Dont just read it - please reply
 

how do you get credit in Aussie? i.e. if you wanna get a mortgage or a loan, your previous credit history in uk does not count, any ideas anyone??? :)

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Would love to reply, but haven't got a clue. BUT I'll follow the thread as I would like to know the answer :)

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Erm.. I don't know

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You can get a low doc mortgage so long as you have a job and are putting down a 30% deposit. You should also get a bank account and maybe credit card sharpish to start building up your credit card.

Personally the only credit I'd get is a mortgage so a low doc one is the way we're heading at the mo.

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But beware the higher interest rates on some low doc loans.

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A job and your own home help - same as in UK. Then they have something to take off you when you default :)

Not implying you'd default of course, but they want something they can get their money back on if you do.

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A professional qualification and a considerable amount of equity from the sale of our UK house did it for us.

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It may br an idea to ask if anyone has a contact for a mortgage advisor or financial advisor in the area youare going to who you could contact directly and discuss your circumstances, then you'd know where you stand instead of getting other peoples experiences which vary greatly.

Lynn

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thanks to everyone that replied x x xx x x x

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When you arrive you have no credit, which is good . Once you have a job with a couple of pay slips you should be able to sort out aloan depending on your circumstances. Also low doc and no doc loans are available but slightly higher interest rate.

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Re: the mortgage - we've got a kind of hybrid lo-doc with Westpac - 18% deposit and the standard interest rate, not the higher 7.25% lo-docs usually have. We used a broker from Mortgage Yes - I'd highly recommend using a broker for these reasons. Open a bank account as soon as you arrive - they probably won't give you a credit card immediately, but credit history works differently over here. In the UK, you got a good credit history by using shit-loads of credit cards etc. Here your credit history is based on the careful management of any credit you have - we were told that having more than one credit card actually goes against you.

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thanks Hutch, that's good to know

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What if you have no deposit - but a fully paid up house in UK? Should I take a copy (certified of course!) of the Title Deeds?

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You can actually get a credit card the day you arrive, as we did. We got one through Police and Nurses (no you dont have to be a policeperson or nurse) www.pncs.com.au It is actually a credit card that you put funds on before you can spend them, so you are never actually in arrears. It worked out great for us, whenever we were going to buy something on the card we simply transferred the cash to the card in advance then used the card as you would use any other credit card............even bought a new car with it.

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I'm in a slightly easier position being an Aussie citizen, but have faced similar "challenges" in getting finance. The lo-doc route is a good one, and as Hutch says, some of the banks will offer you combination deals. Try asking your bank when you arrive. What I also found helpful (and note this doesn't apply in every situation / with every financial institution but it did for me) was taking along:
- latest copies of my UK credit card statement
- latest mortgage statement
- "letter of introduction" from my bank (Lloyds) which stated how long I had been a customer
- copy of latest bank account statement (not an internet version, but one with my UK address on it)

These don't carry any official weight, but can help in getting the banks to be a bit "friendlier" (ie take a slightly less uptight stance on getting credit)

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Wea re hopefully coming over with enough money to sort out two cars and buy a plot of land. However if we purchase the land before we get jobs and a mortgage then we wont have any money to put down a deposit on a amortgage. I guess that means we wont be able to buy land until we have a job(which is sensible) but we are just worried about being priced out of the areas we wont to leave in.

Whate sort of interest do these sort of mortgages charge. How long do you do it for, is it like UK 2-5 years fixed or variable, that sort of thing?
Thanks

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Like the UK, each lender has different rates and terms, fixed and variable periods etc. Have a look at Infochoice which lists most mainstream lo-doc lenders in a handy comparison table.

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Thats great. Thank you.
Have you bought yet? What sort of charges should we expect when buying in OZ. Obviously you have the land and house/or house but what about agents, solicitors, stamp duty etc. Does anyone have any experience of this? Thanks again

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if you are renting your house out (in UK) maybe you should look at financing it to release some equity as interest rates are lower in UK and maybe able to offset (UK) interest costs against rental income. Then you will have a deposit for Oz and not pay higher rates for 100% mortgage.

And now for the warning.......
Of course, you should obtain professional opinion from a suitably qualified person before you take any action, than to rely on someone you don't know posting on a forum :D

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Agents - no cost to you as the seller is paying them a whopping commission
Solicitors - generally charge a fixed fee plus searches. From memory (but don't quote me!) I paid about $500, but that included a number of searches. Search costs and the number of "included" searches varies from state to state and from district / council authority to another.
Stamp Duty - loads of calculators online for your to work this out. Charges vary from state to state. Try Infochoice again, or FreeMortgageInfo, which has downloadable calculators (handy if you don't always have internet access.)

You will also have to pay mortgage registration fees and transfer fees - these are dependent on purchase price, mortgage amount etc. Again, the calculators will work this out for you.

Have a look on realestate.com - they have loads of links to calculators and info on home buying which should see you right. Also loads of free suburb profiles and street reports. What we found helpful in our negotiation was getting a report from the Land registry office (Qld) which cost about $50, and listed all the house sales on our street for the last five years. That way, we not only knew the value of surrounding houses (in terms of purchase price) but also how much the seller had paid to buy the house a few years back!

Depending on your visa status, you may be eligible for the Federal Government First Home Owner Scheme (FHOS) or stamp duty concessions. For more information, you need to ask your solicitor or lender (most will arrange this for you) or contact your local State or Territorial Revenue Office.

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thans for your help

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Are you sure this is a credit card? Sounds more like a debit card. In terms of getting credit we first got a phone, rental home then bought a car with a big deosit and paid the rest of quickly. We got a letter from the finance company 14 days later saying we were a good payer. Credit card actually can be a problem. I got one but when we applied for the mortgage, they take the card limit off the maximum they will lend. So it is good to have for a credit reference, but a low limit would have been better.

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Take a credit card with you ie American express or virgin .Both will transfer the account and credit history to their australian branches and will give you a credit history accordingly.

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When you apply for a Virgin card here, it is not Virgin who are assessing you - but the Australian bank (Westpac) who operate the Virgin Card - and they don't know or care what credit history you had in the UK. They definitely do not transfer any account or credit history from the UK.

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We have a mortgage against the land we own outright. Means we could borrow up to 80% of the value of the block and get the lower interest rate as if it was a traditional mortgage.

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If You transfer your cards from the UK to Oz they do take into account your Credit history. I have had three work colleagues who have done this and they ALL had an instant credit score in OZ as a result. It does not work if you apply in for the cards inOZ you Must have the cards in the UK and ask them to Transfer your account to OZ.

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Virgin do not do this. I took out a card specifically for this purpose but, when I tried, it's a definite no-no. The Uk card may say 'Virgin' but it's administered by MBNA and not Virgin so does not transfer over.

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cheers for that x x