The house is yours.... now what?

Great work, you’ve just bought your first home! But there’s still lots to be done before you can move in and put your feet up.  Here’s the typical post-purchase process you will need to work through….

First is paying the deposit. Once your offer goes unconditional or you win at auction, you need to pay the deposit asap. This is where you need to make sure you have your funds on hand, as you don’t want to create any delays. If your deposit is being paid via KiwiSaver, you will need to reach out to your provider early on as the funds can take a while to be released.

Then it’s time to sit down with your Mortgage Adviser and go over the finer details of your loan. This includes ensuring your lender has all the details and paperwork they need, including a copy of the Sale and Purchase Agreement and a valuation if necessary. 

Your Mortgage Adviser will also discuss with you how best to structure your loan - things such as fixed and floating interest rates, offset accounts, and repayment structures will all be taken into account and tailored to your situation and goals. Once this is all finalised, your lawyer will look everything over before you sign and finalise it all. This is absolutely your time to ask any questions you have for your lawyer and mortgage adviser!

It’s also a good idea at this point to start to look at home insurance, and have it ready to go from the day you officially take ownership of the property. Some lenders will require proof of home insurance as part of their lending terms, so this may need to be arranged sooner rather than later.

Then comes the fun bit, the final inspection. This is where you will take a walk through the home before you officially take ownership. It’s important at this point that you make sure that everything is as per the Sale and Purchase Agreement - all chattels still remain in the home and in the same condition. You also want to check the condition of the property and ensure it is still in the same condition as it was when you viewed the home, as well as checking if any promised repairs have been completed. 

Then it’s time for the property to settle and you become the official owner! On settlement day, your bank and lawyer will handle most of the paperwork and will let you know when everything is good to go and you can collect the keys from either your lawyer or from the real estate agent. 

If you’d like to discuss buying a property this year, then get in touch with the team at Loan Market Queenstown - we’d love to help you!