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) 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 Product Disclosure Statement (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

The Home Bundle Offer (offer) provides eligible RACQ Bank customers with up to 15% discount on combined Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance, or Contents Insurance as long as the insurance policy is current and remains continuous.
The discount is only applicable while the policy is current, and any lapses, cancellation or interruptions in coverage will result in the loss of the discount. RACQ Bank will not retroactively apply the discount for policies reinstated after a policy has lapsed or was cancelled.
The discount applies only to insurance covering the Home and/or Contents at the risk address which is subject to the eligible home loan taken out under this offer.
If the member makes any policy changes to their insurance cover that requires an additional premium to be paid (after the initial insurance policy is taken out), the member must pay that amount.
The Home Bundle offer is valid for new RACQ Bank home loan customers only. The offer is available until further notice, subject to change without notice, and may be withdrawn at any time. Acceptance of the offer is optional.
The offer is valid for Investment or Owner Occupier, residentially secured home lending products only. It is 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.
Refer to the ‘Things to Note’ section for information on RACQ Bank Home Loans eligible for the Home Bundle offer.
The offer is not available to directors, officers, management, employees and other staff (and the immediate families of directors, officers, management, employees and other staff).
For refinanced home loans from other banks, combined Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance or Contents Insurance policies will be eligible for the discount at or after the home loan has reached funding stage.
For property purchases, policies are to be created once purchase contract is signed or at loan submission, however Home Loan plus combined Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance or Contents Insurance discounts are conditional on the home loan funding within 90 days of the date of the submitted application.
Members who already hold at least one insurance policy issued by RACQ Insurance Limited may be eligible for additional discounts. Visit racq.com for the full breakdown of discounts. After applying any available discounts, a further discount of up to 15% will be deducted to the total running premium to calculate the final premium. The calculated premium may include additional taxes, charges, and levies, which may impact the total discount received. This discount offer is not available in conjunction with the online discount for combined Home and Contents Insurance, Home Building Insurance or Contents Insurance.
RACQ Bank reserves the right to vary, modify or discontinue this offer at any time without notice.
Insurance products (excluding Travel Insurance) 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 Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), and any applicable Supplementary PDS before making a purchase decision on this product. You can also access our Target Market Determinations and the relevant Additional Information Guide on this website.
Refer to the ‘Things to Note’ section of this page for RACQ Bank Home Loan disclaimers including the comparison rate warning.