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Property due diligence

How to research a specific property before an offer, an auction or a contract.

12 guides

Research sequence
Listing claims are hypotheses. Research tests them. Verification is still required.
How to research a property before buying in Australia
A dated research file: listing, parcel, sales, planning, hazards, nearby, building, title, rent, suburb, then unresolved gaps.
Ten checks
N of 10 completed measures available evidence. It is not a score for the property.
10 property checks before you make an offer
Mark each of the ten Districts checks as pass, fail or unknown. Coverage counts evidence, not property quality.
Before an offer
Turn every material unknown into a condition, or carry it knowingly.
What to check before making an offer on a house
Cooling-off, conditions and vendor documents differ by state. No national rule. Checks before you sign.
Before auction
Auction compresses time. The desk work has to be finished before you raise a hand.
What to check before bidding at auction
Auction bids are usually unconditional. Finish contract, inspections, finance and a written limit before the day.
Claims vs record
Treat every specific claim as a hypothesis with a source that could test it.
How to cross-check an agent's property claims
Audit listing claims (land size, STCA, flood, rent, station, bedrooms) against the record that would test each one.
Flags
A flag is a question. It is not a verdict that the property is bad.
Property red flags to investigate before buying
A signal table: innocent reading, more serious reading, and the evidence that resolves it. Not a fear list.
Investor checks
Run the owner-occupier list, then add rent, competition, yield after costs, and a downside you can live with.
Property research checklist for investors
Holding-cost model from rent to cash flow. Add supply competition. Not personal tax or credit advice.
Verify
Each finding has a place it becomes official. Districts is not that place.
How to verify property research before acting
Move each finding from a research page to the document or person who can resolve it. Zone, flood, title, works.
Cash to settle
The contract price is one line. Duty, titles, legal, inspections and LMI still sit below it.
How much does it really cost to buy a house in Australia?
Cash to settle is deposit plus duty, titles, legal, inspections, LMI and often immediate repairs. Duty differs by state.
Deposit
5, 10 and 20 per cent are LVR bands. Cash to settle is the band plus buying costs.
How much deposit do you need to buy a house in Australia?
5, 10 or 20 per cent is an LVR choice, not the cash you need. Add duty, fees and LMI. Buffers still sit aside.
Two numbers
The bank’s maximum is a serviceability result. Comfort is the surplus after a worse year.
Borrowing capacity vs what you can actually afford
A bank’s maximum loan is a serviceability result, not a comfortable price. Buffers, DTI limits and household surplus differ.
LVR
Loan divided by value. The same price move is larger on thin equity.
What is LVR and why it matters when buying property
Loan-to-value ratio is loan divided by price. It sets deposit size, LMI, and how hard a price move hits equity.