Whether you're a first-time home buyer or an experienced one, it pays to stay smart when purchasing a property - and before making an offer.

Here are Listing Loop's tips for doing so.

1. Stay cool and calm

One of the worst - yet most tempting - ways to buy a home is employing FOMO as your BFF.

But pouring your entire life savings into any unconsidered purchase is unwise.

We promise there is always another house around the corner if Plan A falls through.

So turn away from the pressure of tight buying markets and similar and breathe.

Then sleep on it and sleep on it again with plenty of cups of tea in between, remembering to be kind to yourself on the house-buying journey too.

2. Organise pre-approval

By all means, attend open homes to get a good idea of what's where, and for how much, in your preferred purchase area.

But do not - repeat, do not! - make an offer on a home until you have pre-approval!

Without this precious document in your hand, you won't have a true idea of what a lender will allow you to borrow on a home and thus, will be playing an offer guessing game.

Pre-approvals can also take awhile to organise so you'll find yourself at the back of an already long buyer offer queue while you apply for one.

3. Organise building and pest inspection

As we've warned our readers before, a trained building and pest inspector (BPI) will never judge a house by its cover.

Potential issues inside the walls, below the house or in, or on, the roof can go sight unseen and cost a fortune to fix - if they're fixable at all.

So, heart-breaking as it can be to walk away from a home, don't risk such issues.

Plus on the positive side, a BPI can mean buyer power as with it, you can negotiate with the vendor for a lower price, depending on the property issue, or similarly, organise a contract clause ensuring the owner fixes an issue before you move.

4. Organise conveyancer

Conveyancers or solicitors are the legal go-tos on your buying journey and while such legal advice may sound boring or unnecessary, make no mistake - just like BPIs, conveyancers are crucial and can save you money.

Conveyancers do far more than you can ever imagine, with their main role being to check the sales contract for issues that buyers may overlook.

And again, such issues can give buyers the power to offer a lower price or negotiate for particular clauses.

5. Visit property multiple times with friends

Regardless of whether you're a savvy home buyer or a first-time one, it always pays to have a secondary opinion on the home purchase journey.

And by another opinion, we don't mean your partner, husband or wife but someone both objective and kind who knows you and your needs well.

If this person has bought a home themselves, especially in the same area as you're considering, that's even better - but this is not a must-have.

While you're at the home, organise to return to it - or the nearby area - several times and at different times of the day and week.

This will give you a much better understanding of crucial details such as neighbourhood noise and transport issues.

Also check the property for natural light, storage space, and other points.

We're here to help

Whatever your property plans are, rest assured off-market extraordinaire, Listing Loop, can help smooth the road to finding a great house.

Listing Loop loves finding off-market properties for buyers - and we have everything buyers (and sellers) need in one place thanks to our sister websites and services, Lending Loop, Buyer Assist and Moving Loop.