By Paul Wenham · Research-based general information, not professional advice
Start with the purchase you are making
The most useful checklist depends on the property, the contract and what you intend to do with the home.
Choose the guide closest to your situation. If more than one applies, use both: a first-home buyer can also be buying a new apartment off the plan.
Your first home
Get oriented before you commit. Work out which advisers you need, what to ask them and how to track unanswered questions.
A newly built home
Understand the distinction between an attractive finish, the available documents and the investigations needed to answer your concerns.
An off-the-plan property
Organise the questions that arise before signing, while you wait and as settlement approaches.
Start with your intended life in the property
Write down three things the home must support and three things you would find difficult to live with. Then turn each into a question that can be investigated.
For example: “I work from home” becomes “Where could I work comfortably, what noise should I investigate and what restrictions could affect my intended use?”
This exercise identifies questions; it does not establish whether a property is suitable.