Explaining The Home Loan Process
Find out what’s involved in taking out a loan, from start to finish.
Talk to us, it costs nothing to speak to a friendly and professional finance broker, who can quickly help find out how much you can borrow and which loan may suit your needs, plus answer any questions about the process.
How does the process work?
Arrange a pre-approved loan If you haven’t started your property search, or are still looking, a pre-approved loan can be useful. It gives you a clear picture of what you’re spending limits are and gives you peace of mind that if you find a property you really interested in you can move quickly to make an offer.
And it may put you in a stronger negotiating position than other potential buyers who don’t have pre-approval. We can take care of the paperwork to lodge a loan application - chat to us today.
Find your property Make sure you do plenty of homework when you’re on the hunt for a new property. Research property prices in the area, potential capital growth and existing and planned infrastructure, such as roads, public transport, schools and shops.
If you’re unfamiliar with property values in the area, we can help with access to many real estate tools and reports that can give you a clear picture of what a property should be worth, regardless of what the agent says.
Make an offer and signing a Contract of Sale Whether you buy property at auction or make an offer on a listing, your agreement with the vendor only becomes a legal commitment when a Contract of Sale/Offer of Acceptance has been signed by both parties. This contract will confirm the selling price as well as any terms and conditions. Your commitment will usually be subject to lender approval, a building inspection report and a pest inspection.
The period from signing a Contract of Sale to Settlement – when the property becomes legally yours – is usually six weeks Note: even if you have a pre-approved loan, your lender will still need to complete a valuation of the property you have chosen before issuing full approval.
Pay a deposit A deposit is required once a Contract of Sale has been signed by both parties (sometimes called ‘exchanging contracts.’) You won’t yet have access to your home loan, so your deposit will need to come from savings or elsewhere.
Finalise you finance
We'll contact the agent to update them and get copies of all the paper work including the contracts, and meet with you to collect any remaining data such as payslips and account statements.
We'll give you all the best options for finance that suit your circumstance and needs, and then go through your application to get your finance approval underway.
Most lenders, once they receive all the information they require, will be able to approve your finance inside a week, although some take a little longer especially if their offering interest rate specials.
Appoint a conveyancer/settlement agent You will need a solicitor or conveyancer to check the legalities of the Contract of Sale. Your conveyancer will also check all rates and taxes have been paid, check land use or building approvals for the property and order any relevant searches. They may also help sort out any inspections.
We'll also work closely with your conveyancer to keep all parties up to date and help manage the process from approval to settlement.
On settlement day, the conveyancer will check the correct amount of money has been transferred from your lender to the seller and all fees – such as Stamp Duty – are paid, so you can take legal ownership of the property.
Any advice contained in this article is of a general nature only and does not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or individual needs and requirements. Before making any decision, you should consider the support of an independent and qualified adviser like Local Mortgage Specialists – contact us today, we'll make it easy.
Information in this article is correct as of the date of publication and is subject to change.