I’m often asked when to bring in a conveyancer during the buying and selling process.
Unfortunately what normally happens is that a purchaser looks at a property, falls in love with it and then works backwards to secure the finance. They usually find a property they love and then are on the back foot and scrambling to see a financial planner and mortgage broker.
Ideally, when looking to purchase or sell property, first speak with a financial planner. The financial planner works on the arrangement of the financial structure – looking at existing loans, are they principal and interest or interest only, are there any other tax deductions etc.
Then, the planner moves forward, looking at how to best put it in place a new loan, for example, the name of borrower(s) and name of guarantees.
Following this, the purchaser will leave the financial planner with a clear understanding of their financial structure, in particular how much more they can borrow and over what existing securities. Also, financial planners would work with the purchaser’s accountant if they have that service in place and it is needed.
Now that the purchaser is armed with the information from the financial planner, they would see a mortgage broker to work on arranging pre-approval for a loan they can afford with a particular bank and then start to look for a property that fits in with their financial structure and the pre-approved loan.
Once these steps have been taken, this is the time to bring in a conveyancer, so they can have an understanding of financial goals, what sort of contract clauses to look out for and be aware of what will and won’t suit their clients when reading a contract on their behalf.
Not only does this make the process smoother, it also puts the purchaser on the front foot – they know exactly the parameters they can work within and are not driven by the emotion that can be stirred up when purchasing property.
The last thing a purchaser would want to do is find themselves at the office of an agent, about to sign under a “cooling off” period, and then be calling conveyancer for advice on the contract – that’s not a good route for either the purchaser or the conveyancer to achieve the best possible outcome.
For more information on the buying and selling process, feel free to get in touch and have a no obligation discussion about your individual situation.