16 costs to budget for when buying a home in Brisbane

Your deposit is only part of the cash you need. Add the costs of buying and moving, then leave money for the bills that arrive after settlement. Some costs depend on the property; others depend on your loan and any duty concession.

Keep 3 amounts separate: your contribution to the purchase price, the costs of completing the purchase, and the money you want left afterwards.

• Before signing: legal advice, inspections and any buyer's agent fee.
• From signing to settlement: arrange insurance when the contract requires it, then allow for duty, registration, lender fees, adjustments and any LMI.
• After settlement: ongoing insurance premiums, rates, body corporate levies, moving and repairs.

Your solicitor's estimated settlement statement should show what's still to pay, what you've already paid and which duty concession they've allowed for. Put it beside the approved loan amount so you can see how much has to come from your savings. Our deposit calculator helps with that first budget.

A buyer's agent is optional. If you use one, get the fee agreement before they start work. Ask whether the price is fixed or a percentage, whether GST is included, when each payment is due and what happens if you do not buy.

Put the full agreed fee in your buying budget. A percentage fee changes with the purchase price, so update the figure before increasing your offer.

I'd budget for an independent building and pest inspection before committing to the purchase. The report can change what you're prepared to pay, or whether you want the property at all.

An inspector can spot defects and signs of pests that you might miss at an open home. Read the exclusions too. If they couldn't get into part of the property, you may need another inspection before you know what you're taking on.

Get a current quote for the property. Confirm whether it covers both building and pest inspections, what is excluded and whether follow-up inspections cost extra.

On 5 separate occasions, building and pest reports helped me avoid homes with problems that would have cost thousands to fix. A walkthrough wouldn't have told me what was behind the walls or in the roof space.

Ask the inspector which areas they could safely access, what they found and what remains uncertain. Check their licence and the scope of the inspection before booking.

If you need a starting point, one inspection business we have recommended is All Inspect. Confirm its current availability, qualifications and quote for your property.

All Inspect Building & Pest Inspectors

Phone: (07) 3297 0345

Email: info@allinspect.com.au

Website: allinspect.com.au

In one year alone, I spent over $2,000 on reports before finding the right place. The reports found problems I'd missed:

• One of the properties had concrete cancer.

• Another had issues with flooding and water leaking through the walls which was going to cost the new owner $9,000 to fix.

• Another had termites in a tree in the backyard, and evidence of old damage in the roof.

• And one even had a damp bathroom that was on the verge of collapse but looked fine to my eye.

I wouldn't have found any of this without a building and pest inspector.

You can consider the agent's suggestion, but the agent works for the seller. I'd choose an appropriately licensed, independent inspector and make sure the report is prepared for me and covers what I need.

If the problems are repairable, the report and quotes can support a request for a lower price or repairs. The seller doesn't have to agree. Our guide to renegotiating after an inspection explains how to approach it without losing track of your contract deadline.

Have a solicitor or conveyancer read the contract before you sign it. Even a standard Queensland contract can have special conditions or deadlines that change what you're agreeing to.

Ask for an itemised quote covering contract advice, searches, settlement and registration work. Confirm what costs extra, such as negotiating a variation or dealing with a delayed settlement.

For an apartment or townhouse, ask which body corporate records should be reviewed. If you are bidding at auction, get the advice before bidding. A cooling-off period is not a substitute for checking the contract first.

If the property is in a community titles scheme, ask your solicitor about a body corporate records search. This can reveal information about levies, budgets, insurance, major works, disputes and building defects that a walkthrough cannot show.

The meeting minutes and accounts can tell you whether the building is saving for major work or about to ask owners for more money. If there's a special levy, get your solicitor to work out who pays it under your contract. The date it was announced doesn't settle that question by itself.

Get a quote for the records search and legal review. It is a separate cost from the building and pest inspection.

When I bought, I focused on the interest rate and missed the fees around settlement.

I ended up needing another $1,200 for bank and settlement fees, which I didn't have available. I put it on my credit card. Getting the full fee breakdown earlier would have saved me that scramble.

Ask for the application, valuation, settlement and ongoing fees in writing. An offer with no application fee can still leave you with other bills.

Put the charges that remain into your settlement budget. If a fee comes out of the loan advance, you'll have less loan money available to pay for the property.

Compare the cost of an offset or package with the benefit you expect to use. Some fees can be waived, but that depends on the lender and offer. Budget for the quoted amount until the waiver is confirmed.

Title-registration fees are separate from stamp duty. Transfer duty and stamp duty are two names for the same tax; a registration charge is a different cost.

Even if your duty is $0, you may need to pay to register the property transfer and mortgage. Check the current Titles Queensland fee schedule and ask your solicitor for a settlement estimate. Use the fees for the date your documents will be lodged.

The amount depends on the transaction, property value and documents lodged. Put the registration fees in a separate line in your deposit and buying-cost budget.

Eligible first home buyers of established Queensland homes pay $0 duty up to $700,000. The first home concession reduces above $700,000 and ends at $800,000. An eligible ordinary home concession can still apply at higher values.

For contracts from 1 May 2025, qualifying new homes and vacant residential land to build a first home have no property-value cap on the full duty concession. For transactions from 1 August 2026, claimants must be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees, alongside the other conditions.

Previous residential ownership, each buyer's share and occupation rules matter. A buyer generally must move into a home within 12 months of settlement; vacant land generally requires building and moving in within 2 years. Selling, transferring or leasing during a restricted period can affect the concession.

Check QRO's established-home, new-home and vacant-land rules. Our Queensland duty guide explains the calculations, and the deposit calculator helps you allow for the other buying costs.

For a $700,000 Queensland home, duty is $0 for an eligible first home buyer, $17,350 for an eligible ordinary home-concession buyer, or $24,525 under general rates without a concession. Registration fees and any foreign buyer surcharge are extra. See QRO's concession rates.

Your settlement statement may include adjustments for council rates, water charges and other property outgoings. Your solicitor calculates the buyer's and seller's shares under the contract.

Ask for the current notices and the estimated adjustment. After settlement, allow for your own future bills as well; an adjustment at settlement does not cover the next year of ownership.

Get an insurance quote before signing, particularly if the address has flood or other location risks. Check the insured amount, exclusions and excess, rather than comparing the premium alone.

In Queensland, responsibility for the property commonly passes to the buyer at 5pm on the next business day after the contract date. Your solicitor should confirm the timing in your contract so cover starts when needed.

For a body corporate property, check what the building policy covers and what insurance you still need for contents, fixtures or other risks. Our FloodWise report guide can help with the property research, but a flood map does not confirm insurance cover.

Work out how you would meet repayments if your income stopped. Your savings, leave entitlements and existing cover through super may affect what protection you need.

Income protection is a separate personal-insurance decision, not an automatic settlement charge or a guarantee that every lost wage will be replaced. Compare benefit limits, waiting periods, exclusions and premiums with a licensed insurance adviser if needed. MoneySmart explains how income protection works.

The contract deposit is the amount you agree to pay the seller's deposit holder by the dates in the contract. Your total contribution is the money you put towards the purchase alongside the loan. These are related, but they are not always the same amount.

On an $800,000 purchase, a 5% contract deposit is $40,000. If you've agreed to pay $2,000 first and the rest later, you'll owe another $38,000 on the second date. Your contract sets those amounts and dates.

The $40,000 counts towards the price. Do not add it again as an extra cost. You may still need a larger total contribution, plus duty, legal costs and other expenses.

If money is coming from a gift, sale, grant or loan, confirm when it will be available. Ask your solicitor about the deposit terms and your broker about the lender's evidence requirements. See our first home buyer guide and 5% Deposit Scheme guide.

Do not assume a deposit is refundable because a report is disappointing or finance is difficult. Your solicitor must check the contract conditions, deadlines and required notices.

LMI protects the lender, not you. It can apply when the loan exceeds 80% of the lender's accepted property value, although eligible schemes, waivers and some products can avoid it.

The premium varies with the lender, loan amount and LVR. Ask for the actual quote and check whether it must be paid from savings or can be included in the approved loan. Financing it increases the debt and the interest you pay.

Compare the whole loan cost. A lower rate can be outweighed by a larger LMI premium or fees. Our LMI calculator gives an estimate; the LMI waiver guide explains alternatives worth checking.

A settlement delay can add bills before you get the keys:

• A longer gap between buying and selling can mean more bridging interest.
• Settlement delays can leave you paying for a hotel or rental.
• Repairs or weather events may mean paying for another building inspection.

Leave some room in the budget for a delay. If every dollar is already committed to settlement, even a short stay in temporary accommodation can be difficult to cover.

Get quotes for removalists, storage and any overlap between rent and the new mortgage. Check utility and internet connection charges rather than assuming a provider will waive them.

In the first week, you might have the keys but still need a fridge, washing machine and somewhere to sleep. Make a setup list before settlement and check what stays with the home under your contract. You don't need to buy everything at once.

Body corporate levies apply to properties in a community titles scheme. That can include some detached houses, so check the title and scheme records rather than relying on how the home looks.

Body corporate levies help pay for shared costs such as insurance, cleaning, gardening and building maintenance. The payment schedule and amount depend on the scheme. Our strata and body corporate guide explains the terms.

Use the current levy notice, budget and meeting minutes for the property you are buying. Facilities, maintenance and major works can change the amount substantially.

When I was buying my first home, paying for another report felt like money I could save. Then the body corporate records showed major water leaks and concrete cancer. The owners were going to have to contribute more money to cover the work.

Skipping that report could have left me facing $9,000 in special levies in the first year. I'd want to know about that bill before deciding how much to offer.

Special levies can arise in new or established schemes. Ask what work is planned, what has been approved and whether the funds already set aside are enough.

Ask your solicitor which records to obtain and whether the review is included in their quote. Don't assume the building inspection covers the body corporate's finances.

If the home needs work before you can move in, get written quotes and check approvals, access and timing. Separate urgent repairs from improvements you can do later.

Agree a contingency with the builder based on the work and the property's condition. A fixed percentage cannot cover every renovation. Check the funding before committing: our renovation loan guide compares options, while the construction loan guide explains staged funding for suitable building work.

After I bought my second property, a small unit, my rate went from 6% to 7.50% in 6 months. My monthly interest payments rose from $3,500 to $4,375. That extra $875 was more than I could comfortably manage, and it put my other property at risk too.

Before setting your buying limit, compare repayments at the proposed rate and at a higher rate.

On a $700,000 loan over 30 years, monthly repayments at 6% are about $4,197. At 7%, they're about $4,657. That's another $460 to find each month.

Use the mortgage calculator with your own balance and term. A fixed rate can give repayment certainty for a period, but check its limits on extra repayments, offsets and the possible cost of ending it early.

I'd also compare the everyday bills at the new home with what you pay now:

• Moving further from work can mean higher petrol or public transport costs.
• A larger or poorly insulated home can cost more to keep cool in summer.
• A bigger yard means more time, tools and maintenance costs.

Add up what those changes mean for your household each month. A home can fit the bank's borrowing limit and still leave you less spending money than you're comfortable with.

Your purchase price is agreed when you sign, but the bank's valuation and your interest rate can still change before settlement:

• A lower valuation may mean a smaller loan and more cash to find.
• A higher rate can increase your repayments before you even move in.
• Falling property values can leave you with less equity and fewer refinancing options.

If you're choosing a fixed loan, ask about the lender's rate-lock option, its fee and what it covers. A pre-approval still needs to be kept current; neither step guarantees the final loan or property valuation.

Start with the purchase price, subtract the loan money available for the purchase, then add the buying costs and the cash you want left. Count anything already paid once.

This hypothetical budget assumes a $720,000 loan is available towards the price, $10,000 for all buying and moving costs, and a $15,000 cash buffer. The $10,000 is an assumed allowance to show the calculation, not typical costs for an $800,000 purchase. Your duty, LMI and other bills could take the total well above that amount.

If you have already paid a $40,000 contract deposit from those savings, you have $65,000 left. Another $40,000 goes towards the price, $10,000 covers the assumed costs, and $15,000 stays in your account. The deposit is part of the $80,000 contribution, not another $40,000 expense.

Replace the allowance with your duty calculation and actual quotes, including LMI if it applies. Check whether the lender deducts fees from the loan advance, because that leaves less available for the price.