Guide to buying your next home

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Having bought a home before, you’re probably familiar with the process you need to go through to get things in order. But to make sure you cover all your bases and tick off any new requirements since your last purchase, we’ve put together the following steps.

Enquire about finance

Planning to buy
There are a couple of parts to this one. Have you thought about what you’re going to do with your current property – keep it as an investment, or sell it before buying your next? Your answer to this question will influence your borrowing power. To help work this out and find out how much you could be up for in repayments, use the borrowing power calculator.
Understand the costs of buying
Whether you’re a property pro or you’re taking your first step on the ladder, it’s good to understand what extra expenses you could end up paying.
- Lenders Mortgage Insurance
- Lending fees
- Moving costs
- Stamp duty or transfer duty
- Legal and conveyancing fees
- Building and pest inspection
- Utilities and connections
- Home and contents insurance
Home selling tip!
Don’t forget to factor in the costs for getting your home ready for sale – things like painting, landscaping and repairs.
Getting your loan
Now that you’ve considered all the costs, it’s time to find your next home and the best loan to suit your needs.
Compare all home loans

Pre-approval
Once you have an idea on how much you can borrow, chat to a lending consultant and get pre-approval for your home loan. Securing pre-approval is a super smart move as it clarifies your borrowing power, what you’ll repay and helps you search for a house in your budget. Pre-approval is free and valid for up to 3 months. This gives you plenty of time and confidence to find your dream first house.

Enquire about conditional approval Download fact sheet
Get your next home loan
Before you start packing the moving boxes, don’t forget to cover off these things:
- Download the home loan application checklist (40.1KB)
- Organise a building and pest inspection.
- Get a solicitor or conveyancer involved to cover the legal side of things.
- Organise home and contents insurance
And because there’s so much to think about at settlement, have a read of our Settlement Guide to help you through the process.

Home buying tip!
Although you’ve been through the process before, it’s always wise to get a legal expert to review contracts and other documents.

Contact us

Need help or would like to know more? RACQ Bank offers many convenient ways for you to get in touch with us. 

Your RACQ Bank Home Loan comes with RACQ membership^~~

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Things to note

Banking and loan products issued by Members Banking Group Limited ABN 83 087 651 054 AFSL/Australian credit licence 241195 trading as RACQ Bank. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and lending policies apply. This is general advice only and may not be right for you. This information does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account. Read the disclosure documents for your selected product or service, including the Financial Services Guide and the Terms and Conditions, and consider if appropriate for you before deciding.

Except for RACQ Bank, any RACQ entity referred to on this page is not an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). That entity’s obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of RACQ Bank. RACQ Bank does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of that entity, unless noted otherwise.

Insurance products (excluding Travel Insurance and the Life and Income Protection Insurance suite of products) are issued by RACQ Insurance Limited ABN 50 009 704 152 (RACQ). Conditions, limits and exclusions apply. This is general advice only and may not be right for you. This information does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account. Read the PDS and any applicable Supplementary PDS before making a purchase decision on this product. You can also access our Target Market Determinations on this website.

^~~ Terms and conditions apply to all offers. View the individual offer for full details. Offer is subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice.

* Home Bundle Terms and Conditions

Subject to the further terms and conditions below, the Home Bundle gives eligible RACQ Bank customers a 15% discount off combined Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance or Contents Insurance for the life of any eligible home loan.
The 15% discount on Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance or Contents Insurance available under the Home Bundle offer will only be applicable for insurance that is to cover the asset which is subject of the eligible home loan taken out under this offer only.
Subsequent to the initial policy being taken out, if the member makes any policy changes which require an additional premium, that premium will need to be paid by the member.
The Home Bundle promotional offer is valid for new RACQ Bank home loan customers only. Offer is available until further notice, subject to change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time. Acceptance of the offer is optional.
Valid for Investment or Owner Occupier, residentially secured home lending products only. Not available for businesses or companies. Lending terms, conditions, fees, charges and lending criteria apply. View our Loan rate schedule and fee schedule for a full list of RACQ Bank’s home loan rates, fees and charges.
Please refer to the Things to note section for information on RACQ Bank Home Loans which are eligible for the Home Bundle promotional offer.
The Home Bundle offer is not available to RACQ staff members.
For refinanced home loans from other banks, Home and Contents Insurance policies will be created at or after loan is unconditionally approved.
For property purchases, policies are to be created once purchase contract is signed or at loan submission, however Home Loan plus Home and Contents Insurance discounts are conditional on the home loan funding within 90 days of the date of the submitted application.
Policyholders who already hold at least one insurance policy issued by RACQ Insurance Limited, may be eligible for a range of discounts, for the full breakdown of discounts please visit racq.com. After the deduction of any available discounts, a further discount of 15% will be deducted to calculate the final premium. The calculated premium may then have additional taxes and charges applied. The Home Plus 15% discount offer is not available in conjunction with the online application discount of $75 for Home and Contents Insurance.
Insurance products (excluding Travel Insurance and the Life and Income Protection Insurance suite of products) are issued by RACQ Insurance Limited ABN 50 009 704 152 (RACQ). Conditions, limits and exclusions apply. This is general advice only and may not be right for you. This information does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account. Read the PDS, and any applicable Supplementary PDS before making a purchase decision on this product. You can also access our Target Market Determinations on this website.
Refer to the Things to note section of this page for RACQ Bank Home Loan disclaimers including the comparison rate warning.