North to South Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Hi, Having been through quarantine the fun part of buying a house has began, but with that has led to some confusion which I hope some fellow PIOers can help with. I'm from the UK and assuming the offer is accepted, you will then arrange a survey in the following weeks, complete legals, agree exchange dates and finally completion dates. In Australia I'm unsure about when you get a survey on a property as most agents I've spoke to have said that you put the offer in, then have a 48 hour cooling off period and after that are committed to buy and once you're committed, I'm assuming if anything negative comes from the survey you're stuck. I'm sure it can't be like this, so any advice would be appreciated as I've found a couple of properties that I like and want to put an offer forward, but jreally not clear on the process. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mt9754 Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) Normally you'll get a conditional contract that includes clauses that you'll only proceed with the sale if the surveys come up good. Especially important to check for Termites apparently: https://finance.nine.com.au/personal-finance/buying-a-house-surveys/3ade57b4-3e0e-4357-bad7-913abdcd0473 Example of such a clause: https://www.nab.com.au/personal/life-moments/home-property/buy-first-home/building-inspection Edited February 7, 2021 by mt9754 additional link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Information here about the process of buying in South Australia: https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch23s08.php And here specifically on when to organise a building inspection: https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch23s08s07.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North to South Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Perfect. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llessur Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) The process here is 10x better than in the UK - you'll normally get the keys and be in your new home within 4-6 weeks of having an offer accepted or winning an auction. Most houses are listed for sale for around 4 weeks before either an auction is held or offers close. Either way, there will be a series of open home inspections scheduled in the weeks leading up to that date, normally on weekends. You can just turn up, give a few details to the agent and take a look round with everyone else who's turned up. If you're really keen on a house you can also arrange for a building inspection during this time (around $500) but obviously if you don't end up being the winning buyer it's money down the drain. If the house is being sold at auction (I would estimate at least 50% of houses in metropolitan SA are) then this will be your only chance of having an inspection done as you would be unlikely to be able to attach a 'subject to inspection' clause to your bids at an auction. If it's a sale by offers situation as opposed to an auction then there will be a closing date for the offers generally around 4 weeks after listing. You can attach a 'subject to inspection' clause to offers submitted this way but obviously your offer would be less attractive to a seller than a similar offer from a buyer who doesn't attach any clauses. In both cases - houses sold by auctions or offers - sellers can choose to accept a good offer prior to the auction/closing date so you can't always bank on the sale process running the full time period. If you're genuinely interested in a property then it's always worth letting the agent know and asking them to involve you if a seller is considering accepting another early offer, or put an offer in yourself - people can argue that this shows your hand to an agent prior to an auction but at the end of the day the bidders control the selling price of houses sold that way, not the agent. We bought our house through an offers process and submitted our offer with a subject to satisfactory inspection condition - we had the inspection done the next day, signed the paperwork a couple of days later and within another 3-4 weeks moved in. We also bid for two houses at auction prior to buying this one - the first we were really keen on so got an inspection done during the period the property was listed ($500 wasted at the end of the day but would have been well spent if we had won), the second place we were a bit half hearted about so didn't bother. Anecdotally, from what I can tell through knowing various other people who have bought here, only around half bother with an inspection at all. Once your offer has been accepted and any attached conditions been met (e.g. subject to inspection) then it's binding. If you pull out you'll lose the lot. Best to arrange finance with your bank before hunting (i.e. get a loan agreed in principle) so that you know what your budget is and don't have to put in an offer which is subject to finance which again would be unattractive to a seller. Having just seen my parents and some close friends go through the house buying process in the UK I can't for the life of me fathom why it's such a complex system over there with chains, gazumping, gazundering, people pulling out left right and centre, and in some cases months and months elapsing between having an offer accepted and getting the keys to your new place. Even when it does go through everyone in the chain has to move on the same day so you're liable to be sitting around in a moving van for hours waiting for the existing owners to bugger off. It seems like a nightmare in comparison. The only benefit I can see from the UK system is that it makes it easier to buy a new place before taking the leap and selling your existing house. Here, unless you have an offer accepted which is subject to the sale of your existing place (not unheard of, especially in country areas, but as a seller I would find this very unattractive) or you can qualify for an expensive bridging loan (i.e. you'd be paying two mortgages at once) then you have to list and sell your place before hunting for a new one - so probably moving into rented accommodation for a bit. Other than that I'd vote for the Aussie (well, SA - I can't comment on other states but I'm pretty sure it's similar) process any day of the week. Best of luck with the purchase by the way - where are you looking? Edited February 10, 2021 by llessur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusbyBoo Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Just to add..... inspection companies know you are on a tight timeframe, they do the 48hr thing all the time. You can also add ‘subject to finance’ but most people have already organised this in principle, so added to the contract as an extra just in case bank changes it’s mind. It really does matter where you buy too.... a very popular area will have more than one offer, so it pays to be ready. A decent agent will give you advice, but you need to ensure they understand you are new to the system. Above all forget everything you did in the UK to buy a house, we don’t mess around here. You have 48hrs and bang it’s yours, unless you have a finance clause, and even then there’ll be a date quite soon agreed. Every state is a little different too, for e.g NSW is 5 days but you have to pay a non refundable deposit immediately. I think we spend more time choosing which steak to buy for dinner than our house purchase . My advice for what it’s worth is learn the system, make sure you know exactly where you want to live, SA is huge. Know your budget and where you’re likely to work etc... Don’t panic buy, personal experience shows what I thought I wanted was actually not right, you can change as you settle in and get to know more areas. Good luck and welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llessur Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) If you're looking to get an inspection done then I'd highly recommend David Murray from Adelaide Pre-purchase Inspections (www.appi.com.au). He did a really thorough job when we used him, and he has done similar for a couple of friends too. We used another company for the house we actually ended up buying as David was fully booked and they didn't spend half as long inspecting as David did (and they missed a few things too). Edited February 10, 2021 by llessur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusbyBoo Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 Forgot to mention you also have to insure it as soon as agree to buy. I was confused by this but it seems as I was told.... this is because if it burned down you still have to buy it, and the original owners may not have insurance . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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