Buying your first home in Victoria is mostly a sequencing exercise. Get the order right and the process is manageable; get it wrong and you can lose a deposit, miss a concession, or discover a problem after settlement.
Start with your borrowing position rather than the listings. A lender assesses your income, existing debts, living expenses and genuine savings. Knowing that number first stops you falling in love with something you can't finance — the single most common cause of a stalled purchase.
Then confirm your grants and concessions. The First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty concessions for eligible first-home buyers, and any regional entitlements all have thresholds and deadlines that change. Your accountant should confirm your position in writing before you sign a contract.
Only then shortlist. At inspection stage, take a building and pest inspector with you (or send one), read the section 32 carefully, and check the owners corporation if you're buying a unit or townhouse. Titles, easements and covenants are cheap to check now and expensive to discover later.
Finally, keep your finance and tax advisers in the loop through settlement. A pre-approval is not an approval, and a structure decision made after signing is usually a structure decision you can't make at all.
Information on this website is general in nature and is not personal financial, tax, legal or credit advice. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Property through a self-managed super fund involves significant compliance obligations. Obtain licensed financial, tax and legal advice before establishing an SMSF or acquiring property through one.