Checklists
Take it with you
One list per stage. Print this page, or use the print button — it strips the navigation and keeps the boxes. Nothing here needs an account, and nothing you tick is recorded anywhere.
01
Getting ready
Three to twelve months, depending on the deposit
- Know your deposit as a percentage of your target price, not just as a dollar figure
- Add up the non-deposit costs for your state and subtract them from your savings
- Cancel or reduce credit cards you do not use, and keep evidence that you did
- Keep three to six months of clean, explainable transaction history
- Check whether you have ever owned Australian property — it decides scheme eligibility
02
Pre-approval
Two days to three weeks, then valid for roughly three months
- Photo identification for every applicant
- Two recent payslips plus a year-to-date figure, or two years of tax returns if self-employed
- Three to six months of transaction and savings statements
- Statements for every debt: cards, personal loans, car finance, buy-now-pay-later, HECS-HELP
- Evidence of the deposit source, including a gift letter if part of it is a gift
- Written confirmation of what type of pre-approval you have been given
03
Choosing a loan
A week or two, in parallel with looking at properties
- Write down the comparison rate, not just the advertised rate, for each option
- Confirm the annual package or ongoing fee, and what it actually includes
- Confirm whether extra repayments are allowed and whether redraw is free
- If considering fixed: ask in writing how a break cost would be calculated
- Model the repayment at a rate about three points higher than the offer
04
Offer and formal approval
One to four weeks, and shorter if you bought at auction
- Contract of sale reviewed by your conveyancer or solicitor before signing
- Building and pest inspection booked, and the report read in full
- Lender valuation ordered and the result confirmed in writing
- Finance condition and its date confirmed in the contract
- Deposit funds available in a form the agent will accept on the day
05
Settlement
Usually 30 to 90 days after exchange, set in the contract
- Statement of adjustments read line by line
- Building insurance in place with the lender noted, from the correct date
- Final inspection completed and any issues raised with your conveyancer
- Remaining funds cleared in the right account well before the day
- First repayment date and amount confirmed with the lender in writing
General information about how the Australian home buying and lending process works. Thresholds, concessions and scheme eligibility are set by federal, state and territory agencies and change; each page links to the agency that sets the rule. Reviewed 17 August 2026.