What is borrowing power?

Borrowing power is the amount you can borrow to finance your property purchase. Your borrowing power is determined by looking at your income and financial commitments, as well as your current savings and your credit history. You also need to take into consideration your living expenses, so you can repay your loan and maintain the lifestyle you are used to.

What are the costs?

Once you have arrived at a ball-park figure for your potential purchase price, you will need to take into account the other charges that will apply. One of the biggest initial outlays you will have is the deposit, which is usually 10% of the purchase price. You should also allow additional funds (approximately 5%) for the taxes, stamp duty, legal costs and insurance associated with buying a property.

Which loan is right for you?

There are many different loan features and fees to be considered, such as home loan rates, mortgage offset, redraw and ongoing fees to name a few, and there are different loans to suit different needs. We can make choosing a home loan easier by providing key information that will help you make a well-informed decision.

Get pre-approval

Be prepared - get approval in principle

Approval in principle means you are given finance approval 'in principle' (if you have fulfilled the lending criteria) prior to purchase.
This means that you:

• have an indication of how much you are able to borrow
• have a realistic budget when you shop for a property
• can be treated as a serious buyer by agents.
  

Buying your home

1. 1. Make an offer
   If you are buying at an auction, you are required to pay a deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) immediately. If you are buying privately, you are usually required to pay a holding deposit (can be anywhere between $2,000 and 10% of the purchase price).
   
   
2. Contract of Sale
   The Contract of Sale, prepared by the agent or by the vendor's solicitor, outlines your offer, the date of settlement, and any conditions that must be met before the sale goes ahead. Discuss the Contract of Sale with your solicitor before you sign it. There are two kinds of offers - unconditional and conditional.
   
   

   Unconditional offers
   This is an outright offer to buy a property. You should be 100% sure that this is the property you want and that you have access to the money to buy the property. Once the vendor has accepted your offer, you are legally obliged to go through with the sale.

   Conditional offers
   A conditional offer is also a binding contract, provided that all your conditions are satisfied. You can only back out now if one or more of the conditions are not met.

3. Settlement
   The Contract of Sale will state the amount of time you have to settle the conditions. When all conditions are met, the offer becomes unconditional, the sale will go ahead and the property will be yours.

How the settlement process works

Your solicitor / conveyancer will prepare and arrange for you to sign a Transfer of Land document. You should ensure that this is done at least two weeks prior to the settlement date.

This document will be handed over at settlement to the lender.

Your solicitor / conveyancer will contact the lender, the seller’s solicitor/ conveyancer, and other interest parties to arrange the date, place and time of settlement.
Your solicitor / conveyancer should advise you one week prior to the settlement, of the exact date, time of settlement and the amount of funds that you are required to provide prior to settlement (if applicable). This amount is usually required to be paid by bank cheque one day before settlement.
After settlement has taken place the seller’s solicitors will contact the real estate agent that sold you the property and advise them to hand over the keys to the property to you.
Your solicitor should contact you and confirm settlement has taken place. They will also send you a Statement of Adjustment to show you how the funds have been disbursed to the parties involved.