Buying FAQs

Do I need to be pre-approved before making an offer on a house

Ideally you want to have your finance pre-approved and be ready to go when looking for a property. Whilst this is not a requirement, you may miss out on your dream home if you are not prepared. I would suggest meeting with a mortgage broker before you start looking.

What does a price range mean

Whilst we do not always advertise a property with a price range, this is generally how we operate. We do this, as there are always houses that have sold similar to the one I am selling, and by looking at this you can determine the price range this property ‘should’ sell within.

You can make offers anywhere in this range, however I am always trying to achieve the top end of the price range. You can also make an offer below the guide, but quite often I am instructed by the seller not to entertain such offers.

I like the house what do I do

We encourage you to take a copy of the contract and have it reviewed by your solicitor/conveyancer. If you would like to purchase the home you should then make an offer.

How do I make an offer

Ideally, we like the campaign to run at least for 7 days before we start to field offers to ensure enough people have been able to view the property. However, offers can be made at any time during the campaign, and can be made by phone, SMS, email or through the digital property brochure.

If the offer is by phone I will ask for you to submit it ‘in writing’ via the digital property brochure, email or SMS. This is so we have a record of it. Once you have made an offer, we will never sell the property to someone else until we have come back to you to give you an opportunity to buy the property. Once the offer is made we will then start the negotiation process (only if you initial offer is high enough to begin negotiating!)

How does the negotiating process work

Negotiations are alway different, as everyone always has a different approach. If we are in the first week of the campaign, we may take your offer to the seller, but may not act on it until more people have seen the home. we will however let you know an exact date that you will hear back from us.

If your first offer is below the price guide, we will pass your offer to the sellers (we are legally required to do this), but we may not negotiate on this offer as it has started too low. We also may be dealing with multiple offers at one time, and this is where we communicate clearly and effectively, so that every party has equal chance of purchasing the property. We will never invent other buyers or offers, as this goes against all of our long held business principles, and is illegal.

When the highest offer reaches a level that the seller is happy with, the offer will likely be accepted.

What Happens When My Offer is Accepted?

When your offer is accepted we will send you a form called a ‘Sales Advice Notice’ which I will ask you to complete. The information you need to complete the form are all of your contact details, and those of your solicitor or conveyancer. If you do not have a solicitor or conveyancer, we can recommend some for you.

We will then ask you to pay a ‘holding deposit’ of 0.25% of the sale amount. These funds go into the Shore Property trust account, and you will receive a receipt for the deposit. If you decide not to proceed with the purchase of the property these funds are fully refundable.

This deposit also does not mean that the property is ‘off the market’ as until the contracts are exchanged, someone else can still legally buy the property. If another party makes an offer during this time, legally I must pass this offer to the owners. If the owners decide to accept a higher offer, you may be ‘gazumped’ by another buyer. To ensure this does not happen, I always encourage buyers to exchange contracts as soon as possible.

What is does exchanging contracts mean

Exchanging contracts is essentially a process where you and the seller each sign a copy of the contract. Once each has signed, the solicitor/conveyancers exchange the copies, and you both sign that copy leaving both parties with a contract signed by everyone.

Once you have signed you have a 5 business day cooling off period where you can pull out of the sale, however the seller can not pull out. If you pull out you will forfeit your 0.25% deposit you paid earlier. You can use the cooling off period to have your pest and building reports completed and organise your finance if you haven’t done this earlier.

At the end of the cooling off period you pay the remainder of the 10% deposit into the trust account. A smaller despair can be negotiated, and you can also use a ‘deposit bond’ versus cash.

What is 'the settlement process'

Once the contracts have been exchanged, you move into the settlement period. The settlement timeframe is recorded on the contract, but can be negotiated before contract exchange. Typically the settlement time frame is between 28 and 42 days. Property ‘settlement’ is the legal process where ownership passes from the previous owner to the Buyer.

The process takes some time mainly due to the time taken by banks to get documents arranged, signed and approved. Other processes will be happening in the background such as title checks and the like.

Prior to the date of settlement (generally a few days before) you will conduct a final inspection. This is to ensure the property is in the same conditions, and all inclusions are remaining. Also, you will need to get insurance for the property prior to settlement, to commence on the day of settlement.

Once it is confirmed by the solicitor or conveyancer of both parties that settlement has occurred (legal documents are exchanged between solicitors/conveyancers and lenders), the property is now yours. We will arrange to give  you the keys, and housewarming gift so you can begin enjoying your new home.