how to buy a house: once you win at auction/have an offer accepted
This is how to buy a house, part 3!
Consider this your property-buying bible! John and Emily, hosts of my millennial property, recorded a 3 episode series outlining the entire house buying process and we think it’s worth sharing! It’s suitable for both first home buyers and property investors alike.
This is part 3 in the series - once you have won at auction or had an offer accepted:
Follow along our 3 part blog series that outlines everything you need to know!
Conditions playing out
If you bought via private sale you most likely have some conditions playing out like pest & building inspections, possibly a longer settlement period (if that’s what you requested) and also a finance clause in the cooling off period following the acceptance of your offer. Cooling off periods tend to go for around 5-7 days (depending on your state or territory), allowing you time to get pest & building inspections done, and your finance to be flipped from pre-approval to formal approval, in preparation for settlement day. Before you sign the contract at the end of this cooling off period, your contract is conditional. Once you sign and the inspections have been successfully completed, everything becomes unconditional.
Before settlement happens you’ll want to get your insurances in place - building & contents, and landlord (if you’re an investor). Sometimes banks and lenders will want this in place as a part of your finance agreement.
Before settlement day it’s useful to do a final walk through the property before it’s all in the bag, so contact the real estate agent to do one last visit and make sure everything is set to go.
If you’re a first home buyer, you may want to line up some trades for any upgrades or repairs you’d like before you move in. Try to lock these in for as soon as you have the keys (settlement day).
If you’re an investor you’ll want to get busy locking in a property manager, booking in trades to make upgrades or repairs before a tenant moves in, and you’ll want to organise open homes with your property manager to get the ball rolling. You’ll also want to create a system for managing paperwork relating to the property - create a spreadsheet and online folder to store all your receipts and paperwork. Be prepared to do a rent review with your property manager every 6 months. Check out this tax episode with some handy tips for wading through property-related tax stuff:
Settlement day
Back in the day settlement day used to happen in person, but now it typically happens remotely - you’ll receive notification when it's all done. Your conveyancer will likely call you or you’ll be following along on an app that keeps everything moving. Then you can get the keys from the agent and go visit your beautiful new abode!
Once you have the keys
If you’ve booked trades in for any upgrades or repairs these will be your first priority. After that it’s worth taking the time to live in the property for a while before you go nuts with renovation ideas. Prioritise the changes you want to make - maybe a cosmetic lift was front of mind before you bought, but once you live there something you didn’t foresee may take priority.
Otherwise, enjoy your new space! You did it!
Where to now?
Subscribe to my millennial property
Check out Emily’s first home buyer online course
If you’re a property investor, book in a clarity call with John Pidgeon or check out John’s buyer’s agent service, Envisage Property, specialising in purchasing investment properties by creating a thorough strategy based on your long term wealth plan.
