Steps in the finance and property process
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Pre contract:
- Get a pre approval in place (first major event in the finance process)
- Find a conveyancer or solicitor to go through the contract
- Start looking for property
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Signing of contract (first major event in the property process)
- This starts the cooling off period (which is 5 days in NSW unless agreed otherwise)
- The timeframe from signing of the contract to settlement is 42 days in NSW (unless agreed otherwise)
- Pay 0.25% of the purchase price to the RE agent as a holding deposit
- Get full contract to conveyancer / solicitor
- Get signed first page of contract to the finance broker to start valuation process
- Organize pest and building inspection
- Obtain formal / unconditional approval from lender (second major event in the finance process)
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Contract Exchange (second major event in the property process)
- You are now committed to the purchase
- The lender will prepare the mortgage documents which need to be signed and returned (originals)
- The timeframe from here to settlement is about 37 days
- About 5 days before settlement the conveyancer / solicitor will request funds to complete to be deposited into a trust account.
- For settlement the lender requires insurance to be in place
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Settlement (Third major event in the property as well as finance process)
- The finance and property settlement takes place at the same time
- Ownership changes from vendor to purchaser
- You can now pick up the keys from the real estate agent and enjoy your new home!