Professional Help Needed When Buying a Home

Knowing How Professionals Can Help Makes Home Purchase Stress Free

Aug 31, 2009 Pauline Mascarenhas

Being aware of who to contact for assistance at the different stages of purchasing a property can make the whole process enjoyable and stress free for the home buyer.

Buying a home is one of the major decisions of life involving a vast sum of money and a very long term commitment. It would be impossible for one person to be fully aware of all the different aspects of such an important transaction.

Therefore it stands to reason that other people will need to be involved to make it happen. Knowing who they are and understanding what they do will help manage the process smoothly.

Real Estate Agent

Most properties In Australia are bought and sold via real estate agents. There is a very small percentage of homes that are sold by the seller without involving a real estate agent, but these are very few and far between.

The real estate agent facilitates the sale and purchase process between the seller and the buyer. A person who wishes to sell the home (seller or vendor) chooses an agent to list the property with. The buyer (or the purchaser) makes an offer for the property to the vendor via the real estate agent.

The real estate agent advises the vendor of the value and possible sale price of the property based on a variety of factors such as, location, size of the land and building, type of age of the house, etc. The agent also does all the advertising and liaises with the buyer regarding the viewing of the property.

The agent informs the buyer of the features and its other attributes of the property. When a buyer decides on the suitability of the house, an offer is made to the vendor through the agent. The agent mediates between the vendor and the purchaser to come to an agreement regarding the price and other conditions such as the date of transfer of ownership.

Solicitor or Settlement Agent

Property settlement in Western Australia is the domain of the settlement agents. However, there are a few solicitors who handle this task. In other states of Australia property transfers are generally handled by solicitors.

A solicitor or settlement agent will do the necessary research to ensure that the vendor is in fact the legal owner of the property and has the right to sell it. They will also do other checks to see that the buildings conform to the necessary regulations and that there are no known plans for the location by the government or other private parties that will have a detrimental effect on the property value in the future.

They also handle the actual documentation that transfers the ownership of the property from the vendor to the purchaser.

Mortgage Broker or Finance Broker

Since most purchasers will not be able to pay cash for the purchase, it is necessary to obtain a mortgage loan from a lending institution. Taking into account the number of lenders and the various loan products offered it would be very helpful to have a mortgage broker source the most suitable product.

Due to the varying individual circumstances and needs of the buyers, a mortgage broker is able to select the best mortgage loan that is relevant to a particular buyer. Using the services of a qualified and experienced mortgage broker saves buyers time and money.

Accountant or Financial Planner

An accountant will be able to advise the buyer as to the best way to structure the loan to gain the most advantage from a tax point of view.

A financial planner can formulate a strategy for the buyer to make the most of the real estate asset in future wealth creation.

A buyer along with the assistance of a real estate agent, settlement agent, mortgage broker and a solicitor or settlement agent are like the five fingers of a hand- all working towards the same goal.

The copyright of the article Professional Help Needed When Buying a Home in Consumer Education is owned by Pauline Mascarenhas. Permission to republish Professional Help Needed When Buying a Home in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Purchasing Property Invoves Professional Help	Reat Estate Agents Mediate Between Seller & Buyer	Legal Aspects are Handled by a Solicitor
Mortgage Broker Arranges the Finance	Accountants/Financial Planners Formulate Strategy