Buying a home is likely to be the biggest single purchase you’ve ever made. It can be stressful for a number of reasons, but by knowing what’s involved you can be confident in your ability to negotiate a good deal.
The journey from walking through a property at open inspection to signing the contract and taking the keys varies between states and territories, but typically involves these six steps.
The seller (or vendor) of a property must have a contract of sale prepared and available for inspection for potential buyers. This contract should include:
You can ask to see the sale contract after at least one inspection and discussions with the real estate agent or seller. Review it closely with your solicitor or conveyancer before signing to ensure it’s acceptable.
If everything in the contract looks OK and you’re ready, the next step is to put an offer in writing to the real estate agent or seller.
Your offer should include how much you’re willing to pay and any conditions to the sale such as repairs, deposit amount or timeframe for moving in. Your solicitor or conveyancer can help you prepare the letter of offer so you don’t miss anything important.
Your first offer might be accepted right away, but what's more likely is that you’ll have to do some negotiating with the vendor. Once you’ve reached an agreement you may be asked to pay a small holding deposit to show you’re serious.
While these negotiations are taking place, the seller is free to take expressions of interest from other potential buyers and even exchange contracts with them. If there is another serious buyer the real estate agent or seller will likely ask you to increase your offer, especially if the other buyer has made a bid. If the seller does accept another offer, any holding deposit you may have paid is refundable.
Once you’ve agreed on the sale price, you’ll exchange and sign the contracts and need to pay the full deposit – typically 5-10% of the purchase price – at the end of the cooling-off period (see below). Your home lender and conveyancer or solicitor can help you through this process.
This can be a good time to start looking at home insurance, as you’re the owner of the property from the date the contract is exchanged. If you want contents insurance, this only needs to begin from the date you move in. If you’re buying a strata unit, you or your conveyancer will also need to arrange a Certificate of Currency from the Body Corporate’s insurer. This is to make sure the property is adequately insured.
In most states and territories there’s a cooling-off period after contracts are exchanged, except when you buy a residential property at auction. During this time you can withdraw from the sale, but you may lose your initial holding deposit if you do. Check with the real estate agent or your conveyancer whether there is a cooling-off period before exchanging contracts.
This can also be a good time to check the condition of the property and, if necessary, arrange pest, building and/or strata inspections to make sure the building and inclusions are as stated in the contract of sale. If they’re not, you may have a solid case not only to withdraw from the sale but also have your deposit fully refunded.
The settlement period is typically determined by the seller and set out in your contract but can be negotiated. Usually it’s around four to six weeks. At the end of this period you pay the balance of the property using your home loan (your lender will usually do this on your behalf), as well as pay stamp duty. You may also get the chance to inspect the property one last time to ensure that all the agreed inclusions are there and the property is in the same condition as when you agreed to purchase it.
At the end of the settlement period you’ll receive the keys and title deed to your new home. Done!
We’ve partnered with Home-in, an innovative home buying app that helps simplify the process from finding your new property to settlement. Order reports and get legal contracts reviewed in one seamless app. You can try Home-in for free today. Plus, eligible CommBank customers can access $699 conveyancing with Home-in*.
Get guidance from start to finish on your home buying journey with the support of one of our expert lenders.
Things you should know
This article is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. It does not have regard to the financial situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as financial product advice. As this information has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on this, consider the appropriateness to your circumstances.
* This offer is valid from 6 May 2025. To secure the offer you will need to engage the services of a Home-in partner law firm via the Home-in app on or after this date. If you engaged the services of a Home-in partner law firm via the Home-in app before this date, you are not eligible for this offer. This offer cannot be combined with other Home-in offers.
This offer is only available to CommBank customers who meet the following criteria:
(a) have an eligible CommBank transaction account: Smart Access, Complete Access, Everyday Offset, Pensioner Security (excluding Pensioner Security Passbook accounts) or Private Bank Account; and
(b) fund an eligible residential property purchase with a CommBank home loan; and
(c) settle this property purchase using the in-app legal services provided through Home-in.
This offer only applies to buy-side conveyancing services for residential property purchases in Australia. Home-in does not offer conveyancing services for the purchase of off-the-plan, rural/agricultural, retail or commercial properties, or properties with a purchase price in excess of $5,000,000. Additional fees apply to conveyancing services in respect of complex titles (such as old system, leasehold and company titles), which are excluded from this offer.
This offer is only available through CommBank’s proprietary channels, it is not available to customers that originate through Bankwest, Unloan or a broker channel.
If you settle on a property without meeting the eligibility criteria, this offer will not apply and you will be required to pay the standard list price for your conveyancing services. If you do not ultimately settle on a property purchase with Home-in within 6 months of your first contract review, any disbursements, contract review fees and ancillary service fees incurred will become payable to Home-in at the standard list price.
The $699 (including GST) offer includes the following conveyancing services: one standard contract review, reasonable negotiation with the vendor’s solicitor, preparation of documents and figures required for settlement and electronic or paper settlement for your property.
Disbursements are additional and charged at cost. For some property purchases, you may require or request additional services for which we charge a professional fee, such as expedited settlement or usage of a trust account.
Find out more about Home-in's pricing by visiting home-in.com.au/pricing. Home-in reserves the right to terminate the offer and change the pricing at any time.
Home-in is a brand of CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd ABN 38 633 072 830 trading as Home-in Digital. CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd is a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124. CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd is not an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) and its obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
