The Reality of Buying A Home: What We Learnt

We very recently exchanged contracts on our home after what feels like a year of angst and frustration. Having never bought a property before, I was a total newbie and had no idea how stressful the process was! But over the course of a few months, I learnt a few things about buying a home and thought I would share, so here goes:

1. Go straight to a mortgage broker. Initially we went with one of the big four banks for our home loan and after literally weeks of being dragged through paperwork and waiting (they took forever to do even the smallest thing!) we were told we were unsuccessful.To day we were devastated is an understatemen! We then contacted a mortgage broker (we chose Aussie Home Loans) and the process was much quicker and they successfully found us a lender. Not only that, but our broker was fantastic at walking us through every step and making we were supported in making big decisions such as when to pay a deposit and organising building and pest inspections.

2. Get rid of your Afterpay! I love afterpay for buying gifts and little luxuries, however lenders have a real issue with the service. If you are about to go for a loan, make sure you don’t have any money owing on your afterpay account because it really does affect your application. This is probably a no-brainer for some people, but I really didn’t think it would affect the process so much!

3. Get ready for a really stressful house hunt

I was not prepared for just how brutal house hunting can be! Many people will tell you not to look before gaining pre-approval for your home loan but you kind of have to so that you have an idea of where you would like to buy and what your money will actually buy you in that area. Initially we made the mistake of falling in love with a house before pre-approval so when we got the big fat no it was super tough. Once we had approval though we made sure we had ‘back up plan’ houses which worked out well as we ended up buying one of our ‘back up houses’ (which ended up being the best house anyway) after we were outbid on our first choice. You will also be pressured to pay a deposit once your offer is accepted, but I can’t stress highly enough that if you can stretch your vendor out to wait til your home loan goes unconditional then do so! Organising pest and building inspections plus an evaluation helps keep them off your back but you can actually lose all or some of your deposit if your home loan doesn’t go unconditional. In a highly competitive market however, this is tough to do

4. Don’t give up

Our circumstances were not normal for buying a house and so many times we thought it just wouldn’t happen but if you have the belief, then hang in there. It will happen! Those setbacks are usually the universe telling you something better is out there. After we got knocked back from the big bank, we ended up buying a house in our absolute DREAM location for $150,000 more than what we initially went for. So don’t give up!

Have you bought a house recently? I would love to hear your experience!

Please note: We are not affiliated with Aussie Home Loans at all. We simply chose them after some research and whilst they were right for us, they may not be suitable for everyone.