First Home Buyer Journey – 5th November 2024

I finally got my pre-approval and a place in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund last week! Pre-approval took a long time as I had to answer a lot of enquiries and document requests from the bank so that they could fully understand my financial situation. From sending the home loan application to getting pre-approval took around 5.5 weeks. I thought that it would take another 4-6 weeks for me to get a spot in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. Fortunately, it only took a day between the bank forwarding my pre-approval to the Victorian Government and getting a spot in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. I only had to respond to a brief phone call from the Victorian Government to confirm some details before I was given a place in the Fund. I guess most of the 4-6 week period the bank cited was them understanding my financial situation in a lot of detail so that they could proceed with the pre-approval process and get me a spot in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. I have already received documents from the Victorian Government for me to read such as the conditions of being in the Fund and details on the equity scheme. The conditions looked simple enough to me. Nevertheless, I am seeking independent advice from a mortgage broker to make sure I have not missed anything.

While I was waiting to get pre-approval and a place in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, I was eyeing a few properties that I wanted to live in. Unfortunately, those properties were sold before I received my pre-approval. I could have submitted an offer for the property I wanted. Unfortunately, not only would that invalidate my Victorian Homebuyer Fund application, but I would be in a mad rush to find a bank that would quickly grant unconditional approval for the property I wanted. Hence, I had to resist the temptation and wait for my pre-approval to pass before I started looking at property seriously.

I also want to make sure that I do the due diligence necessary for me to buy the property I want to live in with no regrets. That includes getting the okay from the bank that they will give me a home loan for the property, the contract and vendor statement coming out okay from the conveyancer and the strata records showing no significant issues. There was an apartment that would have been ideal for me to live in. Unfortunately, the auction for that property was this Saturday, so I only had a week to do all of my due diligence. That is not enough time for me to do the detailed due diligence necessary for me to make an informed decision. I don’t think I would have coped with the stress associated with trying to get everything done and prepare myself for an auction at short notice. Instead, I want to take the time to inspect the apartment, do my due diligence and make sure that I am happy to live in the apartment and to abide by the by-laws of the apartment complex.

This might take a lot more effort from my end now, but I know that it will be worth it. By doing the due diligence, I will be happy to buy a property that I can live in for a long time, where I can live harmoniously with the people who live in the same apartment complex as me. Plus I anticipate that a lot more apartments will open up soon that might be suitable to me. I just have to keep a close eye on the property market, select properties that I want to focus on and do the work necessary to uncover everything about the property to inform my decision to pursue the property seriously.