kporte

looking forward to moving to brissie soon. my only concern is a home. the salary mortgage ratio is tough. will earn about $55k, and have around $70k for a deposit. we plan to have kids and don't want to base our mortgage around two incomes. therein lies my problem. i'm thinking on those figures we will be looking at a place around $250k if we still want to eat ( this would be my preference ) only the two of us at present.
anybody got any suggestions? tall order i know

SenoraJo

Hi! No suggestions really, but we were in a similar position, planning a family, so will just share our experience. I remember when we were organising our mortgage, the banks (who we saw but didn't go with in the end) took into account the fact that we were planning to have kids later, and therefore would lose income. They were however, still prepared to lend a ridiculous amount, IMO.

My advice is to shop around, cannex website very helpful as can save alot. We wanted a life as well as a mortgage, so we borrowed alot less than offered but still over 30years. Our first child is due in 10 weeks so we are losing one full time income as I am returning only 2 days per week. Will you get maternity pay (I do) as this makes a big difference. We just worked out what repayments we could afford if I gave up full time, and didn't borrow more, which is what I would advise you do and what it already sounds like you're planning. Reckon you might be able to afford a bit more though, though you'll need to crunch the mumbers. Don't envy you there, as I hated every minute of organising a mortgage, but all the best of luck with it. Stick to your instincts though, if we'd borrowed as much as they were offering we'd be struggling with the baby and would be sat in an empty house, unable to afford the furniture or a night out!

Good luck,

Jo x

iPom

I just did a http://www.realestate.com.au search for min 1 bedroom, max 3 bedroom, Brisbane and surrounding suburbs at $250K and came up with a load of properties. (115 to be exact)

You're going to have to do those searches yourself, make a short list (which you can do with the realestate.com.au facilities every time you view a property online). Once you've built up a picture of the sort of thing you want to buy, then pop back on here with your list of suburbs or properties wherever and people can tell you what they're like.

Work out what you want - town house, semi rural, totally rural, house, flat, unit, etc.

kporte

thanks guys. just stressed as it gets neare to the move, as you may be able to tell as it is after 2 here. start work in 5 hours!

iPom

Well if you want expensive, then living in Brissie is not good, but pick a suburb outside Brisbane and it should be fine. It's difficult for people to know what to pick for you without a little guidance. Do you know where you're going to be working once here?

kporte

know what you mean. was told by a friend over there that i would be able to borrow $250000 + on that salary. that would take about 2/3rds of my income i figured!!!

SenoraJo

Remember the feeling well! Will all work out in the end - alcohol and the occasional emotional outburst helped a bit I remember, though my hubby might disagree with that one!

You should really get to bed though - night, night!

Jo x

Amazulu

At your income level you should get some tax breaks/allowances etc as we have a generous nanny state here. When you have kids, at that income you will in reality pay very little tax.

Hope this helps.

kporte

think i will be working in rocklea. every time i see a suburb that fits the bill, i see posts on that say i will need to be tooled up to go for a pint, or it is the dullest place on earth.... looked at ipswich, redcliffe, zillmere, newmarket, calamvale, and so on. want somewhere out of it a wee bit. quite happy with a commute( currently commute 45mins into edinburgh) as i enjoy it.in the main

kporte

interesting. i didn't know that. wife will work for a bit and we can save that and try to put a bit by.

geordie downunder

Pobably correct,but possibly misleading.

Costello says any family earning under 60k will pay no tax effectively.Still pay normal tax on wages but the money is given back through various benefits,baby bonus,child benefit etc.

The churning has come under discussion in various economic forums around the world.the govt takes it off you with one hand ,and then gives it back with the other.

The process costs a fortune,but I would not like the people at the tax office to lose their jobs.Some favour taking out the middle man (ATO),others say the cheating would increase if that happens.

Probably income splitting would be a good idea,or raising the tax free threshold to $12,000,the threshold for two people working.

Interesting if you are into economic theory,(me),boring as hell if you are not.