Address:
The Headmaster’s Cottage
3 Marist Place
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
PO Box 2406
NORTH PARRAMATTA
DX 28337 PARRAMATTA
t І 02 9630 2361
t І 02 9683 2644
f І 02 9683 1605
w І / BUYING YOUR HOME
FINDING A PROPERTY
This is one of the hardest steps in the process. To assist you we have prepared a helpful reminder of each property you inspect. See our Open For Inspection checklist that you can print off for each property inspected and help in your decision making. If you have a digital camera it is useful to take a photo of the outside to assist you in remembering.
After you have found the property you wish to buy you should tell the agent the details of Storey & Gough so that they may immediately liaise with us.
STEPS INVOLVED ONCE YOU HAVE FOUND THE PROPERTY
Once you have found a property there are four main steps to the purchase:-
1. Before exchanging contracts for the purchase
You apply for finance if needed and arrange for pre-purchase pest and building inspections (and strata inspection) reports if required. It is a good practice to have a pre-approved general loan from a lender so that, subject to a valuation, the lender will move the application through quickly.
2. Reviewing the contract with Solicitor
We meet with you to discuss the contract, your purchase, and the procedure generally. At this time we usually have you sign the contract (subject to any amendment) and arrange for the deposit monies (usually 10% of purchase price).
3. Exchanging contracts
This is where the signed contracts are swapped with the vendor’s solicitor for you to purchase the property. The contract then becomes binding usually from exchange to settlement takes 6 to 8 weeks.
4. Finalising your purchase (settlement)
At settlement you hand over the full monies (less 10%) for the purchase. You then own the property and obtain the keys to move in.
The Time the Purchase Takes
A standard purchase takes about 6 – 8 weeks to be settled from the time we receive you instruction. This, of course will differ depending on the circumstances of your purchase.
Costs of the Purchase
Once we know the purchase price, the type of property, mortgages and any unusual restrictions on the title, we will provide you with an estimate for the cost of purchasing your property. The costs will include:-
  • Stamp Duty on the contract.
  • Stamp Duty on the mortgage.
  • Legal costs.
  • Building and Pest Inspection (on your instructions).
  • Strata inspection (where applicable).
  • Mortgage fees including their own solicitors fees – they should have told of those details.
  • Local Government and Water rate adjustments.
  • Strata levy adjustments (if applicable).

  • Government search fees on the land title.
  • Survey inspection (if required).
  • Government registration of the title.
  • General expenses including photocopying, couriers etc.

/ Keeping you informed
Please always feel free to contact us to know what stage your matter is up to.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COOLING OFF PERIOD
Cooling Off Period
The cooling off period is five business days after the exchange of contract. During this period you are allowed to pullout of the contract for any reasons. If you do pullout of the contract, you will incur a penalty of 0.25% of the purchase price, eg. on a house costing $350,000 the penalty is $875
The cooling off period usually applies when the Real Estate Agent has exchanged the contracts.
Signing the Contract at the Real Estate Office
The agent will have a copy of the contract that you can sign in his or her office. You also pay the full deposit when you sign the contract. The agent will then send a copy to the seller’s solicitor.
See us right away. You have only five business days from signing the contract for us to examine the contract and explain your rights and obligations to you. This is called the Cooling Off Period.
/ BEFORE EXCHANGE
If you need to borrow money to purchase the property you will need to make a formal application to the lender.
It may be necessary (after discussion with us) to obtain pre-purchase pest and building inspections (and strata inspection) reports. This can be arranged through either your real estate agent or us.
We will receive a contract from the vendor’s solicitor. They will keep a copy of this contract for the vendor to sign. When we receive the contract we will contact you to arrange an appointment to discuss your purchase and the contract.
It is very important that you commence your loan application as you do not want to loose a property because of this delay. Many people obtain a pre-approval and the final approval is a mere formality.
MEETING TO DISCUSS CONTRACT
Our meeting with you will last for approximately 30 minutes. We will examine the contract together and ensure you understand the basic concepts of the conveyancing process.
We will need to obtain the loan details from you so bring along any paperwork you have and loan staff contact details.
We make sure that certain items you have seen on your inspection of the house, remain in the house and are included as part of the purchase price. These may include curtains, blinds, light fittings, fixed floor coverings and the television antenna.
Check Contract
We explain the various aspects of the contract to you including:-
  • Certificate of Title – shows that the vendor is the property owner and has the right to sell the property.
  • Deposited Plan – this is the plan of the property that is held at the Land & Property Information office. It shows:-
  • The location and size of the block.
  • Whether there are any easements for which there are statutory rights eg. access to pipes that run under the land, electricity easements.
  • If there are any covenants upon the title, eg. any restrictions on the building materials that you can use or the distance the house can be set back from the front boundary.
  • Strata Plan – if the property is a town house, villa or home unit we will make sure that the unit, carport or storage areas you have inspected are correctly shown on the plan and that you identify precisely the areas you believe you are purchasing.
  • Section 149 Certificate – this is issued by the local council and contains information such as the zoning of the property, whether the land is subject to road widening, subsidence, is bushfire prone and the like.
Sign the Contract
Once you are satisfied with the contract you sign it ready for the next step in the process – exchange.
Inspections
If you wish us to, we can arrange to have a:-
  • Building inspection – to make sure the building is a sound structure.
  • Termite and pest inspection – to ensure there are no termite or borer activities.
  • Body Corporate – if your property comes under a strata title to see eg. there are no hidden fees to be paid for major structural damage
Inspections can normally be carried out within 48 hours. We will obtain an up to date quote each time.
/ EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS
Exchange means:-
  • The seller will also sign a copy of the duplicate contract.
  • At this stage you pay the balance of the deposit, which is deposited in the Real Estate Agent’s trust account or given to us to hand over with the signed contract.
(eg. the purchase price is $400,000 so the deposit payable is $40,000 or 10% of the total price. You may have paid $500 (the holding deposit) to the Real Estate Agent when you agreed to buy the property, so you now need to arrange a bank cheque for the balance of $39,500 payable to the Real Estate Agent)
  • We swap the contract signed by the seller with the contract signed by you. Contracts are dated on this day. This is the exchange.
Before contracts are exchanged, we will contact you to discuss your final instructions. After you have advised us that you wish to exchange contracts, we meet with the vendor’s solicitor and swap the contract you have signed with the contract that has been signed by the vendor. Often it is done through the solicitor’s Document Exchange system overnight. Exchange is now complete.
At this point both vendor and purchaser are bound to go ahead with the sale, subject to the cooling off period. Contracts are dated this day. Generally, if solicitors are involved for the purchaser there is a special certificate signed and there is no cooling off period.
We will then confirm the agreed settlement date usually 6 – 8 weeks from the date of exchange.
After Exchange
After exchange we contact numerous government departments to make sure that they do not have any plans that will affect the property you are purchasing. Examples are:-
  • The Roads and Traffic Authority does not have any intended roadworks.
  • Land tax owing to the State Government on the land.
  • Outstanding council or water rates or strata fees (if applicable) are owing on that property.
Surveying the Property
If required, we can arrange for a surveyor to survey the property. They will check that the building is not too close to the side boundaries and that the neighbours’ buildings do not encroach on or overhang on your land. Sometimes this is a requirement of the lending body if a recent one has not already been done by the vendors.
Local Government Inspection
If required, after exchange we can make an application to the local council for a certificate called a Building Certificate.
The council carries out an inspection of the property and makes sure that the building, swimming pool (if there is one) or any building additions are legal and approved by council or, if not, are such that they will not take any action, Sometimes if it comes to your attention before contracts are exchanges we can negotiate a condition that makes the contract conditional upon obtaining such a certificate.
Loan Documents
We gather the necessary information to satisfy the requirements of your lender.
We will provide you with a Settlement Statement that shows how much is needed to settle your purchase.
/ STAMP DUTY
This is now payable on the contract and transfer.
  • On a $350,000 property, the stamp duty on the contract is $11,244.
  • If you are borrowing $300,000, the stamp duty on the mortgage is $1,141.
  • On a $450,000 property, the stamp duty on the contract is $15,744.
  • If you are borrowing $400,000, the stamp duty on the mortgage is $1,541.
A stamp duty calculator is available on the Office of State Revenue website for your individual needs.
Mortgage Documents
It depends upon the lender as to how they will deal with mortgage documents.
Your lender will either:-
  • Arrange with you a time to sign mortgage documents, or
  • Send mortgage documents either to us or to you.
We will gather the necessary information to satisfy the requirements of your lender.
A delay in signing mortgage documents could delay your settlement date.
  • Often you will also be required to pay the lenders establishment fee and legal costs which come out of the loan. You will have to be ready to budget for this on settlement day.
FINALSING YOUR PURCHASE – SETTLEMENT
Shortly prior to settlement you should do a final inspection of the property to make sure that it is in the condition that it was when you agreed to buy it. Eg. the previous owner has not removed any items that are included such as television antenna, fly screens, gardens etc.
We also do a final search of the title to make sure it is still in the vendors name, that they have not gone Bankrupt in the meantime or had a Judgment registered against the title.
On settlement day we meet with the solicitor for the vendor and a representative from your lender (and often the outgoing lender).
We inspect the documents and if they are in order your money is given to the solicitor for the vendor. In return they give us the deeds to the property, which will be kept by your lender until you pay off the loan. The keys to the property are usually handed over by the agent when the settlement has taken place.
Arrangements will then be made for the deeds to be registered in your name.
The local council, water board and Valuer General will be notified that you own the property. This can sometimes take a few months, so do not be concerned if your next rate notice has not been changed into your name.
CONGRATULATIONS
You have now purchased your property.