How to Buy Your First Property: A Seven-Step Guide

Your first purchase is the only one where nothing is routine. This guide lays out the entire process in seven steps and lists what to check, how long it takes, and where money is most often lost at each stage.

The budget is not the loan amount the bank approves, but the amount you can repay without making sacrifices that won't last three years. Start with your own funds and subtract everything that isn't the property price.

• Down payment — usually 10 to 20 percent of the price.
• Real estate transfer tax, when applicable.
• Notary fees, property appraisal, and registration costs.
• Agency fee, if buying through a broker.
• Moving-in reserve: joinery, appliances, minor repairs.

Only the amount remaining after all that is your actual budget for the property itself.

A non-binding credit assessment takes a few days and costs nothing. Without it you are negotiating blind, and sellers recognise a serious offer precisely by the buyer knowing their limits.

Compare offers from several banks: the interest rate is the most visible item, but the total cost of the loan is also shaped by processing fees, appraisal costs and early repayment terms.

First impressions work in the seller's favour. That is why you should run a viewing from a checklist, not on feeling.

• Damp in corners, around windows and in the bathroom.
• Age of the installations — electricity, water, drainage, heating.
• Joinery and the quality of the seals.
• Condition of the roof, facade and common areas.
• Noise at different times of day, not just on a Sunday morning.
• Orientation of the rooms and the amount of light.

If you can, view the same space twice, the second time at a different point in the day.

Before paying any deposit, ask for the title deed and check whether the seller is the registered owner and whether there are encumbrances — a mortgage, usufruct or notice of dispute. For an apartment in a building, check the unitisation as well.

Alongside that come the occupancy permit or equivalent proof of legality, the energy certificate, and confirmation that utilities and the building reserve fund are paid up.

Once the paperwork is clean, a preliminary agreement with a deposit follows, then a purchase contract certified by a notary. Payment is most often made through an escrow account or against a bank guarantee, and a tabular statement allows ownership to be registered.

At the handover, meter readings are recorded in a protocol and all keys are handed over. That protocol is the only evidence of the condition in which you took the property on — do not skip it because everyone is in a hurry.