debs1966

Hi

We'll be arriving in Perth in August.

We have planned on renting initially but wondered how easy it would be to get a Mortgage?

Obviously in the UK you would need at least 3 months payslips ordinarily to even be considered for a mortgage - can anyone help?

We will have some deposit to put down for our first home.

Many thanks

Debs

dave99

To be honest I wouldnt think about this at all, you might hate it here. Give it a year at least, maybe 2 before you think about buying.

You are going to go through a hell of a lot of ups and downs in that first year, if you comit you might find you feel differently and decide to leave but end up stuck with a house you dont want.

EvannTel

Alternatively buying in a seriously depressed market makes a lot of sense when other factors are against you I.e exchange rate. And who knows, maybe the financial tie of a home will get you through the tough times without just quitting.
Just another angle .......

mvagusta

It may be better to wait and see what the housing market and the exchange rate will do.

The exchange rate currently isn't good although the downside seems to be holding at $1.50 which is a resistance level.

It would be better to wait and see if you like the area where you will stay, as it's far easier to get out of a rental agreement than to sell a house.

Mortgages seem to be easy enough to get if you fulfill the required criteria, my daughter and son in law got one after 6 months of being in Perth. She had just started a temporary contract job IT and he was a casual joiner.

HelenTD

It takes time to get to know a city the size of Perth, then to make a decision on which suburb to live in, so I wouldn't rush into buying.

Kalenge

If you have a sizeable deposit then things can move pretty quickly. I know of an expat who didn't even have his first payslip yet, but his 40% deposit + letter of employment was sufficient for the bank.

We rented for about 8 months before buying. The one caveat with respect to the generally good advice of renting first to get an understanding of areas etc, is that it becomes more difficult to consider other areas once you're settled (kids at school, friends with neighbours etc).

haggis supper

It's likely to depend on your status - i.e. if you're on a 457 visa/not a permanent resident you'll need to apply to the Foreign Investment Review Board for approval. Doing so would mean to instantly lose LAFHA.

Whilst there is a degree of competition between the banks at present you would struggle (IMHO) to convince a bank to lend any sizeable sum of money without sufficient history, security, employment details and credit references.

However as others have already pointed out I would caution against buying after such a short period, unless of course you already know Perth and the area.

We know of two families in Melbourne who bought almost immediately upon arrival and lived to regret it. They didn't really know the area or the schools and felt somewhat trapped by their decision. They chose the suburbs based on friends/colleagues advice but quickly found out it wasn't right for them. Both have subsequently moved.

I thoroughly recommend renting for at least a year - allows you to check out the area and work out where you really want to live and of course if it did all go horribly wrong and you decide to leave Perth then its a lot easy to do so without having to sell.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Col

australianinleicester

You can talk to any of the Australian banks before you leave the UK, they all have offices in London, we were told by the Commonwealth Bank in London it is even possible to get a Mortgage prearranged before you leave the UK, I don't know how, but speak to them.
Another thing, credit approval in the UK depends on past performance, in Australia they look at future potential to pay, so its all a bit different over there.

isgraham

Have a look on ANZ's website and search for expat mortgages. They tend to be for Australians moving back to Australia though.

Fluid36

Exchange rate is terrible and housing market is just starting a long downward spiral, why buy?

isgraham

Maybe they have too much money or enjoy debt. Or maybe they believe that the median property in Perth will be worth 850k. Leave them to it I say.

Margaret3

I agree with the others, that it would be foolish to rush into buying, as you may live to regret it for many reasons.

Margaret3

awwee give them a break, we were all young and naieve when we first thought about emigrating to the 'lucky country',

isgraham

I'm still young.

Rudi

When we arrived 9 years ago, we landed, a week and a half later we found the house we wanted to buy, and 4 weeks later we moved in!!!

I am not sure that the banks are quite so keen to lend money these days, but if you have at least a 20% deposit then you should be ok.\

We NEVER regretted buying the house we did and spent 5 happy years there before moving up to Brissy.

Good luck!

Love

Rudi
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