The Complete First Home Buyer Checklist

Buying your first home in Victoria comes down to getting nine things right, in roughly this order: your finances, the grants and schemes you qualify for, the location, the type of property, the legal fine print, the building's physical condition, whether the price is fair, the process itself, and the long-term risk you're taking on. This checklist walks through all nine as a single decision framework — so nothing that matters gets skipped, and nothing that doesn't gets in the way.

Think of it as nine lenses you keep returning to as a purchase gets closer, backed by a short, actionable list of things to have done before you ever raise your hand at auction. Early on, finance and location dominate. By the time you're at a specific property, legal and building risk take over. Value and process run through the whole thing. What follows is each dimension, what it actually covers, where on Delora you can go deeper, and — near the end — the concrete items to tick off before you bid.

In a hurry? Jump straight to the complete-before-you-bid checklist — the hard list of things that must be done, not just considered, before you commit. Otherwise, read on for the full framework.

On this page

• The nine dimensions at a glance — the whole framework in one table
• A–I: each dimension explained — what each lens covers and where to go deeper
• Your complete-before-you-bid checklist — the tick-list to finish before you bid
• How to read this checklist — scope and method
• Frequently asked questions

The nine dimensions at a glance

Every first home purchase touches all nine of the areas below. Some you'll resolve in a weekend of research; others you'll revisit at every property you inspect. This table is the framework in one view — the sections after it explain each row in plain English.

A. Financial readiness & affordability

This is the foundation, and it decides the shape of everything else. Before you fall for a property, you need an honest picture of your borrowing capacity, how large a deposit you can assemble, and — crucially — the total cost of ownership beyond the purchase price. Rates, insurance, maintenance and owners corporation fees don't show up on the listing but arrive every quarter regardless.

The two practical milestones here are getting pre-approval so you know your real ceiling, and choosing a lender whose terms suit you rather than just the first one you talk to. Because grants and concessions directly change what you can afford, read this dimension alongside the grants and schemes guide. Nailing finance early stops you from wasting weekends inspecting homes you can't fund — and from the more painful version, winning at auction and then scrambling for finance.

B. Government grants & schemes

First home buyers in Victoria have access to a stack of concessions that can meaningfully change what's affordable: the First Home Guarantee, the First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty exemptions and concessions, the First Home Super Saver Scheme, and Help to Buy. Each has its own eligibility rules, price caps and interactions — and they can compound, so it's worth mapping which ones apply to your situation before you set a budget rather than after.

Because the detail here changes and the eligibility thresholds are specific, we keep it in a dedicated resource. Read the full breakdown in first home buyer grants and schemes and factor the result back into dimension A.

C. Location & lifestyle fit

Location is the one variable you can't renovate your way out of, so it deserves real weight. The things that make a place work day to day — the commute, nearby schools, everyday amenities, safety, how walkable it is, what's planned for future development, and increasingly climate exposure — vary enormously street to street, let alone suburb to suburb.

This is exactly what Delora's suburb-by-suburb coverage exists for. Rather than generalising, work through the individual suburb profiles for the areas on your shortlist and compare them like for like. A home that scores well on every other dimension but sits in the wrong location for your life is a hard mistake to reverse.

D. Property type & physical attributes

Once you know where and roughly how much, the question becomes what. House, unit or townhouse each carry different trade-offs in land, maintenance, privacy and growth. Within a type, land size, condition, layout and the gap between move-in-ready and renovation potential all shift both the price and the amount of work you're signing up for.

Be honest about your appetite here. A "renovator's opportunity" is only an opportunity if you have the budget, time and stomach for it — otherwise it's just a more expensive way to buy the same home. Because the mix of house, unit and townhouse stock differs sharply between areas, the suburb profiles are a useful reality check on what your budget actually buys in each location. This dimension connects tightly to G (value) and I (overcapitalisation risk).

E. Legal & title due diligence

This is where a good buy and a costly one part ways, and where first buyers most often feel out of their depth. The Section 32 vendor statement, the contract terms, zoning and overlays, easements and covenants, any owners corporation, building notices or orders, cooling-off rights, and how auctions differ from private sales — these all sit in the fine print, not the photos.

You don't have to become a conveyancer, but you do need to know what to look for and what to have your solicitor or conveyancer check. Our legal guide covers the Victorian process in detail so you can read a Section 32 without panic and understand your cooling-off position before you sign anything.

F. Structural & building risk

A property can look immaculate and still hide expensive problems. Independent building and pest inspections are your defence — but only if you understand what they actually assess and, just as importantly, what they don't. Knowing the common defects to watch for turns a report from a formality into a genuine negotiating tool or a walk-away signal.

Time this right: you generally want your inspection before you're contractually locked in, or within a cooling-off window. Our guide to building and pest inspections explains how to read a report and where its limits lie.

G. Market & value assessment

Just because a home suits you doesn't mean the price is fair. This dimension is about separating the asking price from the actual value: reading comparable sales, spotting underquoting, judging the suburb's growth trajectory, and weighing the supply pipeline that could dampen or lift prices. Delora's hedonic fair-value model exists to give you an evidence-based reference point rather than relying on the agent's number — you'll find a fair-value reference and comparable sales surfaced on the individual suburb profiles for each area.

Getting value assessment right protects you at both auctions and private sales — it's the difference between a considered offer and an emotional one. It leans heavily on the location data from dimension C and the property specifics from D.

H. Process & procedural steps

The end-to-end sequence has its own logic, and knowing it removes a lot of stress: pre-approval, inspection, then either an offer or an auction, the contract, cooling-off, settlement, the physical move, and the post-settlement admin that follows. Each step has timing and paperwork that can trip up a first buyer moving too fast or too slow.

The value of treating process as its own dimension is that it keeps the other eight in the right order. You want finance (A) and value (G) sorted before you bid, and legal (E) and building checks (F) done before you're past cooling-off — not after. The contract, cooling-off and settlement mechanics are covered step by step in the legal guide.

I. Risk & long-term considerations

The last lens is the longest one. Beyond move-in day, consider how easily you could resell if life changes (exit liquidity), how rising interest rates would hit your repayments, whether the home fits not just your life now but the next stage of it, and the risk of overcapitalising if you renovate beyond what the location will return.

None of these are reasons not to buy — they're reasons to buy with your eyes open. Exit liquidity and growth trajectory are easiest to gauge against the data in the suburb profiles. A home that scores strongly here is one you can hold comfortably through a rate rise or a job change, which is ultimately what makes a first purchase a good one.

Your complete-before-you-bid checklist

The nine dimensions are lenses, not a tick-list — but there is a hard core of things that genuinely should be done, not just thought about, before you raise your hand at auction or sign a contract. Drawn from dimensions A, E, F, G and H, these are the non-negotiables. Copy or print this list and don't bid on a property until every box is ticked:

• Written pre-approval in hand (A). Not a rough online estimate — a lender's conditional approval so you know your true ceiling and won't be caught short after a winning bid.
• Grants and concessions confirmed (B). Check which of the First Home Guarantee, First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty concession, First Home Super Saver and Help to Buy you actually qualify for, and fold the result into your budget.
• Section 32 read and reviewed (E). Have your solicitor or conveyancer go through the vendor statement — zoning, overlays, easements, owners corporation, and any building notices — before you commit.
• Building and pest inspection completed (F). Independent, in writing, and understood — including what the report doesn't cover. Time it before you're locked in or within cooling-off.
• Comparable sales checked against the asking price (G). Line up recent sales and the suburb's fair-value reference before you decide your number, so your offer reflects value rather than the agent's quote.
• Cooling-off and auction rules understood (E, H). Know whether the sale is by auction (no cooling-off) or private treaty, and exactly what your rights and deadlines are.
• Deposit and settlement funds ready (A, H). Confirm the deposit amount, how it's paid, and that the balance will clear by the settlement date.
• A walk-away number decided in advance (G, I). Set the price above which you'll stop — and stick to it — so the bidding, not your budget, is what ends.

If any item on that list is still open, you're not ready to bid on that property yet. The dimensions tell you what to weigh; this list tells you what must be finished.

How to read this checklist

This framework covers the owner-occupier first home buyer decision — someone buying a place to live in. The nine dimensions are deliberately broad lenses rather than a rigid step count; a real purchase moves between them constantly, and the same property can look great through one lens and risky through another. The point is to make sure every lens gets used at least once, and every before-you-bid item ticked off, before you commit.

Investment-specific considerations — yield versus growth, negative gearing, land tax, ownership structure and property management — are a separate topic on purpose and aren't covered here. If you're buying to invest rather than to live, the finance and value dimensions still apply but the framing changes enough to warrant its own treatment.

This page is general information, not personal financial or legal advice. The dimension framework here is current as of 24 July 2026. Grant thresholds, stamp duty rules and lending settings change; always confirm the specifics against the linked guides and current government sources, and seek advice for your own situation before you rely on them.

Frequently asked questions

In what order should I work through the checklist?

Roughly A to I, but not strictly. Sort your finances (A) and eligible grants (B) first because they set your budget, then explore location (C) and property type (D). Legal (E), building (F) and value (G) come into focus once you're looking at a specific property, and process (H) sequences it all. Long-term risk (I) is worth revisiting at every stage. Whatever order you move in, treat the before-you-bid list above as the final gate.

Does this checklist apply to investors?

No — it's built for owner-occupiers buying a first home to live in. Investors share the finance, legal, building and value dimensions but also need to weigh yield versus growth, negative gearing, land tax, ownership structure and property management, which we treat as a separate topic.

How do government grants change what I can afford?

Grants and concessions like the First Home Guarantee, First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty concessions, the First Home Super Saver Scheme and Help to Buy can each lift your effective budget or reduce upfront costs, and some stack. Map which ones apply before you finalise your budget — see the grants and schemes guide.

Do I really need a building and pest inspection?

For most purchases, yes. A property can present well and still carry hidden defects, and an independent inspection is your main way to find them before you're locked in. Just understand what the report covers and doesn't — our building and pest inspections guide explains the limits.

How do I know if the asking price is fair?

Don't take the asking price at face value. Compare recent comparable sales, watch for underquoting, and use an independent fair-value reference such as Delora's hedonic model — surfaced alongside comparable sales on each suburb profile — rather than the agent's figure. Pair that with the same suburb data to judge growth trajectory and supply.

Next step

Start where the biggest, least reversible decision sits: location. Open the suburb profiles for the areas on your shortlist, compare them like for like on value and lifestyle fit, then work back through finance and grants so your budget is grounded in real numbers before you inspect a single home.