A Guide to Buying your First Home in AustraliaLooking to buy your first home in Australia? Here are some MUST KNOW tips that can help you on the road to success.

Source: http://www.mortgageseek.com.au/blog/

1. Australian citizenship – Legal and stature laws governing all Australian states are very strict when it comes to property businesses. You have to get approval from the government to buy your first home, except if you are already an Australian citizen, or a foreign expatriate holding a resident visa, then you are exempted from all approval requirements. If you don’t fit those requirements then you will need approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, which sounds scary but really it isn’t, they are simply seeking to ensure that new investment from non-residents/citizens is channeled into increasing the supply of property in Australia, so effectively you need to build a new home, or redevelop an old one and increase the home supply, or buy in a new development.

2. Eligibility for Home Owner’s Grant – Introduced by the Australian Federal government in 2000 and governed by the respective state governments,

there is a lump-sum one-off payment available to qualified first time home buyers. The size of the grant differs state by state and by whether you are purchasing a new or existing dwelling. Although it might not be sufficient enough to buy an expensive property, it is a good start kick-start. Please be aware that the grant is only applicable to properties, not land purchases. More about The First Home Owners Grant

3. How much you can borrow – the real question, you need to answer, know your allocated budget and how much you can safely borrow. Lenders have their own independent criteria to judge the types of buyers and grant loans based upon their incomes, salary sheets, and other criterion. Typically, this criteria varies from lender to lender. Take advantage of pre-approval services of many lenders so that you can get a ballpark estimate of the amount you can borrow, and the repayment terms and conditions.

4. Understand all the costs - Once engaged in the home buying process there’s a range of services you may need to engage and their bills can add up. For example you” possibly need services including building inspections, conveyancing, accountants not to mention bank fees and all kinds of taxes. More here http://www.mortgageseek.com.au/blog/home-buyer/the-costs-of-buying-a-new-home/

5. Know what you want and Research the property market – what are you expecting form your home? You should have a focused idea about where, when and why, to start with so that you don’t end up wasting your precious time and monetary resources. You’ll probably want to answer questions like :

• How far from your work are you willing to live?• What is the accessibility of the nearest market, schools, colleges, and

hospitals?• Is public transport convenient and appropriate enough to travel

throughout the city for any purpose?• How big of a home will you need? Apartment or house? Family

planning, how many rooms for the future?• Closeness to recreation, parks and gardens.

And the list goes on…. At some point it’s about synchronizing your goals with your budget and with whats available on the market. Read more: http://www.mortgageseek.com.au/blog/2011/05/17/property-10-tips-for-choosing-the-best-location/

6. Look for a real estate agent – Whenever you are buying your property, you will probably use the services of a real estate agent. In cities of Melbourne & Sydney, the service charge of a real estate agent for home buyer’s assistance is 2% of the property value. The Real Estate Institute of Australia (http://reia.asn.au/) provides valuable advice to home buyers like searching real estate agents, analyzing market reports and looking at the recently auctioned property listings. Another very useful real site website in Australia is http://realestate.com.au

7. Property inspection – Have you inspected the property the way it deserves to be? Make sure to visit the prospective property at various times of day and night to measure the noise & traffic levels. You’ll need to get various inspections done during the loan application process but you should also satisfy yourself that there’s no surprises.

There are questions that are easier to deal with prior to purchase than after, think of the long term. Questions such as

• What do you like & dislike about your new location?• Does the home have all essential facilities like proper ventilation,

sewerage, garage, balcony, and laundry, etc?• How sound is the growth history in terms of capital & investment of

your area?• What is the likely rental income in the long run, should you wish to later

move into a second home?• Ask for the complete history of the unit from a real estate agent with a

small service charge.

Good luck and happy home hunting! You can find more resources at:http://www.mortgageseek.com.au/blog/ - Mortgage News and Informationhttp://reia.asn.au/ - The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA)https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/ - Australian Government site for personal finance information and guideshttp://www.realestate.com.au/ - Australian real estate portalhttp://www.yourmortgage.com.au/ - Australian Mortgage information portalhttp://www.canstar.com.au/ - An Australian loan comparison website