Doing the groundwork

Whether you're buying your first home or lining up the next investment property, the right groundwork is essential for ensuring success in the property market.

With the right approach, buying a home or investment property can be a comparatively low risk option when compared to other investments. However to ensure your property purchase turns out to be a sound investment the right approach is essential. While there's no doubt that savvy negotiating skills play a big role in successful property buying, this is just a piece of a much bigger picture.

Help from the professionals

Most people understand the importance of researching the property market before they buy, but unfortunately many overlook other areas such as property finance, government incentives, tax considerations and asset protection through selecting the right insurance - and this can be costly.

Australians have considerable choice when it comes to home loans and thankfully securing property finance is considerably easier than it was generations ago. There are numerous mortgage products that are designed to suit different requirements and so it's important that you find the right one for you.

If you don't have the time to research finance yourself you may find a mortgage broker is a smart option.

According to the Genworth Financial Mortgage Trends Report 2009, an annual survey conducted on more than 2,000 Australian adults, 40 per cent of all Australian borrowers now use brokers and for very good reasons - not only can they help you evaluate your borrowing capabilities and arrange finance for your property, their insight on the market can be invaluable. In addition, they can also arrange other services associated with your property purchase.

When speaking with your broker to arrange your financing there are a number of key points to consider. First and foremost, you need to remember that you should set your own borrowing limit.

While banks will assess your ability to service a mortgage based on your salary, other financial commitments and credit history, and give you a maximum borrowing amount, you need to feel comfortable that you can afford to meet loan repayments - which may mean borrowing a smaller amount.