How to buy your first home in Australia, honestly.

Most first home buyers start by looking at properties. That is backwards. Your borrowing power decides everything: which suburbs are realistic, what deposit you need, and what the repayments feel like each month. Our calculator uses the same serviceability rules lenders apply, including the 3% rate buffer, HECS repayments and credit card limits, so the number you get is one you can defend at application time.

• Comfortable borrowing versus the bank maximum, and why the gap matters
• How HECS, credit cards and car loans shrink your limit
• What repayments look like at current and stress test rates
• Which grants and schemes fit your situation, all checked in one pass

Your bank can only sell you its own loans. A mortgage broker compares 30 or more lenders to find the rate and structure that fits you, negotiates on your behalf, and lodges your grant paperwork with the loan application. Brokers are paid by the lender, so the service costs you nothing.

• Brokers are paid by lenders, there is no cost to you
• Access to lenders your bank will never mention
• They lodge the First Home Owner Grant and 5% deposit scheme paperwork for you
• The NestPath panel is vetted and replies same day

Pre-approval tells you exactly how much a lender will give you, and sellers and agents take pre-approved buyers seriously. It typically takes a few business days through your broker and stays valid for three to six months, which is enough time to find the right place without rushing.

• Usually issued within a few business days through a broker
• Valid for 3 to 6 months while you search
• Pre-approval is conditional: formal approval comes after you find the property
• Avoid new debts or job changes between pre-approval and settlement

Research before you fall in love, not after. Median prices, recent sales and days on market tell you whether a listing is priced honestly and how much negotiating room exists. Our free property report pulls that together before you get emotionally attached, because knowledge is your negotiating power.

• Check suburb medians: is the listing realistic or optimistic?
• Long days on market usually means negotiating room
• Buying at auction? Arrange the building inspection before auction day
• An auction purchase is unconditional the moment the hammer falls

Before you offer on a private sale, make it conditional on a satisfactory building and pest inspection. That clause gives you the right to renegotiate or walk away if the inspector finds something serious. An independent inspector works for you, not for the selling agent, and a few hundred dollars here regularly saves thousands later.

• Make private sale offers conditional on building and pest inspection
• Cooling off periods differ by state, know yours before signing
• Have your conveyancer review the contract before you sign anything
• Never rely on a report supplied by the selling agent

Your conveyancer handles the legal side: contract review, title searches, duty exemptions and settlement day coordination. They are also the person who claims your stamp duty relief at transfer, so tell them early that you are a first home buyer. In NSW and Victoria you want them engaged before you sign, and in Queensland risk passes to you the day after signing, so timing matters.

• Engage a conveyancer before signing, not after
• They claim your first home buyer duty exemption at transfer
• QLD buyers: property risk transfers the day after the contract is signed
• They coordinate with your broker so settlement day actually settles

Most buyers arrange insurance for settlement day. That is usually too late. Depending on your state, the property can be at your risk from exchange of contracts, and your lender will not release funds without proof of building insurance. Compare a few policies early, because premiums for the same cover vary a lot.

• Cover needs to start at exchange in most states, not at settlement
• Building insurance covers the structure, contents covers what is inside
• QLD buyers: insure immediately after signing
• Your lender needs the certificate of insurance before settlement

On settlement day the funds transfer, the title moves into your name and the agent hands over the keys. There is still a checklist: utilities connected before you move, removalists booked early because they fill up, and your address updated everywhere that matters. Then it is done. You own a home.

• Do the final walk through before settlement, not after
• Connect electricity, gas and internet at least a week ahead
• Book removalists two or more weeks in advance
• Update your address with your bank, Medicare, the ATO and your super fund