Buying a property can be stressful and overwhelming, which Nikolina, Director of Quay Conveyancing, understands and can relate to very well. Nikolina entered the property market at the very young age of 22 and has since grown her portfolio. Nikolina's passion for investing in property is what led her to become a licenced Conveyancer. Nikolina understands what it feels like to be on the other side, having to engage the services of a Conevayncer/Solicitor when buying and selling. Whether buying your first home or growing your property portfolio, Nikolina will help by taking the stress out of the conveyancing process and ensuring a smooth transaction.

The first step when looking to buy a property is to speak to a Bank or finance Broker to ascertain your borrowing capacity and apply for pre-approval. Home loan pre-approval (also known as conditional approval) is when a lender agrees, in principle, to lend a borrower a specified amount of money for a home loan. Obtaining pre-approval gives you Confidence to make offers as it gives you an indication of your borrowing power and therefore what you can or can't afford.

Once you have found your ideal property, you will negotiate the price with the Real Estate Agent. It is important to know that even when the Vendor has accepted your price, there is nothing binding you or the Vendor to the purchase until Contracts are exchanged. At the time of conditional exchange, you will be required to pay a deposit, usually 0.25% of the purchase price, and you will have the benefit of a cooling-off period, which is five (5) business days. During this five-day cooling-off period, the buyer can determine whether to continue with the property purchase or terminate the contract. It is important to note that if you wish to terminate a contract within the Cooling-off period, written notice must be given by the buyer's legal representative to the seller's legal representative, and the 0.25% deposit paid by you will be forfeited to the Vendor (The seller).

The cooling-off period allows time for things such as:

At Quay Conveyancing, we can arrange for any Building, Pest, and Strata Reports on your behalf to be carried out by insured professionals who provide these services.

The final step in the process of buying a house is settlement day. This is when you will take legal ownership of the property, and the legal documents of the property are transferred from the Seller’s name to the buyer. Settlement most commonly takes place 42 days (six weeks) after the exchange of Contracts however sometimes this period can be shorter or longer. The adjustment of rates (Council, Water, Strata etc.) and taxes are calculated, and the balance amount of the purchase price of the property is paid to the Vendor (The seller).