Harcourts has been
helping people to buy and sell property for over a century. Harcourts
Vision are committed to helping you turn your property dreams into
reality.
When you come to Harcourts Vision in search of your
perfect property, your personal real estate consultant looks to
establish your goals and set about achieving them for you. It is their
job to listen to what you want and to work with you with care and
consideration at all times.
Your real estate consultant will
guide you through the process of buying a house, providing advice on
property values, investment potential, finance options and legal
requirements.
It is all part of the extra-effort service. And best of all, it’s all entirely free of charge.
Your
Harcourts Vision real estate consultant will begin by showing you
suitable properties, which are on the market right now. You will see
photographs and detailed descriptions of all the properties we have
listed which meet your requirements.
When you see something you
like, they will arrange a visit. Please feel free to use the Property
Search feature on the left of your screen to search for any current
listings by Harcourts.
We
often hear "but the agent didn't listen to me!" While this may be true
of some agents, your Harcourts consultant is trained to listen – not to
talk.
Knowing your requirements early really helps us help you.
Sometimes however, your circumstances and priorities can change. Often,
we will check with you to ensure we remain on track.
Facts that help us in finding you the right property include:
It
is important that we know the absolute most important features you want
in a property and will not compromise on. They may include:
These requirements are unique to each buyer. Also give some thought to features you most definitely do not want in a property.
Many buyers search the internet prior to viewing properties.
You
can use the Property Search function to the left of this page for a
comprehensive search facility which will provide you with property
details and multiple photos of each property.
A
loan calculator enables you to easily determine fortnightly or monthly
repayments by entering the amount you wish to borrow, your deposit,
preferred interest rate and term of the loan. Please click here to use the Mortgage Express loan repayment calculator.
Your
consultant will show you those properties that best fit your
requirements. This will be at times to suit you and the owner of the
property. You will be kept informed of all changes relating to the
properties you have viewed and you will be advised of new properties as
they come on the market. Talk to your consultant about how you want to
receive new property information i.e. via email, text or phone call.
Inspections
of properties take time. We recommend you do not rush or disregard too
quickly. Try not to judge a property from the outside only. Some
properties have little or no street appeal, but have much to offer
inside. An inspection will confirm your first impression or will
pleasantly surprise you.
When the right property presents itself
be prepared to make an offer. We will encourage you to do so as many
people have found their perfect home and missed it because they didn’t
take the opportunity when it as available to them.
When
you are ready to write up a contract, the next step is to decide on the
price you wish to offer the seller and under what conditions you wish
to make the offer. Common conditions of sale are: subject to finance, a
builder's report, sale of another property, solicitor’s approval of the
contract or specialist inspection or approval.
The seller can
accept your offer, reject it or counter sign it. Counter signing
usually occurs when the seller is not satisfied with the price offered
and/or conditions included and subsequently alters them. The contract
will be brought back to you for your consideration. If you accept, you
initial the seller’s alteration and the property is under offer to you
subject to any conditions that the contract may contain. Alternatively
you also have the right to counter sign. Your sales consultant will
continue negotiations between you and the seller until you are both in
agreement.
This process generally does not occur when buying at auction. (See information on “Buying at Auction” below).
Buying
at auction avoids the often prolonged waiting of the traditional
offer/counter-offer negotiation process and uncertainty of what another
buyer may be offering. During an auction bids for the property are
called in an open arena on a given day and time. If your bid is accepted
you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you have purchased at true
market value.
Once they find the property they wish to purchase many buyers are tempted to “start low” with their offer.
We understand, but would not be giving you complete service if we did not warn you of what can happen.
If
you are serious about purchasing the property it is wise to make a
genuine offer that reflects your serious intentions and appreciation of
the true value of the seller’s home.
Along
with the standard terms of the contract both buyers and sellers are
able to insert further terms and conditions of sale. When writing in any
special condition the key parts are who is going to do it; what are
they going to do; when are they going to do it by; what standards will
apply; what happens if it is not satisfied and who can waive it.
Once an inserted condition has been satisfied notice will be provided to the other party usually by the solicitors involved.
A
condition can be either satisfied or waived. If you have inserted a
condition but it has not been met by the required date you can choose to
waive that condition. If the condition is neither satisfied nor waived
then the agreement will be terminated and any deposit paid by you shall
be immediately refunded.
Some common conditions of sale are:
Inserting
these clauses allows you to sell your property before purchasing. Use
the appropriate clause to allow you time to sell your property or for an
existing contract of sale to become unconditional in all respects.
Each of these conditions should be clearly worded and the dates for confirmation made clear.
Once all parties have signed the contract you will be asked to pay a deposit. This usually equates to 10% of the purchase price.
We can refer you to Mortgage Express who can assist you with this.
In
some states of Australia you can be responsible for the insurance cover
of the property you are buying from the first business day after the
contract has been signed.
Harcourts can arrange a 30 day temporary cover to provide you with immediate, temporary insurance cover and “peace of mind”.
This service is complimentary and can save you hours spent researching the many insurance providers on the market today.
Your Harcourts consultant can provide you with more information.
You
don’t need to wait until you’ve found a property before you arrange
finance. It’s a good idea to find out first just how much you can
borrow – that way you know what price bracket to start looking in and
what level of repayments you’re comfortable with.
The problem
that most people face today, however, is “which home loan is the right
one for me?” There are so many options when it comes to banks,
products, rates, terms and fees. With the purchase of such a large
investment, you need to be confident that you have made the right
financial choice.
Mortgage Express is a team of banking and
financial specialists who can give you expert advice, at a place and
time convenient to you - and at no cost. Their team of consultants
represent a range of banks, building societies and non-bank lenders.
Their advice is unbiased so can focus on your needs.
Mortgage
Express eliminates the need for any bank interviews. Once you have seen
them, you immediately have the choice of many lenders and they will
often get better terms than the bank will offer you direct. They also
can arrange funds for your deposit once your offer is accepted.
The
advice is free and there is no obligation. Talk to your consultant and
they will put you in touch with a Mortgage Express representative.
Visit: www.mortgage-express.com.au
Phone: 1300 853 118
Financial
fees vary greatly, depending on such matters as what percentage of the
property value that you will be borrowing, the amount of the loan, the
amount of the purchase and which bank you are borrowing funds from. If
you speak to your local Mortgage Express representative you can quickly
ascertain approximate costs for your particular circumstances.
Possible expenses you may incur are:
Before
settlement your solicitor will undertake the necessary searches with
respect to the property and your financier will prepare the mortgage
documentation.
On settlement your solicitor will exchange with the seller's solicitor:
Within
a few days of settlement your solicitor or financier will register the
necessary documentation and mortgage transfer with the Land Titles
Registry.
Possession of the property usually takes place on the
settlement day although the seller and buyer can agree for these dates
to be different.
If you would like further information please download a full copy of our Buying Property with Harcourts Vision or contact us via phone: 03 9331 1180 or email: vision@harcourts.com.au