Buying Costs

Saving a deposit and breaking into the property market are major achievements. However, remember that additional fees and costs will generally require 5 - 7% of the purchase price^#.

• Stamp Duty
  is the state government tax on mortgage documents and the property price. The rates vary from state to state and if it’s your first home, you may be exempt from stamp duty or entitled to a rebate or concession.^{^}
• Conveyancing
  is the legal transfer of property title from one person to another. As well as this fee, there will be others, including a title search to verify ownership and type of property.
• Mortgage Insurance
  is what you’ll incur if borrowing more than 75 - 80% of the property’s value. It covers the lender’s costs if you can’t comply with the terms of your loan agreement or mortgage^*.
• Building Insurance
  should be activated as soon as the contracts are exchanged, including contents if you are an owner occupier. Responsibilities vary from state to state but it needs to be activated at the time of settlement, or some lenders will not advance the loan funds^*.
• Goods and Services Tax
  doesn’t apply to the sale and purchase of residential properties, but to the supply of these properties. GST will be charged with:
  - New house and land packages
  - Your real estate agent’s selling commission
  - Conveyancing and solicitor fees
  - Valuation fees
  - Your moving costs

Hidden Extras

• Strata Titles
  make allowances for additional costs of shared maintenance, including body corporate fees.
• True Value
  organise an independent valuation to ensure you’re not paying more than the property’s true value.
• Moving Costs
  shopping around can bring your costs down from thousands to hundreds of dollars.
• Building and pest inspection costs
  you may need to organise this to identify any evidence of pest and infestation in the property

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