8 tips to make buying your home easier

Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make — but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. The buyers who have the smoothest journey tend to do the same things: they choose the right property, get organised early, understand their finances, and lean on the right people for help. Below are eight tips, grouped by stage, to make finding, securing and financing your home easier.

Finding the home

1. Look for investor appeal as well as owner appeal

Buy a home you want to live in now, but that would also be easy to sell again later. That means choosing a property in a good area with strong features. Things worth looking for include the location, car parking (even if you don't currently have a car), good views, and extras such as air conditioning. If it's a condo, check that the building has good amenities and — just as importantly — that it's well managed and maintained. Some condos look great when they're brand new, but if they're poorly managed they soon look tired and damaged, which can reduce your home's value very quickly.

2. Get to know your broker

Stay in regular contact with your real-estate broker (or brokers). Touch base often and ask whether they have any new properties that aren't on the market yet, and whether you could view them before they're listed publicly. Recommending their services to friends or family who are looking to buy or sell can help too — it's the kind of relationship that earns you extra service and a heads-up on the best listings.

3. Get extra advice

Once you're serious about a property, the next step is to get further, independent advice on whether it's genuinely worth the asking price. A second opinion from someone who isn't selling you the property helps you buy with your eyes open.

Securing the home

4. Make an offer

If you've found the property you want and you've done your numbers on the price, don't be afraid to put in an offer you're comfortable with. Submitting an offer with a deposit signals that you're serious and that your offer isn't conditional on selling your current home first. Some buyers also submit an odd number, which suggests you've pushed to your maximum and can't go any higher.

Financing the home

5. Be careful when calculating your expenses

Finding a home is all about location — but financing one is all about your savings and your numbers. Get familiar with your personal financial position. Be realistic about your monthly expenses and any existing debt, such as a personal loan or credit card, and make sure you understand your borrowing power. It's also a good idea to factor in the additional costs of buying a home beyond the purchase price, and to budget for them in advance. Nook's loan calculators are a quick way to check your financial capacity before you commit.

6. Be organised

Have your documentation sorted out early. Paperwork is the most common thing that holds up a loan application, so provide everything at the start of the process — payslips, bank statements and any documents relating to existing debts. With Nook, you can upload your supporting documents digitally as part of the online application, so there's no printing, photocopying or queuing.

7. Use online services to streamline the process

It's a digital world. Gone are the days of printing, photocopying and mailing documents to your bank. Doing as much as possible online keeps your application moving and saves you trips to the branch. This is exactly what Nook is built for — the entire home loan application happens online, with a dedicated consultant guiding you through each step.

8. Be honest with the information you provide

To prevent delays, be honest and upfront about your financial position from the start. Banks verify what you submit, so accurate and realistic information about your income, expenses and existing debts keeps everything moving smoothly. Holding back or guessing only causes hold-ups later.