Choosing a mortgage broker in Adelaide

What is different about buying in South Australia

Conveyance duty in South Australia is administered by RevenueSA. It is commonly called stamp duty. The duty calculation uses South Australian brackets and, for an ordinary purchase, a dutiable value that may be the consideration or a higher market value where the rules require it. Transfer registration and mortgage registration are separate government charges lodged with Land Services SA. Mixing them into one “gov fees” estimate hides the largest line, which is usually duty.

The Broker Room SA stamp duty calculator and SA property buying costs page apply the verified RevenueSA and registration snapshot used on this site. Take those figures to a broker conversation so the loan discussion is not doing duty arithmetic on the back of an envelope.

Established homes versus land and construction

Adelaide buyers may be comparing an established home with vacant land and a separate building contract. Those transactions do not finance in the same way.

An established purchase is usually one property, one contract, one settlement and a completed security. Land and build typically involves a land purchase, a separate building contract where applicable, construction drawdowns, progress payments, and extra timing and cash flow considerations. If a broker’s first questions skip that distinction, the file is not yet specific enough for South Australia.

First-home buyers in South Australia

RevenueSA administers first-home stamp duty relief and the First Home Owner Grant as separate programs. A grant does not automatically reduce duty. Occupancy, property type and value tests are in the current RevenueSA instruments, not in a lender’s product sheet. Use SA first-home buyer costs to see supported duty relief and the grant on different lines before a broker models a loan around a combined “government help” number that does not exist.

Information to prepare before you speak

For an Adelaide purchase: the suburb or price range, established versus land-and-build, whether a contract is signed, savings available for deposit and RevenueSA/Land Services charges, employment type, and existing debts. If construction is involved, bring the land contract and the building contract, or say clearly that they are not yet signed. The property plan is built to put SA government charges next to funds you already know, without sending those answers to anyone.

Questions to ask a mortgage broker in Adelaide

• Have you placed loans recently on South Australian titles, including land-and-build?
• How do you treat RevenueSA duty and Land Services SA registration in the cash needed to complete?
• If this is a first home, are you separating the First Home Owner Grant from stamp duty relief?
• Which lenders on your panel are currently cautious about the property type I am buying?
• What would a South Australian construction progress payment shortfall mean for me, not for the builder?
• Is any pre-approval conditioned on a valuation of this Adelaide property, and when does it expire?
• What Australian credit licence covers this assistance, and how are you paid?

Those questions are about process and South Australian costs. They are not a scorecard. The mortgage broker explainer covers the national role. This page only adds what is different when the land is in South Australia. This site currently focuses on South Australian property costs.