First time buying (Brisbane), any advice welcome!

[Scott Mardle]

Hey everyone, first time poster, long time lurker here;

I'm not sure is first home buying is really much real estate investment (but everyone has to
start somewhere) but i'm looking for some advice on the next path to take;

Everyone in the house I currently live in is moving out, giving me a little less than 3 months to decide if me and my partner I want to jump into the property market (including finding a property/buying and all that other stuff)... I don't feel like it is enough time to prepare, even tho I have been saving for this most of my adult life, 5 years.

So my options I see are;

1) Live at another rental for 6 more months, at higher rent, around $160 p/w each ($320 p/w total) - this would give me more time to research areas and find a better deal.

2) Rush into buying a property and hoping it works out. :)

The numbers look like this;
Purchase price - $300,000 - $350,000 - the maximum I want to spend
Savings - $50,000
Excess income - $400 p/w (effectively $500 p/w as current rent can be used)
Rent income - $150 p/w (my partner will effectively be paying rent to me)
Other possible rental income - $110 p/w (renting out a 2nd room)

Mortgage details;
Loan amount - $300,000
Loan period - 30 years
Interest rate - 5.48% p.a
Repayments - $391.95 p/w

So I believe I can afford it, just want to know if 3 months to buy is cutting it to short, or would renting for another 6 months after be better in the long run? Would there be many other expenses to take into consideration? I would also want to be buying another property in 2017 so would a standard 30 year mortgage be suitable?

Thanks for reading and any recommendations would be helpful!

[Jean Howard]

That's good if you have already figured out the long term cost. My motive is same that have less cost for your home. All the best !