You've been spending all your weekends house-hunting and you finally see one that ticks all your boxes.

So, why not make an offer on it now, right?

Wrong!

Can I make an offer?

Only make an offer when you have all your ducks in a row and by ducks we mean:

1. Lending pre-approval (the most important duck)
2. Conveyancing
3. Building and pest inspecting

We talked about this last week but here we look at this point further as it is so important.

Of course, if you've recently sold your home, you probably have these ducks sorted.

But for first-home buyers, it's not that simple or easy.

Why should I wait to make an offer?

If you don't have the above ready to go before you make an offer, you'll most likely lose that dream house you made an offer on.

Why?

Making even a verbal offer will have all hell breaking loose as real estate agents scramble to push for the highest possible offer from you.

But do you know how much you can really afford on the Dream Home, and most importantly, how much lenders will let you borrow?

Do you really understand the contract of sale that the agent has sent you to peruse?

Do you know if the Dream Home is sturdy and sound and even worth buying in the first place?

The answer to all of these will be "I don't know" - and this in a period of extreme stress and pressure, while still dealing with everyday life - if you don't have your ducks in a row beforehand.

How can I prepare to make an offer?

• Organise your pre-approval first as this will take awhile - and that's just finding a broker, or lender, that suits your needs.

You'll need to start by doing your calculations to ensure you can afford and responsibly manage and service, a loan.

Your lender will obviously check for these points but they won't care if you can afford the loan - they will only care about what they can justify mathematically.

Once you've sorted your calculations, you'll need to have your financial and other paperwork on hand, such as tax returns, salary payslips, bank statements, and similar.

After you've submitted your pre-approval application, there may well be some to-ing and fro-ing between you and your broker, or lender, as you answer extra questions and details.

And after all this, your pre-approval application may be declined and you'll have to start all over again with another lender.

Basically, expect a few weeks maximum to sort all of these points.

• Conveyancing and building and pest inspections should be next on your pre-offer list.

Thankfully, however, both are much easier than pre-approvals to organise as a few good recommendations from friends and family can help enormously.

But your basic plan should be to find conveyancing and building and pest inspectors who can be on standby at all times.

Tricky as this request may sound, both parties are well-used to such needs and both also don't take long to do their job.

• Building and pest inspectors may only be at your potential new home for an hour and be back to you by the end of the day with their report.

• Conveyancers will also only need a short time - we're talking a few hours -to look over your contract of sale.

If you're an FHB, don't be afraid to explain this point to the conveyancer and the building and pest inspector as they can then step you through the whole process from their end.

NB: with Christmas and New Year sweeping up fast, it's important that you double-check when your broker or lender, your conveyancer, and your building and pest inspector are available over this time. 

If they'll be away, ask if they have a colleague you can talk to if you want to make an offer.

When should I make an offer?

Since you have your three main ducks in a row, then, by all means, you should make an offer now!

Just be prepared for the exciting ride ahead in the next week or two as you organise your ducks to approve and/or visit your Dream Home.

FHBs, once your ducks are sorted, it can be helpful to make a few offers here and there, simply to test the waters - and if you buy succeed with one of these offers, so much the better!

We’re here to help

Have you got a dream house that you drive past from time to time or the perfect street that you walk down each evening that you’d love to call your own address? Why not set up a Perfect Match alert for that house or that street and be notified immediately when your Perfect Match property hits the market. It’s a free feature when you sign up to become a Listing Loop member.

If you’re actively looking for your dream home, our Buyer Assist service pairs you with a buyer’s advocate who can help you find your perfect property sooner. They can remove a lot of the stress from the buying process and ensure you avoid expensive property buying traps.

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