You’ve done all the legwork, you’ve put yourself through endless weekends of finding the prefect place and finally you’ve found it! Now what? Here’s a basic guide of what to expect from this point on.
Booking Reserve your new home by paying a booking deposit to the vendors. You should receive a receipt with details including the address and purchase price of the property. The booking deposit is fully refundable prior to signing of formal contracts.
Solicitor and Contracts You will need a solicitor to look after the legalities in relation to signing and closing of contracts. Your solicitor should examine them closely and ask you to sign them so they can be returned to the vendor’s solicitor within 21 days, usually along with an additional deposit.
Completion Notice If it’s a new property, the vendor’s solicitor sends your solicitor a Completion Notice. This gives you 14 days to complete the sale of your new home.
Snag List On receipt of your Completion Notice, the builder will be in contact with you in relation to carrying out a snag list.
Final Inspection At this point you can inform your lender that your new home is ready for final inspection. After the final inspection, your lending institution will forward your loan cheque to your solicitor.
Checking the Snag List When the builder completes the snag list, he will inform you to check the list. If you are satisfied that the house is ready, you can inform your solicitor to make a closing appointment.
Closing the Sale The closing normally takes place in the vendor’s solicitor’s office. You may not have to be present provided you have signed all the relevant information in your own solicitor’s office. Once the sale is closed you can collect the keys of your new home.