Buyer guides
How to check a house before you buy it.
Plain-English answers to the questions buyers ask, built from official sources and checked regularly. For Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Risks
Flood, bushfire and the claims on the land.
- VIC How to check if a house is in a flood area in Victoria Use VicPlan's free Planning Property Report to see the flood overlays on any Victorian address, and what LSIO, FO and SBO actually mean for a buyer.
- NSW How to check if a house is flood-prone in NSW Where to find flood information for a New South Wales property: the Planning Portal, the section 10.7 planning certificate, council flood certificates, and what the agent must tell you.
- QLD How to check if a house is flood-prone in Queensland Queensland's seller disclosure doesn't cover flooding, so buyers have to check. Here's how: council flood maps, FloodCheck, Brisbane's FloodWise reports and insurance.
- VIC · NSW · QLD Bushfire prone areas and BAL ratings, explained for buyers How to check whether a house is in a bushfire prone area in Victoria, NSW or Queensland, what a BAL rating is, and why it changes what you can build.
- VIC · NSW · QLD What is an easement, and how do you find one before you buy? An easement lets someone else use part of the land you're buying. Here's what the common types are, why they matter, and where to find them in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
