rachaey

Hi all, just woundering has anyone ever bought a house in oz before leaving the uk. we leave in 10 wks and have a brother in oz who has been looking for houses for us, i like the idea of having a home ready to move in to so that we are not unsettling the kids more than we are already doing as we are at present planning to stop in a holiday rental, then a short term rental then to buy. Is this a completley mad idea? has anyone ever done this ?

Tiawamutu

I don't though, if your not a permanent resident can you take out a mortgage in Oz? Also you would have to sort something out with regards to renting it out, and upkeep of it whilst you weren't in Oz

All I can say is, I wish I had! Because the house prices were lower at the time we were looking at coming over. Roughly about half the price they are now But like you, we didn't know if it was possible or not.

I'm sure somebody will have done it.

Geelong Gent

Completely mad and highly risky.

Can see your intention but its better too arrive rent, analyse and make an informed decision despite your brothers best intentions.

louie

Yes, we did. It's let out as we're still in the UK. But we knew the area and we actually lived in a different unit in the same block many years ago. I doubt I would have taken the risk if that wasn't the case.

spartacus

Yes.

You're moving to the other side of the world. It can never be a seamless process.

OzWannabee

Yeah we did it and it worked well for us. You do have to have a visa though to be able to buy. We came on holiday for 2 weeks and bought a house the day before we left. Then we rented it out till we emigrated.

quoll

Absolutely spot on!

mand8002

I would wait till you arrived, as when it comes to suburbs what some people love other people hate. Same goes with houses so what your relative thinks is ok for you, you might disagree with. I reckon that with houses, you know as soon as you step through the door if it is the right house for you. If you are planning on getting a holiday rental why not buy whilst in that rental. It is only usually 30 days to settlement anyway.

flip

I thought I'd be able to identify the sort of property my sister might like (because they were similar to her own) and when I showed them to her I was shot down in flames.

There are many merits to buying before you arrive and if people aren't lucky enough to have someone they can personally trust with such a purchase the following may help.

I just received this email from the property buyer we used when we bought our own house. They help many people buying investment properties and homes who are currently living in the UK but intend to move here at some time in the future:

"Now is a great time to buy in Australia. I am going to London And conducting “one on One” property seminars. If you have any friends who are Ex-pats, migrating to Australia or would just like to purchase property in Australia, I will be over in London from the 18th October to the 22nd October.

Karin Mackay
Website: www.australianpropertybuyers.com.au"

Hope this is useful to someone.

Carolyn

wardy2

I know someone who did buy, without even being there before and seeing it on the net.

Now she has been she loves the house, but is still in the uK and having problems with the people who are renting it.

Its a risk I think personally, but sometimes it pays off.

medwaymark

Probably worth checking if you are still entitled to the stamp duty exemption and first time buyers grant too, cos that's a few quid!

rachaey

thanks all for youre replys it certainly is a vey risky thing to do have to give it some serious thought but feel we will probably wait now till we get there as we go in 9 weeks, after looking at several properties my brother has just put an offer in on a house, just liked the idea of the kids having a home to settle in
cheers all

zenamethyst

from someone who's bought in a suburb that we'd only driven around and never lived in - DON'T BUY UNTIL YOUV'E RENTED AND COMMUTED TO WORK IN THE AREA AND ARE HAPPY WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We rented in a lovely area, couldn't afford the sky high prices at the time (before the bloody prices dropped) made the decision to buy in a suburb 15 mins away from where we were, bought a big house on a large plot of land which was in our price range but needed a lot of work doing to it. Bought house, started doing it up, HATE AREA, Hubby hates the commute, House is a nightmare, Neighbours a nightmare - list could go on

NEVER trust a building inspector - use you own common sense and go around house you want to buy with a fine tooth comb and get reports from electricians, builders, plumbers etc as to state of place.

In the contract get it specified that you want the place cleaned inside and out before you hand over your money - they can move out and leave years of scum and grime everywhere perfectly legally over here and it's normal!

We should have carried on renting, found a bigger place tp rent and re-assessed what we wanted. House prices have gone doewn in the area we wanted so couldv'e afforded to buy now but can't as the place we bought has dropped in price even more! It costs over $10000 to sell a house plus lawyer fees etc etc so best part of $15-20000 to sell and buy another house so long-term we are stuck where we are until prices start to rise but we've lost at least $50000 in savings

RENT RENT RENT! For at least 6 months. I hated living in someone else's house and felt insecure as it wasn't my place but at least it gives you the breathing space to find where you really want to spend your money.

Hope this doesn't depress you too much! We love Australia just made a major mistake that we are living with day after day and a house that is needing at least $60,000 spent on it

Caz-an-Felix

When I first came here I got a holiday rental for the first 10 weeks, whilst waiting for my container to arrive from the UK with all my stuff, then In that time I looked for a rental for a year. Kept my house in the Uk for a year incase I didn't like it in Perth. I didn't want to end up going back to the UK with nowhere to live. i rented out my house in the UK and that paid for my rental here. Once a year is up I will sell my UK house and buy one here.

I think you should come here before looking for a house, You may buy one and then see it and hate it. x