1. Speak with your financier or your First National Finance Consultant to arrange the best loan to suit your needs.

2. Prepare a short list of preferred suburbs that suit your lifestyle bearing in mind affordability and accommodation requirements.

3. Research sales in those preferred suburbs using First National recent sales and justlisted.com.au. Inspect every property in your preferred suburb so you have a feel for the prices. Attend all open homes in the area.

4. Develop a relationship with one of our professional Sales Consultants who specialises in your preferred area. Your Sales Consultant will be able to advise you of any additional information you may need and also inform you of any new listings that hit the market before they are advertised.

5. When you find a property that suits your requirements, ask your agent to send a copy of the sale contract to your solicitor or conveyancer or alternatively register online to have a contract emailed to you.

6. If you are considering making an offer through First National Real Estate we recommend that you obtain a copy of our Purchaser Protection Pack which outlines the process of the purchase every step of the way.

7. Your solicitor will arrange a building and pest inspection to make sure you are aware of any major defects and pest concerns eg: white ant, termites.

8. Following your solicitors or conveyancer’s advice on the sale contract and taking into consideration the building and pest reports, you are now able to make an informed decision to proceed with the purchase of the property.

9. Once negotiations have been finalised, you will be required to sign the sale contract and pay a 10% deposit. Your deposit will be held in a trust account until settlement. Contracts will then be unconditionally exchanged.

10. On settlement day it is advisable that you do a final inspection before settlement takes place. This is to ensure that the property is in the same condition as when you last inspected it and that all the inclusions are as per the contract you signed.