Rich Harvey

But just going back to the financial requirements, you know, that mortgage broker, they're going to provide you with a pre-approval.

So make sure you get that in place.

And that pre-approval generally lasts for around 90 days.

And I always advocate going direct to a broker rather than direct to the bank because the brokers have a better ability to scour a whole raft of different loan options for you and can get not just the best rate, but the best borrowing capacity to suit your situation.

Look, when you're creating a wishlist, you've also got to have an element of realism.

So what we do with our clients, we ask them to tell us their wishlist and we convert that into what's called a property brief.

And that consists of your most essential criteria and your desirable criteria.

So write down a list, you know, particularly if you're married or you've got a partner, just write down a list of your must-haves, the things you really want and the things that would be desirable but nice to have on the side.

So obviously the suburb you're targeting, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, car spaces, what sort of living areas you want, what style of construction you want.

But then those sort of softer features like the aspect and the slope and the distance to the shops and distance to amenities.

And you've really got to start writing all of that down.

It's quite amazing when you write down a shopping list, just how interesting that can look.

And then you've got to start comparing that to reality and doing that online.

So really think clearly about what you want because there's no point going out and having a look at a bunch of properties or I'll know it when I find it.

You will know when you find it, but you'll have a much better chance if you've got a clear target that you're aiming for and it can really narrow down your focus and get a much quicker result by having that property brief in your hands.

Great question.

It does, actually, because it's a journey that people go on, Greg, in finding their property.

I remember one client I took and, you know, I did the usual, got their brief.

We're out looking every Saturday at various properties.

But there's also a thing called an unspoken need.