In our conveyancing practice, the buyers who run into trouble are rarely the ones who miss a step — they're the ones who take them out of order. The most common, and most expensive, mistake we see is jumping from browsing listings straight to signing an offer, skipping the contract review and due-diligence steps in between. The sequence below is the order we guide buyers through; the point of each step is to surface a problem while you can still do something about it.
Steps to Buying a Property
1. Research
Familiarise yourself with the property market by investigating suburbs, recent sales, current listings, and trends. Consider lifestyle needs (schools, transport, parks) and future capital growth potential. For investors, assess rental demand, yield, tax implications, capital gains liabilities, and negative gearing benefits. Attend open homes and auctions to gauge pricing and local demand.
Determine Costs: Purchase Costs and Post-Settlement Costs
Understanding the full financial picture is essential. For the standard set of buyer costs, see what everyone pays when buying.
Upfront costs may include:
- Deposit (usually 10% of purchase price)
- Stamp duty (transfer duty)
- Legal and conveyancing fees (including property searches)
- Loan application and establishment fees
- Building, pest, and strata inspections
- FIRB fees (if foreign buyer)
Post-settlement and ongoing costs include:
- Council rates and water rates
- Strata levies (NSW/QLD) or owners corporation fees (VIC)
- Land tax (if applicable)
- Repairs, maintenance, and home insurance
- Mortgage repayments
- Utility connections, furniture, and moving costs
Settlement adjustments: You may reimburse the seller for prepaid council rates, water rates, or strata fees, especially if they maintain a credit balance. Your conveyancer finalises these before settlement. See common settlement adjustments for how these are worked out.
Determine Budget
Set a realistic budget encompassing borrowing capacity, saved deposit, and comfortable repayment levels. Build in a financial buffer for interest rate changes or unforeseen expenses. Consult with your lender or broker early to determine your price ceiling. Knowing your borrowing capacity versus a realistic purchase price keeps the search grounded.
2. Finance Planning
Map out funding through deposit saving, credit history review, debt minimisation, and comparison of home loan features like redraw, offset, and fixed versus variable interest rates. A mortgage broker can help compare deals across multiple lenders.
Save for Deposit and Purchase Price
A 20–25% deposit is ideal (avoiding lenders' mortgage insurance), though not essential. Many buyers enter with 5–10% deposits depending on lender criteria. Ensure sufficient savings for deposit, upfront fees, stamp duty, and inspections.
Determine Grants, Exemptions and Concessions Available
Check eligibility for government assistance:
- First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)
- Stamp duty exemptions or concessions
- Shared equity schemes or regional buying incentives
Each state has different rules. VIC offers full stamp duty exemption for first home buyers under certain thresholds; NSW and QLD offer partial exemptions or concessions depending on price, property type, and principal residence intent.
Find a Loan
Compare loans and lenders considering interest rates, flexibility, repayment options, and fixed versus variable rate suitability. Mortgage brokers help guide this search.
Get Pre-Approval
Before house-hunting, obtain pre-approval from a lender demonstrating they've assessed your financial position and agreed (in principle) to lend a specific amount. Pre-approval isn't a guarantee but shows sellers you're serious and prevents wasting time on unaffordable properties.
3. Pre-Purchase
Inspection
Once you've identified a property, inspect it thoroughly:
- Physical inspection: Walk through checking layout, condition, and deal-breakers.
- Building and pest inspection: A qualified inspector checks for structural issues, water damage, pests (especially termites), and safety concerns. See our building and pest inspection guide.
- Strata inspection report (NSW & QLD): For units, townhouses, or apartments, this highlights body corporate financial health and legal standing.
- Owners corporation certificate (VIC): Contains annual fees, fund balances, maintenance history, and future works, annexed to the Section 32 Vendor Statement. Review this carefully to understand owners corporation management.
- Strata by-laws (NSW and QLD) and owners corporation rules (VIC): Review these documents as they govern occupier behaviour and may affect your use and enjoyment of common property.
Contract Review
Before signing, have your contract reviewed by a licensed conveyancer or solicitor who will explain your rights, flag unusual terms, and recommend appropriate special conditions. These are the five checks we run on every contract before a client signs.
Price Offer
Make your offer through the real estate agent, ideally with legal adviser guidance. Offers can be verbal or written (written preferred), often including specific conditions. The seller can accept, reject, or negotiate.
Negotiation
Negotiation may involve price, inclusions (window furnishings, appliances), or settlement period. In NSW, your legal adviser assists with negotiations; in VIC and QLD, negotiations typically occur directly between buyer and agent. Be prepared to move quickly, especially in competitive markets.
4. Sign Contract
Once both parties agree on terms, contracts are signed and exchanged. In VIC and QLD, agents typically organise this; in NSW, solicitors or conveyancers sometimes facilitate exchange.
5. Conditional Contract (If Applicable)
If your contract includes conditions (subject to finance or inspections), those must be fulfilled before the deal becomes binding. If any condition isn't met, you can generally withdraw without penalty. QLD and VIC contracts typically include these; in NSW, this may depend on timing, negotiation, and seller expectations that you satisfy conditions within the cooling-off period.
6. Get Final Approval
Submit your signed contract to your lender or broker. Your lender will undertake property valuation and document review. Once they issue final (unconditional) approval, notify your conveyancer and provide finance approval documentation.
7. Unconditional Contract
With finance and other conditions satisfied, the contract becomes unconditional. All parties have legally committed to completing settlement.
8. Pre-Settlement: Provide Documentation
As settlement approaches, complete several tasks:
- Complete Verification of Identity (VOI) with your conveyancer
- Peruse, sign, and return stamp duty documents to your conveyancer
- Prepare to pay transfer (stamp) duty
- Sign your loan documentation
- Arrange home insurance (often required before settlement)
- Complete a final inspection ensuring property is in agreed condition
Your conveyancer will prepare settlement figures, including adjustments and remaining balances.
Sign Loan Documentation
Your lender will issue mortgage documents. Read them carefully, sign where required, and return promptly to ensure loan funds are available at settlement.
Do Final Inspection
Usually 24–48 hours before settlement, do a final walk-through checking that the property is in the same condition as when contracts were signed, and that inclusions (like appliances) are present and in the same condition as at sale.
9. Settlement
On settlement day, your conveyancer, the seller's legal representative, and your lender finalise the transaction. Funds are transferred, title is registered in your name, and you become the legal owner. Once completed, you'll collect the keys from the agent and take possession — congratulations!
State-Specific Nuances: NSW, QLD and VIC
While buying property generally follows similar processes across Australia, differences exist in contract handling, particularly around timing and buyer protection.
New South Wales (NSW)
In NSW, contract exchange occurs very differently from other states. Contracts are often exchanged much earlier — sometimes before completing all due diligence (like building/pest inspections or finance approval). This creates gazumping risk, where a seller accepts your offer verbally then accepts a higher one from another buyer before contracts are signed. This practice is legal and can leave buyers out of pocket for inspection or legal fees.
Contract exchange typically occurs between Step 3 and Step 7. Because of this, NSW buyers should act quickly to complete due diligence when genuinely interested. This provides a head start getting contracts exchanged as soon as possible. A statutory cooling-off period usually applies, unless sellers request waiver in competitive scenarios.
Queensland (QLD)
In QLD, contracts are usually subject to conditions — most commonly subject to finance and building/pest inspections. This gives buyers protections and time to organise final approval and checks. Gazumping is rare, and the process tends to be more straightforward and buyer-friendly.
Victoria (VIC)
VIC also allows conditional contracts and includes a standard three-day cooling-off period, unless purchased at auction or within 3 business days on either side of an auction date. Buyers receive a comprehensive Section 32 Statement (vendor statement) and, if buying a unit or townhouse, an owners corporation certificate replacing separate strata reports. Like QLD, buyers in VIC typically have more safeguards before contracts become binding.