Originally Posted by ABCDiamond

Check on that Stamp Duty..

S.A. From 1 July 2005, all mortgages taken out for the purposes of securing a loan that has been or is to be applied for home acquisition or improvement will be exempt from stamp duty.

It doesn't mention the larger Duty on Property Transfer.
http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/stamps/sdmort.html
http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/stamps/sdreal.html

On a $280k property in SA, you would be looking at $10,380. However, you do get $7,000 First Home grant to go towards that.

Originally Posted by goldcoastblue

Vash, you may get a bump on the way I am afraid be prepared as I wasnt.

Originally Posted by samnrob2

oh go on then...I'll say it...

Cost of living lower in Australia? No - a famous myth.

R

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

But why? It seems that all I ever hear is "Wages are so much higher in the UK... cost of living is so much cheaper", etc. etc. If this is actually true, then people with no equity or deposit should be few and far between.

And yet... all of a sudden I'm hearing about people with no deposits.

Could it be that Great Britain is not the economic paradise of popular legend?



Sure, but...

(a) if they are renting in the UK, surely they're saving money as a result?

(b) even if their equity is fairly low, it's at least better than nothing.

(c) if they know they'll have nothing for a deposit when they arrive in Australia, they shouldn't be buying a house in the first place! It's more sensible to rent for a year, save a few pennies and build up a modest deposit for a modest house (easier to do in Australia, since tenants don't pay water rates or council tax.) Why drag yourself down with a huge mortgage millstone as soon as you enter the country? That doesn't make any sense!

(d) a lot of people make the common mistake of buying a car that's more expensive than they really need (thereby locking themselves into a credit debt at a rate far higher than you'd get on the average mortgage) when they would be better off buying a cheaper car for cash, and putting any extra money towards a mortgage deposit.

When I lived in Acocks Green, my daily drive to work took me past row upon row of shabby terraced and semi-detached houses with gorgeous cars out the front. You can bet your last penny that the majority of those cars were obtained via hire purchase or a personal loan. That's thousands of pounds poured down the drain - money which could (and should!) have been spent on improving the family home.

I bought my own car (a '94 Mazda Astina) for cash from a bloke in Handsworth. It cost me £550. He was selling it because he'd just got himself a nice swanky Merc - not brand new, but new enough to set him back £9,000. I spent half an hour in his house while we signed paperwork and chatted over tea, and in that time I saw more than a dozen places where £9,000 would have been better spent. (His bathroom had exposed plumbing and cracks in the walls, while the carpet in his living room was nailed to the floor over an older carpet which was peeking out from beneath the edges!) :scared:



People will always find the money for the things they want - provided that they want them enough - and you don't need to spend the equivalent of a mortgage deposit on emigrating to Australia.



True, not everyone can live in Adelaide - but they'd be mad to rule it out completely. Yes, people's idea of a decent suburb are certainly different, and I myself am astonished at the preference that some people seem to have for busy, crowded suburbs in overpriced areas.

Why not consider a more realistic property in a quiet area? Talk about value for money!

The point I am making here is that nobody is required to spend a fortune on their house in Australia; it just isn't necessary. And if people don't have a deposit, they shouldn't be lashing out on £350k mortgages. That just doesn't make any sense.



We don't have kids now, but we are planning to start as soon as we get over - and possibly earlier. So location, schools, size of the house etc. would be very important and are in fact on the top of my list.



Fair point!



If that's the case, then people who find it a struggle should find somewhere else to live and move to Brisbane when they can afford it properly.



I can't. There's absolutely no reason why he has to have a $350k mortgage. No reason at all. (In fact, he's made this very clear himself, in an earlier post. He had other options. Everyone does.)

Why do people want to live in Brisbane anyway? I honestly can't see the attraction.

Originally Posted by MrsDagboy

Buzzy, you could survive OK, you wouldnt be rolling in it, but you wouldnt be dirt poor either.

IMO in your earlier scenario - mortgage free, holidays every year, 2 school aged kids, a boat etc - you would be comfortable on $80K.

That's our experience anyway .

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

(a) if they are renting in the UK, surely they're saving money as a result?

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

People will always find the money for the things they want - provided that they want them enough - and you don't need to spend the equivalent of a mortgage deposit on emigrating to Australia.

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

Why do people want to live in Brisbane anyway? I honestly can't see the attraction.

Originally Posted by eddie007

Okay, as a nurse who supports family of 6 here in UK on 20k .... is it possible to live as cheaply as we do here? We do loads of 'free' stuff , that's easy with smallish kids.. we read a lot (I take it there are libraries) we walk, we play cricket/footie (not organised, just casual in the park).. we run a clapped out old bedford midi... we do everything ourselves around the house... We shop value brands for virtually everything (apart from shoes for the kids) and we camp for holidays... As for clothes, do they have charity shops in Oz? we eat takeaway maybe once a month...

Life is as expensive as you make it...

Originally Posted by meelie

I work at a private hospital as a nurse here and basic pay is around $46,000, but with penalties ( thats what they call unsocial hours, overtime etc here ) I get about $55,000. So sadly nurses in Oz get crap pay just like we did in the UK.

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

Could it be that Great Britain is not the economic paradise of popular legend?

:

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

That's what you want to believe Vash !

I was thinking yesterday about the cost of living in Australia.

Other than where the government has some significant involvement (e.g. duty on petrol, stakes in energy companies (subsidies of utility bills?), rates etc, how many things are actually cheaper in Australia than the UK?

Don't think there are many - I got stuck after takeaway pizzas...

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

(a) I find it hard to believe that the average British ex-pat would have absolutely nothing for a deposit. Surely this is a very rare scenario indeed.

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

(b) It's possible that your ideas about what constitutes a half decent area are somewhat different to mine.

I am planning to live in the Adelaide hills, which I consider to be an excellent area with very reasonable prices.

I am hoping to buy a 2 to 3 bedroom house at about $280,000 max in a suburb like Bridgewater, Aldgate or Stirling. That would get me something like this...

I consider this to be a nice house in a nice area. The exterior is nothing to write home about, but that's not important; what's important is the interior and the location, both of which come up trumps.

After selling our house in the UK and my investment property in Tassie, my wife and I would have about $120,000 for a deposit. Even allowing an absurdly generous $10,000 for fees (stamp duty is being abolished in South Australia, so no worries there) this would still leave us with a mortgage of around $170,000 if we bought that house.