savings and loans are pretty good).

If your agent is pretty lenient try and barter him down. Offer say 10-15k below the asking price and with some luck you might have a sale, we managed to save 12k off the asking price as the seller was an interstate landlord that just wanted the sale (not everybody is in that position though).

Also have your financed approved prior to searching so you know your limitations. That way if the agent tries to increase your offer you can remain staunch that you are at yur maximum.

Other than that best of luck!

[Mr Beefy]

I'm no expert but...
Rule No.1 - don't deal with a real estate agent. Ask yourself why do some of these charlatans wear Versace suits and drive Beemers to and from their holiday homes on Goolwa beach? Because the successful ones get very rich ripping off people. The less sucessful ones are not worth dealing with.
Private contract will save you a lot of money. My neighbour just sold his house privately and saved a bomb. One of my workmates bought a house in Edwardsstown on a private deal and reckons he saved about $20 grand. I wasn't there nor did I see the contract but I believe what he said.
Apparently you can do all this over the internet except for some of the legals/conveyancing etc but if you are half decent with paper work and attention to detail you will save money - and quite a bit too.
Good luck

It's a bit hard to exclude real estate agents when they sell most houses.

[Pseudo]

From an armchair expert, so take with a large grain of salt:

Advice #1: Don't do it. At least not yet. Wait for the market to drop.

Advice #2: www.bubblepedia.net

Advice #3: Invest $20 in a copy of Neil Jenman's "Real Estate Mistakes".

[Dog_ger]

Buy the Worst house in the Best street that you can afford.

Once your in the home market, it's better than money in the bank.

If you keep waiting for the right time, inflation will end your hopes.

[mypaddock]

Myself and the girlfriend are currently looking at buying our first home, but I wouldn't mind hearing some do's and dont's on the whole process first. We don't want to build, want to buy established and have a pretty good idea of what we want and where we want it.

But any advice or recommendations for what to look for, experiences with good/bad mortgage brokers, banks or other lenders, anything in a house that we might not have thought about considering? Any help or tips would be appreciated.

Which is what and where?

General real estate advice is near impossible to give as there is so many facets to the real estate game...

[Darth Vader]

From an armchair expert, so take with a large grain of salt:

Advice #1: Don't do it. At least not yet. Wait for the market to drop.

Advice #2: http://www.bubblepedia.net

Advice #3: Invest $20 in a copy of Neil Jenman's "Real Estate Mistakes".

excellent advice - not sure if the market will drop any more though

[Bum Crack]

I'm no expert but...
Rule No.1 - don't deal with a real estate agent. Ask yourself why do some of these charlatans wear Versace suits and drive Beemers to and from their holiday homes on Goolwa beach? Because the successful ones get very rich ripping off people. The less sucessful ones are not worth dealing with.
Private contract will save you a lot of money. My neighbour just sold his house privately and saved a bomb. One of my workmates bought a house in Edwardsstown on a private deal and reckons he saved about $20 grand. I wasn't there nor did I see the contract but I believe what he said.
Apparently you can do all this over the internet except for some of the legals/conveyancing etc but if you are half decent with paper work and attention to detail you will save money - and quite a bit too. Good luck

I'm a conveyancer and you can't just go and do it all over the internet. There is a lot more involved than that. Real Estate agents aren't ripping off the purchaser. Their commission is coming from the vendor, so if a purchaser see's a good deal on a house, they are not the one's being ripped off. Generally, if a house is sold privately, the vendor can save themselve's big dollars in commissions etc. Something that could cost you up to $30,000.00 in commissions, can end up being $1,000.00 in private contract and conveyancing fees.

[Sojourner]

Do yourself a favour and buy a copy of Patrick A Bright's "The Insiders Guide to Real Estate", by far the best book on the subject written about Australian real estate trends.

[gadj1976]

Do NOT buy a house on a slope.
Look for a flat block.

Agreed WLF. Mistake we made was buying a sloping block. Not a ridiculous slope but a slope nonetheless. Friends of ours had a terrible slope front to back and had stairs down the back. When they had a kid, they had to sell the house for fear of the child tumbing down the stairs.

Other things to consider in no particular order....

Secondly, ask the real estate agent how long the house has been on the market. This can determine what you offer.

Thirdly, ask if the vendor has already purchased another property. Again, this can determine what you offer. If the vendor has a bridging loan they'll be keen to 'get out' sooner because of the expense of having two loans/mortgages.

Fourthly, if you are serious about the property, get a building inspection. This is a MUST. Even if it costs you a grand, it's worth it. The mob I used went from front tap to back fence and told me everything wrong with the house. At least you know what you're getting. When you think about it, 1 grand is better than losing 3 or 400k on a dud house riddled with termites.

Fifth, play hard ball. If you haven't started saying 'no', practice. The real estate agent will ask you (after you put your initial offer in) if you can go higher.

Sixth, go closer to shops/public transport if you can.

Seventh, if you can afford it, go closer to the city rather than further away. Even one or two suburbs can make a difference to the amount your house values over time.

Eighth, don't go over your budget. You'll need money to do it up over time.

I went for a house that I could renovate over time. Nearly 8 years later and I'm almost finished....

Ninth, don't try and renovate your house whilst living in it! It's too difficult.

[Q.]

Advice #2: http://www.bubblepedia.net

Cheers Pseudo, all the justification I need to indefinitely postpone being bogged down by a mortgage and keep travelling instead

[MW]

My only advice is to take the emotion out of it when making offers...this saved me $40k last time I bought a house.

[Psyber]

When I was in Melbourne I bought and sold four properties there, and I've bought 6 and sold 5 in SA.
In Melbourne, generally, I sold through one agent because he was good at bargaining and getting the purchaser up to my price.
As far as I'm concerned the price he got me easily justified his commission.
I gave up trying to buy one through him though - he didn't fold under pressure - so I walked away.
[There is always another house, so don't let emotion talk you into paying too much.]

When selling, commission rates can be bargained about.
With one property I bought I found out the vendor had paid that agency 8% commission.
When I sold it later I paid the same agency 3%, having talked directly to the boss and at first offered him 2%.
The last property I sold when I moved back here he did for 2.75% - but that was because it was a more valuable property.
[ In SA I've usually been able to get them down to 2%.]

When buying, you need to do your homework and find out what properties in the area are actually bringing.
The site at http://www.realestate.com is useful as if you watch it for a while you can work out what sells and at what price in the area of interest..
If a property has been sitting for a while a lower offer may be accepted, especially if you can offer an unconditional contract and quick settlement.

I am expecting the Adelaide market to drop off a bit this year.
After the slump of late 2008 and early 2009 local agents have been working hard to talk up a recovery, but the results have been patchy and prices have varied a lot.
I expect the effect of that whipping up effort to wane a bit - the clue that that is happening is when the number of houses in an area that are currently on the market begins to climb.

And yes, get an inspection unless you know how to check for termites and salt-damp and assess the electrical wiring and plumbing yourself.
I got caught once many years ago with both termites and salt-damp, but I've done enough dealing now to know what I'm doing.
Don't just rely on the assessor though - look for yourself as well.

The real rip off, of course, is state taxes in the form of "Stamp Duty".

[mighty_tiger_79]

Dont use Mortgage Choice

[TEX07]

When we bought our first house 6 years back we were DINKS (double income no kids). We bought a house that we knew was never going to be a house we would stay in forever. The biggest mistake we made and honestly cost us 15-20K was only having one bathroom. It was so much harder to sell that house as a three bedroom, one bathroom house than it would have been having three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We wanted to get into the golden grove area but knew it was out of our price range for the first home so we went with Fairview Park, lived there for 5 years and paid as much as we could off it while we had no kids and then sold last year and bought in Wynn Vale.

The best advice I could give outside of monetry is work out what you need now and what you will need in 5-8 years time, if you want this house as a keeper or not? Think of re-sale if you are n planning this one to be the stepping stone to something else. I guarantee that if you wlak into a house that the real estate agent says "nothing to do just move in and relax" you will find something in the first 6 months! If you wont your partner will

Where abouts are you looking to buy?

[OnSong]

Myself and the girlfriend are currently looking at buying our first home, but I wouldn't mind hearing some do's and dont's on the whole process first. We don't want to build, want to buy established and have a pretty good idea of what we want and where we want it.

But any advice or recommendations for what to look for, experiences with good/bad mortgage brokers, banks or other lenders, anything in a house that we might not have thought about considering? Any help or tips would be appreciated.

Check the neighbourhood for this guy....

[Pag]

Thanks for all the info guys.

We're double-income, no-kids at the moment, suburbs we're most likely to buy in are Paralowie or Salisbury East, between $300k and $370k (both about halfway between both lots of parents, plenty of shops and schools around). We don't plan on moving again once life gets more complicated, so looking at a family home with two bathrooms. Would love a man-cave out the back if possible too, we can all have dreams I spose?

We've been sitting on realestate.com.au since about June last year and heading to open inspections on weekends since footy season finished last year, so we think we have a good idea of what is worth what around the area.

We're looking at two really hard at the moment, both similar prices, one in Paralowie and one in Salisbury East. One has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, but no outdoor entertaining area/verandah out the back, just a lotta grass on a bigger block (830 square metre), the other has been newly rendered and renovated with a beautiful entertaining area out the back with a shade sail, as well as some grass and has 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. We love them both and are taking advice from everyone we talk to lol.

[TEX07]

Thanks for all the info guys.

We're double-income, no-kids at the moment, suburbs we're most likely to buy in are Paralowie or Salisbury East, between $300k and $370k (both about halfway between both lots of parents, plenty of shops and schools around). We don't plan on moving again once life gets more complicated, so looking at a family home with two bathrooms. Would love a man-cave out the back if possible too, we can all have dreams I spose?

We've been sitting on realestate.com.au since about June last year and heading to open inspections on weekends since footy season finished last year, so we think we have a good idea of what is worth what around the area.

We're looking at two really hard at the moment, both similar prices, one in Paralowie and one in Salisbury East. One has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, but no outdoor entertaining area/verandah out the back, just a lotta grass on a bigger block (830 square metre), the other has been newly rendered and renovated with a beautiful entertaining area out the back with a shade sail, as well as some grass and has 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. We love them both and are taking advice from everyone we talk to lol.

If i was in your shoes and thinking of keeping the house for longer term, the extra room and big back yard is the winner hands down, you can do entertaining areas pretty easy, big back yards are great with the kids. Maybe even enough room to eventually build a "man cave".

On man caves, my old mans brother in law has the best i have ever seen, massive plasma, bar, poker table, drum kit, guitars air conditioned and amazing surround sound. I took the wife in there, not gonna happen