Now that you’ve developed a short list of possible suburbs to buy in, you need to write a checklist of essential features you require in a property (e.g. three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living areas, grassy back yard, quiet street) and a ‘nice to have’ list (e.g. four bedrooms, large back yard, exclusive street, swimming pool).

Once you’ve written your checklists, you won’t need to waste your time looking at any properties that don’t fit your criteria. And that can be handy, especially when all the ‘open for inspections’ are often on at the same time!