Pre-Approval With Gateway
There are many things you need to consider when looking for a new home. Whether it is the location of the property, the condition of the bathroom or the state of the kitchen – you have to be across every detail. The same can be said for the financial process of buying a home. To give you a better understanding and save you time, we have simplified the home buying process into the following seven steps:
1. Apply for pre-approval
Before you start looking for a property, you may want to seek pre-approval from your lender. Pre-approval gives you a good understanding of the amount a financial institution would be willing to lend you based on your current financial status.
Begin your home buying journey by submitting a pre-approval application online. At Gateway, pre-approval starts with a phone call with one of our Lending Specialists. They will work with you to get an understanding of your current financial situation, as well as the estimated cost of the property you are looking to buy. Items that will be assessed during pre-approval include; your income, employment situation, as well as the status of any credit cards or existing loans. If the Lending Specialist determines you can afford the loan you are requesting then they will offer you pre-approval. At Gateway, this process usually takes three days.
2. Find a property
The next step is to find a property, or at least decide on the area where you are looking to purchase. Gateway can help you by providing relevant property or suburb reports. You can use this information to gauge affordability and try to work out both a location and property that is within your budget. Once you’ve completed your research, be sure to set your purchase limit and stick to it.
3. Submit a formal application for the home loan
Once your financial information has been verified and the property valuation has been conducted and accepted, you will receive formal approval of your application.
4. Valuation of the property
Following your formal application for finance, you will most likely pay a deposit and exchange contracts on the chosen property.
The next step in the process will be for Gateway to arrange a valuation of the property. This ensures the property you are buying is worth what you have agreed to pay.
At Gateway, our Premium Package offers you your first valuation free*.
5. Formal approval
It pays to research the different home loans available to you. Before you start actively looking for your dream home, your Gateway home loan specialist can tell you how much you can afford to borrow.
6. Contract issued and completion
From here, you are issued with a contract that sets out the terms and conditions of the loan. Make sure you fully understand this document before signing it. You should understand exactly what you have agreed to borrow, your repayment amount, the regularity of your repayments and the length of the loan. Once you are confident you have understood this contract, all that needs to be done is to complete the appropriate paperwork, sign the contract and return these to Gateway.
If you are purchasing a unit, a Certificate of Currency should be obtained from the insurer of the property’s body corporate. If you are purchasing a house, a building insurance policy should be obtained from an insurer. A Gateway Lending Specialist can assist with quotes and policies if you need. The details and proof of this insurance arrangement must be provided before settlement.
7. Settlement
At this point, there is a period of time before settlement. This can be as little as 21 days or as long as eight weeks, and may vary in each state or territory. Your legal representative will advise you of the date. A Gateway representative from our Settlements team will call prior to the date to arrange the relevant transactions.
Prior to settlement, you should also inspect the property to ensure it is in the same condition as when it was sold. After your legal representative has formally transferred the property into your name, it will be officially yours – so the next step is to start packing!
The Gateway difference
At Gateway we differentiate ourselves from other lenders with our commitment to our customers. We get to know our customers throughout their home buying experience. We make the home buying process as easy as possible, by ensuring that you have access to one dedicated Lending Specialist from your initial enquiry, right through to your loan settlement. This unique relationship with our customers also flows through to our lending decisions. At Gateway we seek to understand your needs, it is for this reason credit assessments are conducted by a real person – not a computer.
So if you’re ready to buy a new home, we want to help you every step of the way. Contact us online or alternatively 1300 302 474 (8am – 6pm, Monday to Friday AEST) to see how we can help make your property dreams come true.
Important information:
*No valuation fee on 1st valuation, each valuation thereafter is charged at $275. No Valuation fee applies to standard single residential dwellings to $1 million in metropolitan locations and $500,000 in regional locations. This offer is only available on the Premium Package Home Loan.
