How to Buy Your First Property – Step-by-Step with Emma & Karen

Thinking about buying a property but have no idea where to start? 🏡 In this episode, Molly Founder of Ladies Finance Club  sits down with mortgage broker Emma and buyer’s agent Karen Lacheta-Pell to walk you through the entire home-buying process — from getting pre-approval to picking up the keys.

They unpack what lenders look for, how to avoid common mistakes, what “subject to finance” really means, and why getting professional help can save you thousands. Whether you’re buying your first home or your first investment property, this is your must-listen guide to making confident, smart property moves.

💬 Learn:
✔️ How to work out your borrowing capacity
✔️ The biggest mistakes women make when buying property
✔️ Why rentvesting could get you into the market sooner
✔️ What every buyer needs to know about pre-approval, contracts, and valuations

Perfect for: first-home buyers, property investors, and women ready to grow their wealth.

This episode is brought to you by InvestorKit, Australia’s #1 Buyers Agency for 2023 and 2024. They specialise in helping investors find high-growth properties utilising industry leading AI and data driven research process across Australia. 70%+ of the properties they purchase are off-market and they have consistently outperformed national average capital growth rates by over 49%. Whether you’re looking to build your property portfolio or secure your first investment. Check them out here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Get Rich
01:16 – Today’s Topic + Free Property Summit
02:13 – Why Women Must Invest
03:14 – Why Owning a Home Matters
03:58 – Where Do You Start?
04:26 – Borrowing Capacity & Savings
05:05 – When to Call a Buyer’s Agent
06:13 – Case Study: Jess Gets Pre-Approved
06:46 – How Long Do Pre-Approvals Last?
09:06 – Fixed vs Variable (and When to Decide)
10:09 – EOI, Contracts & Deposits
11:30 – Valuations & Shortfalls
13:15 – Settlement to Keys
14:16 – Investors: Lining Up Tenants Fast
14:54 – Biggest Mistakes to Avoid
18:11 – Getting Past Fear & Finally Buying
20:21 – First Step Homework
21:14 – Money Mentors & Best Advice
23:15 – Where to Find Emma & Karen

CONNECT WITH EMMA STEPHENS

Website: https://flintgroup.au/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/emmastephenswomenswealthhub
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flintgroup.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flintgroup.au/

CONNECT WITH KAREN LACHETA-PELL

Website: https://propellproperty.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-lacheta-pell-6198314b/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/propellproperty.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/propellproperty/

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/

TAKEAWAYS

• Women typically retire with 30-35% less than men.
• Home ownership provides security and stability for women.
• The first step in buying a home is consulting a mortgage broker.
• It's crucial to understand your borrowing capacity before house hunting.
• Investors should avoid emotional purchasing decisions.
• Analysis paralysis can hinder women's investment decisions.
• Having a buyer's agent can help navigate the property market.
• The risk of doing nothing in investing can lead to financial loss.
• Surrounding yourself with successful individuals can boost confidence in investing.
• Long-term thinking is essential in property investment.

SOUND BITES

"Don't rush your property decision."
"Put away 10% of your pay into savings."
"Investing is all about the long term."

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Molly: Welcome to Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. Hey, I'm Molly Benjamin. I'm the founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms for women. But before I started helping thousands of women take control with their money, I was a hot financial mess when it came to my own finances and not the fun kind of hot, more like crying in a supermarket, wondering where all my money went kind of hot.

[00:00:29] But here's the thing, if I can go from financial mess to owning a share portfolio, investing in property, and building wealth. Then you can too. My mission is simple to make women rich because when we have financial freedom, we have choices, confidence, and control over our future. Every week on Get Rich, I sit down with some of the best experts in the industry to break down how we can all start investing, growing our money, and creating long-term financial security without the jargon, boring bits or overwhelm.

[00:01:02] Because when women get rich, we don't just change our lives. We change the world. So if you're ready to start making some smart Money moves, hit that subscribe button and let's get rich together.

[00:01:16] Okay, ladies, are you dreaming of buying your own property but you're not sure where to start? In today's episode of Get Rich, I'm sitting down with mortgage broker Emma Stevens and buys agent Karen Lache Tappel to demystify the entire home buying process. From getting that pre-approval to getting the keys.

[00:01:34] Now whether you're saving for your best home or maybe you're exploring property investing, this is a great episode for you to listen to. And if you want even more of this, we have our free property summit coming up in November. So just head to ladies finance club.com and register for free. It's an entire day of property education just for you.

[00:01:54] All right. Let's get into today's episode. Emma. Karen, welcome to Get Rich. We're so excited to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much for having us. Thank you. Awesome. So I wanted to just kick it off and say, Karen, why should women be investing and what's the risk if we don't?

[00:02:13] Karen: Well, we know that women will, on average, retire with about 30, 35% less than their male counterparts.

[00:02:20] So from a retirement perspective, obviously we need, typically women live a lot longer as well, so our superannuation just isn't going to be enough. Certainly not enough for the lifestyle, which I'm sure many of us women enjoy. And when it really falls apart is when there's those unexpected circumstances, relationship breakdown.

[00:02:43] Or a tragedy, you know, someone loses their partner and they haven't been either investing with their partner or haven't been aware of the process or how to manage their money. And I think that's where it really falls apart, because then they're sort of left out on their own. And the stats do show that the fastest growing rate of homeless women is now in that 50 to 60-year-old bracket.

[00:03:06] So I think that sadly that's evidence that we need to start thinking more about ourselves and just being a little bit more selfish in that regard, I think.

[00:03:14] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. We live longer and less. Um, what about, why do you think buying your own home is such a game changer for women?

[00:03:23] Emma: Look, it's absolutely about that sense of security and certainty.

[00:03:27] Not having your own home puts you at risk of, you know, things happening outside your control. You are renting, you know, the fact that you may have to move around from home to home if the lease isn't uh, renewed. So, you know, it's really difficult for women to get ahead in life when they're constantly outlaying money for cleaners, removalists, and, you know, coughing up that extra month in bond.

[00:03:49] But I think it's the fact that it's a home, that it's shelter, it's security, and it gives a sense of long-term stability. Protection. Yeah. Stability. Yeah.

[00:03:58] Molly: Awesome. All right, so I was hoping we could quickly go through kind of like step by step the process of buying a home and obviously em you are a mortgage broker, Karen, you are a buyer's agent, so I imagine we'll probably start the conversation with Emma and we might end it with Karen, with em coming in a bit as well.

[00:04:18] Okay. And let's say we've got an LFC lady and she is wanting to buy her first property. She has no idea where to start. What should her first step

[00:04:26] Emma: be? Her first step B is come in and see a mortgage broker. We're gonna sit down and actually work out what her borrowing capacity is. Once we know what her borrowing capacity is, we work out how much money she's actually saved and that works out exactly what kind of purchase price she may be looking at or the range in where she needs to be to save extra money.

[00:04:42] Molly: I was gonna say, and even if they're like, look, I think I wanna. Borrow or like I think I wanna buy, I'm just wanting to check in with how much I can borrow. Can they still come to a mortgage broker just for that part to be like checking in?

[00:04:54] Emma: Absolutely. So we normally give you a borrowing capacity based on what your absolute maximum amount is, but then we obviously work backwards with what is realistic as far as your savings is concern.

[00:05:05] Molly: Awesome because Karen, I guess it's not worth people coming to see you at that point. If they're like, find me a home. I dunno what my budget is. That's makes your job a bit hard, doesn't it?

[00:05:14] Karen: It does, but it also when if a client comes to us first, for example, we would say, okay, well let's look at your personal circumstances.

[00:05:23] What are you trying to achieve and how can we get there quicker? So someone might come to us, and we obviously typically work as buyer's agents for investment properties only. But if someone comes to us and we say, well, let's talk to a broker and let's understand. Let's run some numbers as an owner occupier, and let's run some numbers as an investor, because that can vary and that can change.

[00:05:46] Yeah. And if they've got the flexibility to do one or the other, and I appreciate that. It's not always that gonna be going to be that way, but if they've got some flexibility, they may say, okay, we might actually go down a rent vesting avenue as opposed to looking for an owner occupier. Awesome. All right, so let's call our

[00:06:01] Molly: makeup person, Jess.

[00:06:02] So, um, Jess has come to see you, she's got her pre-approval. So the bank has said, look, Jess, you can borrow $600,000. What does she do next?

[00:06:13] Emma: Fabulous question. So she is actually going to reach out to whether it be someone like Karen and, and go along the journey of finding what's available for her. But she can go off and start negotiating with the properties that, uh, she finds and with the real estate agent and put in an offer, but always subject to finance because we want to, from the bank standard, do a valuation, which is going to work out if the bank is going to accept that, to make that now from pre-approval to an unconditional.

[00:06:41] Awesome. And, um, how long do those pre-approvals

[00:06:45] Molly: last for?

[00:06:46] Emma: It depends on the lender. All pre-approvals will last for three months as far as you know, what is required from a legal standpoint. However, you've got a choice of six months, 12 months, and even two years with some banks as to how long that application can stay valid in the system.

[00:07:01] But it is absolutely imperative that after every three months or 90 days as they say, that we reverify income. So for someone that's self-employed. That's fine because we're using financials that are in the last financial year or the last two years. But so for A-P-A-Y-G, another payslip is provided to just reset that and to make sure there's no changes in their financial circumstances.

[00:07:23] Molly: Awesome. Okay, so let's say Jess is like, okay, ready to find my home. I can obviously, you know, go on realestate.com, she.au. If she's not really sure what she's looking for, that could be a little bit tricky. Karen, when do you see, like with investment properties, when do you see people coming to you? Is it after they've made their own mistake or they've tried or is it they're just like, I wanna outsource that to a professional.

[00:07:46] Someone who buys properties like every day as opposed to might buy one in their lifetime.

[00:07:50] Karen: Yeah, look a little bit of both. Um, occasionally we have people come to us who have been through the journey and maybe haven't quite nailed it, but are ready to brave it again. But often our clientele typically are sort of like first time investors.

[00:08:06] Mm-hmm. So I guess they come to us. They're time poor professionals. They know they need to invest. So they've got the right mindset. They know they want to invest, but they just don't know where or don't have the time to put into all the research that that it takes.

[00:08:21] Molly: Awesome. So let's say Jess has gone out and Karen, you guys have found her this incredible property, like she absolutely loves it.

[00:08:29] And at this point, does she then go back to Emma to get the loan sorted? When does that part happen?

[00:08:36] Karen: Yeah, absolutely. So really we help facilitate that as well. So we will often speak directly with brokers on obviously subject to, you know, their permission, just so that we're all on the same page, everyone understands the lingo, the terms, the settlements, all of that.

[00:08:52] So that's of obviously sort of part of the service that we provide. Is so that the client themselves or Jess feels like, okay, I've got professionals, I've got my team of people helping me to get the best outcome.

[00:09:06] Molly: And when we start talking about loan types, whether you go like fixed or you go variable or fixed variable, when do we start having that conversation?

[00:09:14] Is that the preapproval stage or is that now once you've found the home?

[00:09:18] Emma: Generally speaking, when the client's really unsure and their timeframe might be a little bit longer, I would normally have them on a variable rate, but discuss, you know, the difference at pre-approval of going down the fixed rate path.

[00:09:30] But certainly once we, what's going on in the market, you know, there could be a real. Change that's just happened around about that time that you found the property, which may change your mind in the actual loan type that you would like to take. So maybe that is a really great interest rate for a fixed rate.

[00:09:44] So perhaps we turn that pre-approval from variable to a fixed rate and recalculate that with the updated contract of sale, as we would always do anyway at that time of unconditional.

[00:09:54] Molly: Great. So we've got Karen chatting with Emma. You guys are working out the loan details. Um, Karen, can you just explain what is expression of interest and then the finance approval as well?

[00:10:09] Karen: So an expression of interest could be on a particular property, and it could be that a client says, yes, I want this property. I'm interested to do it, but it's obviously subject to finance. And then so that secures the property while we work out in the background work with Emma on making sure that we get all the finances in order, and then we go onto, yeah, the signing of the contract itself is obviously after making sure that it's all gone through, Emma, with the appropriate finance.

[00:10:38] And, and when does the person have to do that initial deposit?

[00:10:42] Emma: So it is changed a little bit in recent years, especially since COVID. But generally speaking, when you are signing that contract, there's a holding deposit that's paid on signing. So normally that's about a thousand dollars. Mm-hmm. Once upon a time, the 5% or whatever was negotiated on the terms, never used to get released until you go unconditional.

[00:11:00] But these days they're actually asking for the deposit to be released. Upon a five day period after the contract's been signed, but it's obviously refundable. So if it's all subject to finance, if the finance for whatever reason isn't approved, that deposit will get refunded back to the client.

[00:11:16] Molly: Okay.

[00:11:17] Awesome. And then as far as the actual, so the contract gets signed, is that then when the funds are released, is it the same day or is it generally like a couple of weeks or months in the future? Okay,

[00:11:30] Emma: so with the contract being signed, so let's say the client signed the contract, it's all gone through, everything's dated by both parties and it comes to the bank.

[00:11:37] The bank won't accept the contract unless everybody has signed and it's been dated. Too often the banks get unsigned or undated contracts, which turn things around for a little bit longer. The bank then obviously go ahead and do their valuation. As soon as that valuation comes back and the bank reassess it, that's when they tell the client, Hey, congratulations.

[00:11:55] We're really happy with this security. You are now unconditional. And it's at that moment that the client has to pay the deposit if that's what's being negotiated on the contract. But with the $1,000 that's upon actual signing date. And is it often that the bank will like value it differently? Sometimes, not always, but every now and then there has been what we call a shortfall in valuation.

[00:12:20] So things to look out for, and maybe Karen comes across this a little bit, is, you know, when you're buying units that have got contents, there's shadows. So sometimes a contract price might in include those shadows, which is furniture. And so they might have a reduction in the valuation because they've removed the shadows from that contract price.

[00:12:39] Or sometimes it might be extra machinery and things in a shed if it's more like a rural property. But if there's an area in which there hasn't been a lot of sales at that price, there has been from time to time a shortfall, which can be quite significant. Which, you know, I've had before, it could be like a $50,000 shortfall.

[00:12:56] So that is, you know, obviously where a client has to have a stronger financial position to put more money into the loan to make it under 80%, if that's what it was approved at. Awesome.

[00:13:06] Molly: Okay, so then the contracts are signed, the money is exchanged, and is that kind of when they get the keys?

[00:13:15] Emma: No. So contracts signed, and what happens is a lawyer steps in, and this is really where the lawyer comes in and do all the things that they need to do, which is the due diligence, which is the searches, all the things that they need to do in order to make sure that the client also fall under the other conditions of the contract.

[00:13:30] So what happens is there's a settlement period that. I negotiated at the time that the contract is complete. Here in Queensland it's standard 30 days, but in other parts of Australia, 60 90 to 120 days is more common in places like Melbourne and Sydney. So what happens is if it is a longer settlement, or even 30 days, everything is done, everything signed, the lawyers take over and manage everything with the bank, and then the client's notified this is your settlement date.

[00:13:57] And so basically what happens is on settlement date. That is when the money is funded and that is when the money is handed over to the vendors and that's when you get your keys.

[00:14:06] Molly: Okay. Awesome. And Karen, at that point, I mean you work with a lot of investors. Do you guys try and line it up so like people are moving in straight away as soon as those key?

[00:14:16] Absolutely. Can you talk me through a little bit of that process?

[00:14:20] Karen: Yeah, so obviously if we, you know, a client has purchased a property and we know we've got a 30 day settlement, for example, we are working in the background with our property managers and our network of property managers across Australia to ensure that that property is already online.

[00:14:37] It's already got in, in an ideal world, has already been tenanted, and we have it that literally the day it settles the next day, we've got clients moving in because obviously we wanna be paying off out that mortgage as soon as possible.

[00:14:49] Molly: Yeah.

[00:14:49] Karen: Awesome.

[00:14:50] Molly: And I guess you guys have both been in this industry for a while now.

[00:14:54] What are some kind of common mistakes you see women get wrong when it comes to either investing in property, Karen or em, you know, going on that kind of first home buyer's journey?

[00:15:08] Karen: So, I would say, I mean there's, you know, a few common mistakes, but I'd say probably two of the, the, the big ones. Uh, purchasing emotionally.

[00:15:17] So when, obviously we're talking about investors here, so you're not thinking, oh, I wanna live there and I wanna raise my children there, or I want a coffee shop nearby, you're thinking, what is the tenant going to want? You know, so if. I might not want to live in Sydney, for example, but plenty of people do.

[00:15:36] Yeah. So thinking emotionally instead of strategically and financially, that's probably one of the biggest ones. It's hard to let go. It is natural. It's in our DNA, we are females. We wanna imagine, you know, the beautiful furniture in the the carpet trimmings and the colors, but it really doesn't matter as long as it's going to make you money.

[00:15:57] That is the aim of the game. Yeah. And the other one is, and it probably ties over a little bit with Emma here, I would say we call it analysis paralysis. Yeah. So women, particularly, we are known to be very good investors. Yeah. Better than men. However, it's that lack of confidence that causes us to just reevaluate everything and research and like we call analysis paralysis because we continuously question.

[00:16:25] You know, we play devil's advocate, which is great, but at some point we need to make a commitment and move forward.

[00:16:31] Emma: Off the back of that, there's three areas I would say. One is when there is that paralysis analysis, what I tend to find some women do is they get a bit. Worn out and emotional and exhausted from, and overwhelmed from the experience.

[00:16:43] And then I feel like then there may be rushing into a decision that isn't the right property for them just because it has been like maybe there's a sense of urgency for whatever reason. Yes. So I do think that's where that buyer's agent really comes in to help ensure that the client is making sure that they're getting the right property for them.

[00:17:00] That's something I do explain to my customers when they're really unsure and, and I'm, please don't rush this decision if you get overwhelmed by it. The second one is, you know, not really understanding. I think the long term goals around how long you're going to be in this property and whether or not you're gonna upgrade in a few years versus 10 years, you know, paying, um, no stamp duty first time round for a first time buyer is great.

[00:17:21] But for other people who have to buy stamp duty, I think people really have to consider the cost of stamp duty and then upgrading again in a few years. So again, that's where, you know, having experts guide that conversation. And I think the third one is, again, it is an emotional. Experience, regardless of if you're an investor or an occupied.

[00:17:38] So people walk into it sometimes not expecting it to be the joy ride that it is. Yeah, and again, uh, we end up as brokers or lawyers or real estate agents, we end up sometimes stepping in and, and giving more guidance and counsel and that, you know, if somebody's really needing a lot of that nurturing, again, that's where I think having an expert, you know, helping people go through that because I think people underestimate.

[00:18:03] It is, you know, if you, if you are busy and you've got a lot of other things going on in your life, having an expert help with the negotiations and managing that can really help.

[00:18:11] Molly: Yeah. 'cause I've got friends and I try so hard. I'm like, guys, what is holding you back? You've got the money there, you are ready to go.

[00:18:18] Like. Almost shaking them like, what? What is the fear? And I just don't know what it is. We've gone through so many of the options. They know there's experts out there that can help them, and it's now been, in particular with one friend. It's now been like four years. She's just been delaying and delaying and delaying.

[00:18:37] And sometimes as well, I'm not sure if they're waiting to meet someone or. They're just like, oh, I maybe I don't know where I wanna end up. And that's where I think as well, thinking about rent investing. Like, you know, you can buy a property, you don't have to live in it. Just think of it as a business decision.

[00:18:52] I was very much peer, not peer pressured, but I was very much, you know, really pushed to buy mine. They're like, well, why are you waiting, Molly? And I was like, I don't know. Like, I actually don't know. It just feels very big and overwhelming and scary. Anyway, I kind of got pushed. Couldn't believe how easy the process was.

[00:19:09] Had a great buyer's agent, had a great mortgage broker. And that property I checked literally yesterday. It's gone up $120,000 in since February. Like I can't believe it. That's not obviously this February. The February the year before. And I would never have had that kind of. Extra money had I not been kind of pushed into it.

[00:19:30] So I'm really grateful to the people who did that. Yeah.

[00:19:33] Emma: Yeah. Natalie, I think that's the thing. What is the risk of not in any type of investing, what's the risk of doing nothing at all?

[00:19:40] Karen: Yeah, like inertia, that that feeling of a safe space where women in particular meet women and men, but women in particular will think I've got 50 or a hundred thousand dollars in my bank and I, that's security.

[00:19:52] But where in reality you're earning four, maybe 5% at best in your, your savings account, and it's getting eaten away by inflation. So the value is actually less and less. So I think there's this false deception of having cash is money, and don't get me wrong, completely believe in an emergency fund and everyone needs to have one.

[00:20:11] But I think that's probably the, yeah, that feeling of security doesn't lie in cash and people, I think we just need to redirect women with what is security.

[00:20:21] Molly: Yeah. And so if you are listening to this and you are like, oh, that sounds like they're talking about me. I've been waiting and waiting. I really urge you.

[00:20:27] Go speak with a broker. Go have a chat with em, actually find out how much can you borrow. 'cause I think it wasn't until I had that very first conversation where they were like, you can borrow this much. That I was like. Really, really like, do they know I run my own business? Do they know? And they're like, yeah, yeah, no, this is how much you can borrow.

[00:20:47] And I'm like, oh, well I can actually afford a place. You might surprise yourself. And I think as well, speaking to a broker or a buyer's agent, it just starts getting the ball rolling mentally as well. You go, okay. We're doing this, it's happening. I would love to know from you ladies, both who's been either a money mentor and what's something they taught you, or we can have two answers or like, what's the best piece of money advice you've ever received?

[00:21:14] Who would like to go first? I don't mind going first.

[00:21:17] Karen: Um, I would actually say that my money mentor probably lied when I was quite young with my mom. Well, she, one, she was in real estate, so I understood very quickly the parents' property. But also she always taught me, even when I was 14 and nine months and working at Chicken Tree, she said, put away 10% of your, always put away 10% of your pay into your savings account.

[00:21:39] Mm-hmm. And she always said, make sure you have an emergency fund. So yeah, I would say that those two things have stuck very close to me. And then funny enough, I met my husband, who is also our managing director of the Propel Group. And I suppose he perhaps taught me a little bit more about being a little less risk adverse.

[00:21:58] He's probably the other end of the scale and maybe puts his hand up at an auction when he shouldn't. But I think somewhere between my mom and him, I've found like my sweet spot. Nice. Awesome. What about Liam?

[00:22:11] Emma: Yeah, look, I'm, I'm just sitting here, Karen, thinking, geez, you are really disciplined to listen to your mom's advice back then.

[00:22:16] No, I certainly, um, yeah, probably didn't have that kind of advice or wouldn't listen either way for me. Certainly my, the biggest thing that I'm, I'm telling everyone in my circle over all the years is my clients. I've been working in banking for over 20 years and my clients, and. The people that I've worked with in the bank have been my biggest mentors.

[00:22:38] So, you know, living in an area where I came across a lot of affluent, wealthy people who have made money through property, it was their advice that got me in the game early. And it was listening to the long-term game and investing's all about long-term and only sell if you have to. And so it was for me, it was all the people around me in the financial.

[00:22:57] Sector, and obviously I just decided because I'd seen other people be successful, that gave me enough confidence to dive in and take risks.

[00:23:05] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. Your surroundings are so important as well, and the people you surround yourself with. That's why Ladies Finance Club, we're always surrounding ourselves with amazing women like you guys.

[00:23:15] Well, thank you so much, Karen and Emma for coming on. Get Rich. Just quickly. Karen, where can people find you?

[00:23:21] Karen: Online investor property on Instagram or investor property.com au. Awesome. We'll put those in the show notes. And

[00:23:29] Emma: em, what about you? You can find me. My mortgage business is at Flint Group, so that's www dot flint group au.

[00:23:36] Or you can also find me on Instagram just under my handle. Emma, James, Stevens, or Emma? She invest.

[00:23:43] Molly: Awesome. Thanks so much ladies. Thank you. Thanks, Molly.

KEYWORDS

investing, women, home ownership, property buying, financial advice, mortgage broker, buyer's agent, investment properties, financial literacy, money management