Hi everyone,

Looking for some frank advice and a reality check on our buying criteria. We are currently a family of three (with a toddler) and plan to (hopefully) have a second child next year. We are looking to sell our current place and buy our next home. Relatively unfamiliar with Melbourne outside of the southeast. I'm really sorry for the long post; we have done endless research for the last 6 months and feels like we haven’t even scratched the surface, it’s extremely stressful. Any info, thoughts or experiences that you can share would be so greatly appreciated.

💰 Our Budget & Desired Property:

• Purchase Price: $960,000 absolute max (ideally lower). We also have enough for all transactional costs for buying and selling separate to this figure.
• Property: 3-4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.
• Type: Preference for standalone house. Would accept a decent-sized townhouse. Not interested in an apartment. No high-density complexes. 
• Location: Metro Melbourne or Greater Geelong (I have an office in Melb CBD + Geelong but my wife will have to commute 1-2 times per week to Melb CBD or get another job).
• Longevity: We are looking to stay in this property for the next 10-20 years due to the cost of buying property.

📍 Must-have’s:

• Primary School Zone (Most Important Factor): Public school zones with good to great academic results. 
• Commute: Not much more than 1 hour door-to-door to Melbourne CBD. The shorter, the better, we don’t want to miss out on our kids’ lives due to long transit times.
• Safety & Community: Lower crime. Family-friendly vibe where kids can play outside and it feels safe to be out and about.

❓ Questions:

1. Would you rule out any of the following suburbs and why? Based on our research, standalone houses in good school zones at this price point mean outer rings (e.g. Berwick, Geelong) which increases commute time. Middle-ring townhouses (e.g. Mitcham, Nunawading, Ringwood, Wantirna, Eltham) save the commute, but sacrifice space (think two teenagers on top of each other eventually) and capital growth. 
2. Do you know of any other suburbs that match our criteria?
3. Assuming a standalone house = longer commute, and townhouse = shorter commute, do you think it’s wiser to purchase one over the other? We're thinking less commute = more family/personal time, but standalone house = better capital growth. Better capital growth may enable us to move again for a good high school zone (as good primary schools and secondary schools are rarely within the same catchment). Although moving again would still attract stamp duty and buying/selling fees which may absorb the capital growth anyway.
4. Are buyer's agents worth it? 
5. Will a buyers agent provide a "suburb shortlist consultation", or do you have to pay the full $10k–$15k+ buying package? Is the full package worth it?
6. How realistic is a same-day settlement in VIC right now? (And how stressful is it?!) We can’t get a bridging loan, we need the money from our sale in order to buy the next property, we don't want to rent/move twice with a toddler if possible, and we have no family in Victoria to stay with. On top of that, we have a tight timeframe due to my wife's fertility window, age, and chronic illness (need to be in our next home before conceiving, due to significantly reduced borrowing power with a second child).
7. What are the biggest traps to look out for to ensure a same-day settlement doesn't fall through? 
8. Is it too risky to find a house we "love" in the tight framework of selling and buying simultaneously? We don't want to get stuck being forced to buy something we don't want to live in long-term. (Context: We are selling a house on a large block in Cranbourne, which seems to be a resilient selling market right now).
9. Are we missing any other key factors? Be as brutally honest as you need to be. We have been struggling with these decisions a lot and greatly appreciate your time.

Thanks so very much in advance for the help!