Are you thinking of purchasing a property sometime in the future, but are unsure of where to begin or how to get started? If so, I think you’ll love these 7 Simple Steps to Your Property Purchase listed below. Plus the great news is that our experienced mortgage brokers use these same steps with all of our clients. Which means that we can help you get the right loan to suit your specific property goals and your personal circumstances.

1 – Consultation
All it takes is a phone call to put you in contact with one of our qualified finance brokers. From here, your broker has the know-how and years of expertise in the finance industry to ask the right questions to help you assess your current position, answer your questions and assist you to plan a practical path forward. This can be done over the phone initially and then we recommend an obligation free consultation with you, either at our offices or in the comfort of your own home.

2 – Education
Once your broker knows your current situation and where you’re at in terms of your property dreams, the next step is for you to get some basic knowledge and understanding of the loan process ahead. This means that we will explain and guide you through the key milestones and banking requirements necessary to put you in the most favourable position prior to proceeding with your application. Most importantly, by learning about what is required ahead of time, you will be empowered to make informed decisions about your property purchase and will also be more involved with managing your finances for the future. During this step you will be able to get a good idea on how much you can borrow, what your monthly repayments will be and how long it will take to repay your loan in the current market.

3- Property Research
Here you get to head out into the real estate market place, both online and in person, to research your property choices. During this time you’ll want to get clear on what type of property you wish to buy, whether that’s a house, unit, villa, apartment, home with granny flat, home office or extra land, investment property, commercial premises, or if you are intending to build from scratch. The key in this step is to figure out where you want to buy, what you want to spend and what type of property you require. Remember to research the market well to be sure your expectations are realistic, that you have a good handle on what’s available and at what price.

4 – Preparation
Getting all of your financial information in order and ready for your loan application is a key part of this process. Depending upon your specific circumstances, this can include:

• Current savings, with proof of saving capability.
• Your credit history and current financial position.
• For Wage Or Salary Earners, last year’s group certificate, 2 recent consecutive payslips, details of any personal loans you’ve had in the last 6 months, latest credit card statements, Centrelink (family allowance) payments, confirmation of any other income eg. Rental income, interest earned, dividends received, income from casual work etc.
• For Self-Employed, last 2 years of financials (personal and/or business, depending on the borrowing entity), details or statements of any personal/business loans you’ve had in the last 6 months, latest credit card statements etc.
• If You Have a Mortgage, loan statements for the past 12 months, copy of your current home insurance policy, details of the property owned etc.
• A personal budget, including income and expenses

5 – Application and Pre Approval
By this stage your experienced finance broker will have assessed which lender is most appropriate for your situation and will work with you to ensure that you have everything in place to complete the necessary application. They will also advise you on the required documentation for lodgement to the lender and will submit these on your behalf. With all of the correct documentation submitted with your initial application, you should experience minimal delays in processing time.

We recommend that you submit an application to your lender and gain pre approval on your finance, before you put in offer an on a property. However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t help you if you already have an Offer and Acceptance in place, but with pre-approved finance, you really do give yourself an advantage as a purchaser. This is because you will have greater confidence when making your offer and generally be able to move more quickly than purchasers who are not pre-approved, making you more attractive to the seller.

6 – Confirmation
Once submitted, your broker will follow up on the progress of your application and keep you informed with how things are going. Interestingly, good mortgage professionals will often have access to a specialist internal network which the lenders provide for them and which is not accessible to the general public. This allows your broker to speak directly with someone who can ensure there are no problems with your application. Once your application has been assessed, you will get either confirmation of a yes or no from the lender. If it’s a yes, congratulations, you can proceed to the next step, if it’s a no, your broker will go into bat for you to identify why you were rejected and how to rectify the situation. In some cases and with the help of your broker, the lender may reconsider your application and ultimately give you the loan if you can satisfy them that the reason they rejected your application was invalid. And remember that a good mortgage broker will have seen this type of situation many times during their careers, and often know how to handle it to get a positive outcome for you.

7 – Find Your Property and Make an Offer
With your finance pre-approval in place, you are all set to find your ideal property and present your all-important Offer and Acceptance document via the real estate agent. Once in this is play and ultimately accepted, contact your broker and they will work with you through the exciting finance and settlement process on your new property. Congratulations

Regards,

Harry