Buying a home in Greater Geelong is an exciting milestone in itself. More so when the purchase price aligns with your budget. However, the cost of investing in your dream home is beyond the home price, you’ll have to look at hidden expenses to plan your budget.
From stamp duty, legal fees, finance expenses, inspections, utility connections, insurance, and a lot more, knowing every hidden cost of buying a home in Geelong can make you get the best yield on investment. In this blog, let us explore each of these hidden costs that you must know and how a real estate agency in Geelong can negotiate the right prices.
Incremental Costs of Purchasing a Home in Greater Geelong
Here are several least known costs that make your home buying budgeting higher.
● Loan Application and Lender Fees:
Applying for a loan comes with small and significant charges that you must understand when planning the house budget. This can range from loan application, valuation fees, to monthly account-keeping fees. Valuation fees means charges for assessing the property’s market value to see if the valuation justifies the loan amount.
The real estate agent in Geelong has a good network of lenders and can schedule a meeting with the lender to negotiate the loan amount.
● Lender Mortgage Insurance:
Getting an approval for a loan is not the end of the mortgage costs. You must have money in your bank to pay more on down payments and settle less on mortgages. However, if you end up paying less than 20% of your home’s price as a down payment, lenders may fear that you may not have enough money to repay the higher loan amount.
As a result, lender mortgage insurance policy is the insurance that protects a lender from losing too much money. This can be an additional cost if your mortgages are higher when you are paying lower down payments.
To avoid this cost, a real estate agency in Geelong can guide you through lenders or loan options even when you don’t have full 20% savings to pay upfront.
● Building and Pest Inspections:
Overlooking building inspections during the property viewings can be a good possibility. But you must hire a real estate agent who can recommend qualified and experienced building inspectors. Before finalising an offer, inspecting a property for structural damages, plumbing issues, major repairs, or pest infestations can save you thousands of dollars on repairs.
This cost depends on the condition and size of the property, however, a real estate agent can negotiate the price with the known inspectors.
● Conveyancing Fees:
Conveyancing fees is another hidden fee that buyers have to pay to a conveyancer for handling legal paperwork. This involves fees for confirming the seller’s legal ownership, outstanding dues on the property, mortgage documents, and other identity documents that protects your finances after the final investment.
A real estate agency in Geelong should have a network of conveyancers who can ensure reliable and consistent support until the full and final settlement.
● Stamp Duty (Transfer Duty):
As a home buyer, paying the stamp duty is the expense ahead of purchase price. In Victoria, the state government imposes a stamp duty tax for any land transfer transactions. There is no fixed percentage of stamp duty that you’ll pay on your home.
Rather, it depends on the home’s value and type of property. The higher the home value is, the more the stamp duty will be. And Victoria’s government also analyses if you are investing in vacant land, a new constructed house, apartment, or other type of property to measure the stamp duty. If you are buying a home for the first time, you may be eligible for exemptions.
Knowing the right stamp duty from the official websites can be a complex process, so finding a real estate agency in Geelong which can uncover the stamp duty insights can be beneficial.
● Real Estate Fees:
While only sellers pay commission fees to real estate agents, some agents ask for a small fee from buyers too. This expense can vary and will depend on the services.
If your agent is referring to qualified professionals, arranging inspections, personalising the property buying experience, showing off-market listings, and performing all legal and financial administrative duties, they can add up to the commission fees.
Final Words
We hope you found this blog useful. Coming to an end, it is clear that buying a home in Geelong – comes with several hidden costs that may not be visible in the first place. We have walked you through the costs that can start right from the loan settlement, lender insurance, inspections, to the times of settlement costs for conveyancer, stamp duty, and real estate agent’s commission.
Remember, knowing every small and unforeseen cost beforehand can make the budgeting simple and effective for home buyers like you. Take the next step – hire a real estate agency in Geelong with wide experience, knowledge, and market insights to gather all the costs.
