Home Buyer Home Loan checklists and Downloads

Get downloads to help you with prospective home inspections, repayment schedules and home loan application to settlement checklists here. Also find out the costs involved in home buying, your insurance options, every finance term you can imagine and get some great home buying tips.

Along with the costs of checking out the property you are buying and physically moving from the one you are now in, there are a number of government fees, taxes, legal fees and lender fees incurred when you go for a home loan and buy a new home. Remember that most of these are paid before or around the time your property settles, so your savings or loan will need to cover these amounts as well. Find out about the costs involved in buying a house and getting a home loan.

How to Inspect a House

Most of us fall in love with a house because it connects with the personal vision we have of the home we want to live in. Realistically, whether you are a first home buyer, home buyer or investor, it pays to be very clinical when it comes to assessing your prospective home. There are many things that will affect your valuation and tell you the true story about the house you are potentially buying. Although architectural details, beautiful wall and floor coverings, ultra modern kitchens and bathrooms may be everything you have ever dreamed of, many other factors are important and the focus of your inspection should equally evaluate the structural, mechanical and electrical state the property is in.

To inspect properly, you need to do so in a systematic, structured way and we have provided a inspection checklist that will help guide you through your own inspection each time you find a property you might be interested in. Start on the outside at the front door, running your eyes from top to bottom and work your way around the house in one direction, making notes. Remember to look under the house if it is on stumps or stilts.

When you move to the inside, start on the lowest level of the house and work your way up a level at a time. Begin with the floors, go to the walls and then the ceiling, and then consider all fixtures, appliances and fittings in the room. As you move from room to room, always go in the same direction so as to not miss any areas. Open all doors and cupboards and turn on all taps. Remember to locate and inspect hot water services, electric board and gas.

Want to know what that finance word or phrase actually means? Our comprehensive glossary gives you an A to Z of terms and their meanings. Go to the finance terms dictionary .

Whenever you have less than 20% deposit, you will almost always have to pay lenders mortgage insurance or an 'equalisation fee'. This insurance is a one-off payment by the borrower to the lender (or lender's insurer) to 'insure' the home loan. It insures the lender for any short fall on a home loan, so if you were sold up because of defaults, it covers the difference between what you are sold for and the amount still owing. It is important that borrowers are aware that lenders mortgage insurance does not provide any protection to them. Lender's Mortgage Insurance insures the lender, not the borrower - find out more.

Many people don't consider mortgage life insurance until they have property and dependents or family. With life insurance, the life you're really insuring is everybody else's! It is your family that are left behind if you die. Life insurance can help protect borrowers and their families from being forced into selling their home or investment property, if they are unable to meet their mortgage repayments as a result of death or serious illness. Find out more about Mortgage Life Insurance and Trauma Insurance.

The property valuation plays a vital role in your finance application, and can be a particularly un-nerving part of the process when property values shift. There are some basic things about valuations that all home buyers should know.

Buying a home can be one of the most exciting times of your life. The secret to ensuring that you enjoy this time is to be prepared! Get some great tips from our home buyer tips pages.