Buying your first house is a major milestone in life - it’s also a lot of work, especially if you don’t know what you’re getting into!
You’ll need to deal with finances, conveyancing, mortgage terms and importantly, you’re also going to have to obtain a lot of different property information and documents, including the Certificate of Title.
Whether you’re making the jump from renting to owning your very own corner of Melbourne, are looking at making property your first investment or are diving straight into living in your own home, it’s important that you get all of the groundwork right.
It’s a lot to take in - luckily, you’ve got help.
Your bank can help you understand the ins-and-outs of your home loan or mortgage, while a property lawyer or conveyancer can walk you through the legal considerations.
And when it comes to land title information and the documents you’ll need, you can rely on our property information service.
What types of land data documents do you need when buying your first home?
Certificate of Title
The Certificate of Title isn’t just a document that’s handed over to you when you sign the dotted line - it can also tell you a lot about the property you’re thinking of buying.
In addition to telling you who owns the property, this document can also reveal:
- Whether or not the home is under a mortgage
- Covenants and caveats that might restrict what you can do
- Any easements on the property
All of which can come into play when it’s time to make your final decision!
And that’s why the Certificate of Title search is so important.
While experienced property investors might be savvy to this document’s importance, a lot of first-time home buyers aren’t, and as a result, often end up missing or overlooking a lot of the important information these documents contain.
Whether you’re about to make the final decision or you simply want to learn more about a property you’re looking at, this document can be a big help!
Flood certificate
And it isn’t just if you’re buying a home in a designated flood zone, either - a flood report can be a big help even if you don’t live in a flood zone yourself.
As anyone who’s ever lived at the bottom of a hill can attest, heavy rain often means flooding, with runoff water from further down settling in your property.
In addition to mapping out flood overlays, a Flood Report can also reveal information that can be relevant if you’re looking at a property at the bottom of a hill such as:
- Historic rainfall levels
- Slope and elevation
- Water collection points
A Flood Report can reveal all of this and more - if there’s a slope or hill involved, be sure to check it out by getting your hands on a copy of your Flood Report.
Click here to learn more about what a Flood Report can tell you about a parcel of land.
Bushfire Attack Level
If you’re buying your first home in regional or country Victoria, you’ll want to get your Bushfire Attack Level report as early as possible.
This report can tell you a lot, and not just whether your parcel of land is in a bushfire zone, it also measures your risk of exposure to ember attack as well as direct heat. Your report will look at:
- Distance to vegetation
- Slopes on the property
- Natural and manmade firebreaks (like roads)
Based on all of this information, it’ll give you an overall risk rating, as well as what renovations you can make to fire-proof your home after you move in.
It isn’t just first-time home buyers who should do this - anyone who’s buying property in regional Victoria should make this one of their first moves.
Other things first-time homeowners need to sort out
It isn’t just the land title documents that first-time home buyers need to get before sealing the deal - they’ll also need to…
Get your documents in order
While it’s optional, seeking out property documents that can tell you a lot about the property you’re planning on making your first home.
Of course, those isn’t the only documents involved in the process - you’ll also need to provide documents of your own as well, including:
- Proof of income
- Statement of debts
- Evidence of deposit
Look at the costs
It isn’t just the deposit you’ll need to pony up for - buying a house involves a lot of hidden costs that you might not see coming:
- Loan application fees
- Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) if your deposit is < 20%
- Stamp duty
- Mortgage registration fees
- Conveyancing fees
Before you commit to entering the property market, it’s important that you talk to an accountant or financial expert about all of these costs, and your ability to cover them.
Take a look at financial assistance
Buying property for the first time is a big financial investment - luckily, there are schemes and systems in place to make things easier for first-time home-buyers:
Each of these schemes can help you fund your first home, and can make it much easier - as such, one of the first things you should do is check your eligibility.
Make an inspection
You’ve inspected the property dozens of times, going over each room with a fine tooth comb for problems, made measurements and mentally laid-out your furniture.
But have you inspected all of the stuff “underneath the hood?”
Just like a pre-purchase car inspection, when buying an existing home, it’s a good idea to call a professional to inspect all of the utilities as well as the structure to ensure it’s sound or identify any potential problems (and the potential risk or cost associated with them!)
The Certificate of Title search (and the search for all of your property information) starts here
While experienced property investors know how to navigate the waters, first-time homebuyers don’t have years of buying experience to fall back on.
Hopefully this article has helped with that!
Now for the next step: getting ahold of all the documents you’ll need during the purchase and conveyancing process. And that starts with getting your land data and property information from PSI.
Whether you need to perform a title search in Victoria or need to get your hands on a whole bunch of different types of documentation at once, our all-in-one system makes getting the information you need as simple as starting your search with just an address.
From there, you can pick and choose the data and documents you require. Then all you’ll have to do is wait while our automated system connects with the relevant databases, agencies and service providers!
Make the search for property information easier - get started with PSI today.
Have questions? Get in touch with our team by calling (03) 8527 6300 or touching base online.
The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. As with all things property, we strongly recommend consulting a professional to ensure that all stages of your building project (including the Title search) go smoothly.