First home buyer checklist: what to do before you sign

Buying your first home is the most expensive thing you'll do for a long time, and the process is bewildering. There's a lot of advice but most of it skips over the order, when to do what, and why.

Here's a checklist that walks you from "thinking about it" to "settled," in the order you'll actually need each step. For the full picture behind each step, see our complete guide to buying your first home in Victoria.

Phase 1: Before you start looking

1. Work out what you can spend

Two numbers matter:

• The deposit, usually 10% to 20% of the purchase price, plus enough to cover stamp duty, legal fees, inspections, and moving costs
• The repayments, what you can afford each month, not what the bank will lend you

Banks lend on your capacity. They don't ask how you want to live. A loan you can technically repay isn't always one you'll be comfortable repaying for 25 years.

2. Check first home buyer concessions

In Victoria, eligible first home buyers can access:

• First Home Owner Grant, $10,000 for newly built properties under $750k
• Stamp duty exemption, full exemption under $600k, sliding concession to $750k for first home buyers
• First Home Guarantee (federal), buy with a 5% deposit, government guarantees the gap between your deposit and 20% so you avoid LMI

Eligibility changes, check the latest at the State Revenue Office and the federal Housing Australia.

3. Get pre-approval

Talk to a mortgage broker or your bank. Get a written pre-approval that confirms:

• The amount you can borrow
• The conditions (usually subject to a valuation and final approval)
• How long the pre-approval lasts (usually 3 months)

Pre-approval isn't binding on the bank, but it lets you make offers credibly.

4. Set up the team

You'll need:

• A conveyancer or solicitor, they handle the legal side of the transaction
• A mortgage broker (optional but useful), they shop your loan around banks
• A building and pest inspector, for any property you get serious about

Find these before you start making offers. When the right property appears, you'll have hours, not weeks, to act.

Phase 2: While you're looking

5. Define your must-haves and would-likes

Be specific. "Two-bedroom near a station" is too broad. "Two-bedroom apartment, max 30 minutes by train to CBD, lift not essential, under $650k, owners corporation fees under $4k/year" is actionable.

Be honest about what's a must-have versus what's a nice-to-have. Compromise is part of the process.

6. Inspect a lot of properties

Walk through 10 to 20 properties before getting serious about one. You learn the market by being in it. Sales prices on the internet aren't the whole story, being inside the room tells you what the photos can't.

7. Check the right things at inspection

Beyond the obvious "do I like it":

• Smell, damp, mould, pets
• Water stains, ceilings, walls, around windows
• Slope of floors, drop a marble and watch it roll
• Cracks, small ones are normal, diagonal ones near corners are not
• Plumbing noise, flush a toilet, run a tap
• Phone signal, check your provider works inside
• Light, at the time of day you'll actually be home
• Noise, from the road, neighbours, hospitality below

Take photos. Properties blur together fast.

Phase 3: Before making an offer

8. Request the Section 32 and contract

The agent should provide these on request. Get them before you make an offer, not after.

The Section 32 (Vendor's Statement) discloses what you're buying. The contract sets the legal terms. Both need to be reviewed before you commit.

9. Get them reviewed

Send both documents to your conveyancer. Their review will flag:

• Easements or covenants that restrict use
• Planning overlays that affect renovation
• Outstanding rates or charges
• Owners corporation issues
• Special conditions in the contract

If you want a plain-English summary first, Unstated can help, but your conveyancer still does the legal review.

10. Book a building and pest inspection

For private treaty sales, you can make your offer subject to a satisfactory inspection. For auctions, you need the inspection done before the auction.

A standard combined building and pest inspection costs $400 to $700. It's the best money you'll spend in the process.

11. Research recent sales

Use realestate.com.au, Domain, and the state's sales data to compare. The agent's price guide is a starting point; recent comparable sales are generally a more reliable measure of market value.

Phase 4: Making the offer

12. Decide your maximum

Write your max number down before you negotiate. Decide it sober, when you're not in love with a place. Stick to it.

13. Submit the offer in writing

A verbal offer means nothing. Submit in writing, email is fine. Include:

• The amount
• The settlement period you want
• Any conditions (subject to finance, subject to inspection)
• The deposit amount and timing

14. Auction strategy (if applicable)

For auctions:

• Get pre-approval finalised, building inspection done, and Section 32 reviewed before auction day
• Set your maximum and decide on bid increments
• Don't bid first; don't bid in tiny increments
• If passed in, you're usually first in negotiation as the highest bidder

Phase 5: Between signing and settlement

15. Pay the deposit

Usually 10% on signing, into the agent's trust account. Make sure your conveyancer confirms it's gone to trust.

16. Finalise finance

Convert your pre-approval into final loan approval. The bank will:

• Order a valuation of the property
• Verify your income, expenses, and ID
• Issue the loan offer

Sign and return promptly. Settlement can't happen without finance.

17. Arrange building insurance

In Victoria, risk passes at settlement, but check your contract. Some contracts pass risk at signing. Either way, have building insurance ready to start at settlement.

18. Final inspection

Within 7 days of settlement, you have the right to a final inspection. The property must be in the same condition as when you signed (fair wear and tear excepted). Check that:

• All included chattels are present
• Nothing has been damaged or removed
• The previous owner's belongings are gone

19. Settlement day

Your conveyancer attends settlement (now electronic via PEXA in most cases). You don't need to be there. They:

• Confirm funds have arrived
• Verify the discharge of the vendor's mortgage
• Register the transfer in your name
• Confirm settlement to all parties

You'll usually get the keys from the agent that afternoon.

Phase 6: After settlement

20. The first month

• Update your address (Medicare, Electoral Roll, banks, super, employer)
• Set up utilities in your name
• Check the smoke alarms work, replace batteries
• Find the water shutoff, electricity meter, and gas meter
• Set up your first mortgage payment

A few things people regret

Some patterns from buyers who wish they'd done things differently:

• Skipping the building inspection to save $500 on a place that needed $50,000 of work
• Trusting the agent's "price guide" without checking comparable sales
• Falling in love too early and ignoring red flags
• Not reading the Section 32 themselves, even the conveyancer's summary is no substitute for a slow read of the actual document
• Buying at the top of the budget and being stressed for the next decade

One final thing

The system is designed for repeat players, investors, agents, vendors. They know what's normal. First home buyers don't, and the dense paperwork is part of why.

That's not a problem you can fix by reading harder. The legal documents really are complicated. The fix is having someone in your corner who knows what to look for, your conveyancer is the most important person you hire. Choose well, talk often, and don't sign anything without their okay.

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Unstated produces plain-English summaries of property documents so you can walk into your conveyancer conversation knowing what to ask. We don't replace the legal review, we make it useful.

Sources

• State Revenue Office Victoria: First Home Owner Grant: the $10,000 grant and the new-home / $750,000 rules.
• SRO: First home buyer duty exemption or concession: the stamp duty exemption to $600,000 and the sliding concession to $750,000.
• Housing Australia: First Home Guarantee: the federal 5% deposit guarantee scheme.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying and selling property: the regulator's guidance on inspections, the contract, and settlement.

Sources verified 25 July 2026. Grant amounts, thresholds, inspection costs, and eligibility change over time; confirm current details with the authority above or a licensed conveyancer.