House hunting requires a well-planned approach, as it can be exhausting. Here are some tips:

• Draw up a list of the features that are important to you in a home and rate their importance. Characteristics to consider are:
  - Type of property; house, town house, apartment etc
  - Acceptable suburbs
  - Number of bedrooms
  - Number of bathrooms and if you want both a bath and a shower
  - Backyard, courtyard or balcony
  - Carpet or Floorboards
  - Local community services such as school, shops, cafes
   
• Inspect the property more than once at different times of the day.
• Turn the lights off during the day. That’s a real estate trick to make you think it’s brighter than it may in fact be!
• Spend some time in the local area and in the street at different times of the week/weekend and during both day and night to see what it’s like.
• Consider how much work, extra money you are will to spend to get the property to you living standards.
• Get thorough inspections and legal advise.

The vendor’s agent or solicitor will have prepared the Contract of Sale. Get a copy of the contract prior to purchasing and read through the intricacies. It will outline and disclose all conditions of sale and what is required to meet these conditions. The contract should include:

• Settlement date
• Price if not being sold at auction
• Planning information
• Outgoings such as rates, water and body corporate fees (if an apartment)
• Building permits past and current
• Building restrictions such as heritage listings
• Existing mortgage details
• Any agreements the vendor may have agreed to regarding the property
• Chattels (items that may be included in the sale such as light fittings)

You should seek advise from your solicitor.