Thinking About Buying a Property?

Buying a house and knowing how to identify any hidden costs.

Buying a House

When buying a house, the person selling the house is the vendor and you are the purchaser.

Before making an offer to buy a house you should:

• complete a title search for the property. (seek legal advice for this);
• speak to a financial institution like a bank to see how much money you are able to borrow;
• find out if there is any government support in forms of rebates with nationalized banks or tax breaks available especially if you are a first home-buyer;
• think about your future expenses and how much you can save once you own your own home; and
• find out what minimum deposit you need to purchase the property.

Hidden costs

It is best to get a good overview of all the expenses prior to making a decision to put an offer in on a house. There are other expenses that you may need to pay when buying a house, for example:

• Government Stamp Duty , which is a tax for buying a house;
• Property agent fee
• loan application or establishment fees;
• mortgage costs and insurance;
• legal fees for title search and conveyancing;
• building inspection costs;
• moving costs; and
• any repairs or maintenance that the house may require.

There are ongoing expenses associated with owning your own that you should consider, for example:

• home and household items insurance;
• home utility costs including water, electricity and gas bills;
• maintenance costs; and
• local authority taxes.