I didn’t think there would be so much involved in buying a house. I thought I could just rock up, express my interest, and start moving boxes in the next day. Turns out it’s not like that. Not at all.

I guess my parents should have taught me about the house buying process, but I think more than anything I blame the school system. I wish there had been a class that taught me how to do things in the real world, outside of school. How do I do my taxes? What is actually against the law? How do politics in Australia work? And most importantly, how do you buy a house? If I was armed with that knowledge when graduating from high school, I feel like I would have been much more prepared for life.

Why is it so hard to learn about the conveyancing and settlement process? Surely it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if we’d had a one-hour class about conveyancing, buyer’s agents and real estate. How many people out there don’t know how to buy a house because the school system has failed them? I think it’s pretty sad. 

It was only when my wife pointed out that we should find a lawyer who does conveyancing close to Richmond that I even realised that was a thing. I’d never even heard of a conveyancer before. She knew what they were because she had briefly considered studying to become a conveyancing lawyer, before settling on a business degree. I’d say that just came down to luck, so the school system failed her too.

Anyway, I shouldn’t be complaining. I’m moving into my new home tomorrow and should be excited about that. This is the start of my life as a homeowner. I’ll just have to make sure that my own children are better educated than I was in the way of buying property.

– Thomas