Buying
Buying a home, step by step: searching, offers, contracts, inspections and the costs along the way.
Off-plan purchase in Dubai, step by step: registration, fees, resale
From the first look at a project to a resale before completion: what a Dubai off-plan buyer signs, pays and receives at each step, as official pages and laws describe it.
After the BTO ballot in Singapore: booking, fees and key collection
What follows a successful HDB ballot in Singapore: the queue position, the booking appointment, the Agreement for Lease, stamp and legal fees, key collection and cancellation.
Buying a home by private treaty in South Australia: Form 1 to duty
How a private treaty purchase works in South Australia: the Form 1, the two clear business days of cooling-off, the A$100 deposit limit, inspections, price ranges and stamp duty.
Buying a US condo or HOA home: what lenders check about the project
How Fannie Mae and the FHA judge a condominium project in the United States, from reserves and critical repairs to special assessments, dues and the association's lien.
US flood zones and the lender's flood insurance rule for home buyers
How flood zones are drawn in the United States, when a federally regulated lender must require flood insurance, and what the national programme covers, with its limits and waiting period.
USA: home inspection or appraisal, and who gets the appraisal report
A home inspection and an appraisal answer different questions for a US buyer. Who orders each, what FHA and VA say about theirs, the right to a copy, and radon testing.
US mortgage preapproval, rate locks and points before an offer
What a US preapproval letter is and is not, how credit checks are counted while a buyer compares lenders, when an application legally exists, and how rate locks and points work.
Victoria private sale: what a buyer checks before signing the contract
The due diligence checklist, the Property Price Statement, building and pest reports, the finance condition and the three days that follow a signature in Victoria.
Buying property in Dubai: the checks a buyer can run before signing
Title deed, project status, escrow account, broker card, advertising permit, service charges: what Dubai's official tools and laws let a buyer verify before committing.
Buying an HDB resale flat in Singapore: from HFE letter to keys
How a resale flat purchase runs in Singapore under HDB's rules: the HFE letter, the 21-day Option to Purchase, the Request for Value, the resale application and completion.
US housing costs: Redfin maps the road back to 2018 affordability
A Redfin report dated 8 October 2026 models when US mortgage payments could fall back to 30% of income. The answer runs from 2028 to more than a decade away.
New South Wales: what to check before you exchange on a home
Building and pest inspections, strata records, the section 184 certificate and the cooling-off period: what each check covers for a buyer in New South Wales, and what it leaves out.
US report: one salary buys a typical home in 14% of job-metro pairs
A National Housing Conference report released on 7 October finds a single worker's pay covers a typical home in 14% of occupation and metro pairings, and two pay cheques in 54%.