To start, narrow down the neighbourhoods you like. Once you're comfortable with a budget range, it's time to start looking at listings, searching in the suburbs you're most interested in, applying the required filters for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. Remember, you don't necessarily need to have a 20% deposit but if you don't then you may have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which the mortgage broker can calculate for you as well. To get help in this department many people engage the services of a mortgage broker who will be able to take you through the process of figuring out how much you can comfortably borrow to get the best available property in the current market.įrom time to time they might suggest saving a larger deposit if it turns out that the repayments on the property you want are too high for your current situation. Make a shortlist of properties you likeįiguring out what you can afford to buy is the first step in the home-buying process because it'll determine most other things that follow, including property type, property size, location, loan type etc.If this is the year you want to buy a home, it's time to sit down and familiarise yourself with the process and going through the necessary steps to ensure you've covered off all basis when it comes to the home buying checklist.

Buying a property is a big investment, so to make sure you’re on top of the fine print we’ve created this handy checklist of some of the legal things you’ll need to do in order to make the transaction painless.

Home buying checklist template