Buying a home costs more than the house. There is transfer duty, inspections, conveyancing, lender fees, settlement adjustments, moving costs, and plenty more competing for space in your budget.

Some of those costs are unavoidable. Understanding your property contract does not need to be an expensive one.

A BuySecure AI contract review costs just $79, giving Australian home buyers an affordable way to understand their contract, identify potential risks, and ask questions before signing. If you decide to engage lawlab for eligible legal services afterwards, your BuySecure review fee is credited towards those services.

One less big expense to worry about.

In short

When budgeting to buy a home in Australia, remember to account for more than your deposit and purchase price.

Depending on your circumstances, additional costs can include:

• Transfer duty

• Conveyancing and legal fees

• Contract review

• Building, pest, or strata inspections

• Property searches

• Settlement adjustments

• Loan and registration fees

• Lender’s mortgage insurance

• Home insurance

• Moving and connection costs

The exact amount will depend on the property, your location, your loan, and your circumstances, but knowing what is coming can help prevent some unpleasant surprises.

1. Transfer (Stamp) duty

Transfer duty, commonly called stamp duty, can be one of the largest additional costs of purchasing property in Australia.

How much you pay depends on factors including the state or territory, property value, intended use of the property, and your eligibility for any concessions or exemptions.

Some first home buyers may qualify for concessions or exemptions, but the rules and thresholds vary across Australia.

Before setting your maximum property budget, use your state or territory revenue office’s online transfer duty calculator, for a stamp duty estimate based on the property price, location, and your circumstances. It is a sizeable expense you do not want to discover after falling in love with a property.

2. Contract review costs

Before signing a property contract, understanding what you are agreeing to is an important part of managing home buyer contract risk.

Traditionally, that could mean paying a lawyer to manually review each contract you are considering.

That can become expensive, particularly when you are looking seriously at multiple properties.

BuySecure changes that.

A BuySecure AI contract review is $79, giving you a fast, affordable way to understand the contract before signing.

Your review identifies important clauses and potential risks, explains key information in plain English, and gives you access to Bella, BuySecure’s AI conveyancing assistant, so you can ask follow-up questions about your contract.

Importantly, BuySecure is built and backed by an Australian law firm, and each review carries professional legal protections and insurance.

If your review identifies something that requires personalised legal advice, you can engage a lawyer for eligible legal services.

So, you can start affordably and only escalate to human legal assistance if you need it.

3. Conveyancing and legal fees

Contract review is only one part of the legal process involved in purchasing property.

Once you decide to proceed with a property, conveyancing manages the legal process required to transfer ownership from the seller to you.

Your conveyancing costs will depend on the transaction, property, jurisdiction, and services required.

For buyers who require personalised legal assistance, lawlab provides digital conveyancing services across Australia.

4. Building, pest, and strata inspections

The contract tells you about the legal transaction. Inspections help you understand the physical property you are buying.

Depending on the property, you may need to budget for:

• Building inspections

• Pest inspections

• Strata inspections

• Specialist inspections where issues are identified

These can uncover defects, maintenance issues, pest activity, or information about a strata scheme that may influence your decision to buy.

It is another upfront expense, but potentially a very worthwhile one.

Finding out about an expensive problem before you buy is generally preferable to discovering it after settlement.

5. Property searches

Various searches may be required during the conveyancing process.

Depending on the property and jurisdiction, these can include:

• Title searches

• Council information

• Land tax searches

• Water and sewerage information

• Strata or body corporate searches

• Other property-specific searches

The searches required, and their cost, will vary according to the property and its location.

6. Settlement adjustments

This is one buyers can easily forget.

Certain property expenses are adjusted between the buyer and seller at settlement.

These may include:

• Council rates

• Water charges

• Strata or body corporate levies

• Other property outgoings

For example, if a seller has already paid council rates covering a period after settlement, you may need to reimburse them for your share.

These adjustments can affect the amount you need to contribute at settlement, so leave some room in your budget.

7. Loan and registration costs

Taking out a home loan can come with additional fees and charges.

Depending on your lender and transaction, these may include application fees, valuation costs, mortgage-related fees, and government registration charges.

Some fees may be deducted from your loan funds, which means the amount available at settlement could differ from the headline amount you have borrowed.

Ask your lender or mortgage broker for a breakdown of the costs associated with your loan before settlement.

8. Lender’s mortgage insurance

If you are borrowing a high proportion of the property's value, you may also need to pay lender’s mortgage insurance, commonly known as LMI.

Despite the name, LMI generally protects the lender, not the buyer, if the borrower defaults on the loan.

Whether it applies, and how much it costs, depends on your lender, loan-to-value ratio, and circumstances.

Your lender or mortgage broker can tell you whether LMI is likely to apply to your purchase.

9. Insurance and moving costs

You bought the home. Now you actually have to move into it.

Remember to budget for expenses such as:

• Home and contents insurance

• Removalists

• Electricity and utility connections

• Internet connection

• Cleaning

• Storage

• New furniture or appliances

• Immediate repairs or maintenance

Individually, these costs might not seem enormous. Together, they can add up quickly.

10. The cost nobody budgets for: time and stress

Property buying can be time-consuming.

You are researching properties, attending inspections, talking to brokers and agents, organising reports, reading contracts, making offers, and trying to keep track of everything while continuing with normal life.

Technology can make some of that easier.

A BuySecure AI contract review can be completed in around five minutes and is available online at any time.

That means you do not have to arrange an appointment or wait for traditional business hours just to start understanding a contract.

If you receive a contract at night, on the weekend, or shortly before an auction, BuySecure can give you access to a review when you actually need it.

For $79, that is one less property-buying expense, and one less piece of admin, to stress about.

Buying a home is expensive. Understanding the contract does not have to be.

Finding the right home does not always happen on the first attempt. You might seriously consider several properties, request multiple contracts, attend multiple auctions, or make more than one offer before you finally buy.

Paying traditional contract review fees every time can quickly become another significant expense in an already expensive process.

BuySecure makes contract review one cost you can keep under control. For $79 per review, a BuySecure AI contract review helps you understand your contract, identify potential risks, and ask Bella follow-up questions before deciding whether a property is right for you.

There are plenty of property-buying costs you cannot avoid. Transfer duty will still be transfer duty. The removalist will still send an invoice. Your lender will still have its fees.

But understanding your property contract does not need to add another major expense.

One of the biggest purchases of your life deserves a contract you actually understand.