As with selling privately, buying privately has many positive aspects, such as perhaps being able to negotiate a better deal, as the seller will be saving thousands on agents fees. You may also be able to negotiate a settlement that will suit both you and the seller, as you’ll be dealing directly with each other.

When buying privately, it is good to have a plan from the outset to get your desired result. The steps below will give you a good idea about how to go about buying your dream home privately…………

Step 1. Determine your price bracket

This may seem like stating the obvious, however you’d be surprised by how many people end up with mortgages beyond their means, as they bought on impulse. Before you begin looking for houses, it is a good idea to determine how much money you can spend on your new house. This will be made up of how much you can afford to repay, and how much you can borrow. Use one of the many mortgage calculators on the net to see how much your repayments will be for different loan amounts. You should not borrow to your absolute limit, taking into account such things interest rate rises, and things such as unexpected unemployment. Once you determine, what you can afford to spend, and what you can afford to borrow, head to the bank manager

Step 2. Organise you finance

This also seems obvious, but you don’t want to get gazumped on your dream house due to not having the funds available.

Have a visit with your bank/building society manager to get pre-approved for the loan amount you desire. This meeting will also be a good to chance to quiz your bank manager on whether you will be able to easily service your loan.

Step 3. Determine the area you want to buy in

You may well and truly know where you want to live, however it is a good idea to drive around all the areas that you are considering to get a feel for them. It’s a good idea to drive around on different days and different times, to get a good feel for the local weather conditions (such as prevailing winds) and also traffic etc.

During these ‘drive around's’ you may also find some lovely areas you didn’t know existed and suit you down to the ground.

If you are considering moving further afield, you can search the internet for properties for sale (perhaps this fine site…!) and then research those areas further.

Step 4. Search for houses for sale in your chosen area(s)

Now as the majority of people do these days, you should start your search using the internet. Once again you can start your search using Ozprivatesale.com.au, how convenient.

If you can’t find the house you are looking for, you can sign up for our free ‘notify me’ service which will send you an email letting you know that a property matching the desired criteria you specified has been listed on Ozprivatesale.com.au.

If these searches prove fruitless, the next step is to drive around your chosen area(s) and look for ‘for sale signs’. If you're lucky you might be able to find an Ozprivatesale.com.au sign..!

Step 5. Arrange an inspection with owners

Once you have found a property in your chosen area (through Ozprivatesale.com.au I’m sure..!) you should contact them to arrange an inspection.

Before the inspection you should make a checklist with all the items that you desire in a house, as we’ve all done an inspection and then thought did the house have this and that? You should take the checklist with you, ticking items off as you go. You should also have some room to note down points as you walk through.

You should also have a list of questions to ask the owners, things such as:

• Cost of rates
• Local council area
• Schools nearby
• Shops and services nearby
• Recent repairs/extensions completed
• Land dimensions
• House dimensions

And any other pertinent questions that you can think of. However, if the owner is selling the house with the help of a listing on Ozprivatesale.com.au they should already have all this info available to give you at inspection time.

Remember, this is not a daunting experience, the owners will be happy to show you through their house, and answer any questions you may have.

Step 6. Organise an independent evaluation (if desired)

This step is not taken by many people, but may be useful if you are not confident that you can judge the market, and the value of the house you are looking to buy.

If you would like to get an evaluation done, employ the services of an independent property evaluation company (not through a real estate agent)

This service will cost you a couple of hundred dollars but may prove useful

Step 7. Organise a pest and building report

This may of already of been done by the owner of the property for the purpose of the sale, however if it hasn’t it is imperative that you have one conducted.

This will determie if there is any structural of pest problems with the property you are proposing to buy. If there is the owner may have these repaired before the sale goes through, or you may wish to negotiate a different sale price taking the problems into account.

Whatever the case, it is important to identify any potential problems before the sale occurs.

Step 8. Negotiate the sale price and terms

As I have stated in the ‘how to sell privately guide’ negotiating a sale isn’t something to be afraid of. At the end of the process, both parties have the opportunity to have the price and settlement terms they desire, and you can all have a glass of champagne at the end and celebrate a job well done.

From a buyer's perspective, it is important to keep your budget in mind, and remind yourself how much you can spend. If the seller isn’t willing to drop his/her price to meet your maximum figure, then perhaps it isn’t the property for you. However, remember that the seller will be saving thousands in agent's fees, so they may be willing to sell a little below market value. They may also be willing to drop their price a little if you are able to accommodate their settlement wishes (a long or perhaps short settlement period for example).

Once you have come to an agreement, it is over the solicitor/conveyancer to complete the contracts. And now you can crack out the bubbly, and let the owner tell you all the little good points about the house, you will only get by using the personal approach.