maggy

we are emigrating to oz april 2004 and wanted to know how much money we should take with us. We are hoping to bring £8,000 will this be enough and how difficult is it to obtain a mortgage do we have to put a downpayment on a property. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Mags

argonaut

Hi! Sounds like not very much capital actually, but to get a useful response, you need to say:

1/ Where in Oz you're going to?
2/ Have you got a job lined up or will you have to find one?
3/ Will the £8k have to cover temporary accomodation, living expenses and deposit for a house?
4/ What sort of a house would you want to buy?

Have you done any research yet? If you're for real, seems like quite a naive question (no offence).

To get a mortgage you normally need to have been working out there for three months. Maybe 10% deposit minimum.

maggy

definatley emigrating April dont have much capital as we wont make too much on our house sale in the UK and it has cost us approx £5,000 for agency and emigration fees. My partner is a painter and has been assured that he will pick up employment very quickly in perth. We aim to rent for at least 1 year before buying a property and all going well I will also find full time employment. We also intend to have our credit cards for emergency back up. How much capital would you reccomend we have.

bondipom

What is your profession and where do you want to live? Are you willing to do anything to get by or will you wait to get your perfect job? More info please.

Will you be a permanent resident or a temporary resident?

Remember there is stamp duty on buying a house which will probably eat all your savings and blast any hope of a deposit.

GengaKev

A prevoius post reckoned that a years salary would be more than sufficent. However if your Husband has a job offer then obvoiusly that won't apply. Your £8k will get swallowed up quickly on buying a car ( everyone has at least one car) to get to work, rent bond etc.
Probably not the answer you're looking for, but best to be forewarned. Perhaps your parents could help initailly, and you could pay them back later. Using credit cards may be a nightmare waiting to happen.
We're going to Perth next summer too and have been surprised at just how expensive housing in good areas has become since we where last over in 1999.

Good Luck

Don

If you have GBP8K as equity (after flights etc) I reckon it's just enough to get started provided you get a job quickly. Most of it will go in rent and buying the first car, plus you'll need a thou or so to set up in your rented accom (most is unfurnished and you will probably need to buy a fridge, washing m/c plus of course bed - can be done on the cheap (see my NZ thread!)

janeyray

Buying a house in Perth normally requires a minimum of 20% deposit. You may be entitled to the first home buyers grant of $7000 but this only covers the fees and some of the stamp duty.

An Aussie friend of mine has bought her first house recently (well, built actually) through 'Homestart'. She didn't need a deposit with Homestart and they also give mortgages to people who have been declared Bancrupt (hey, good for all those coming over with massive student loans!! ) providing you have no current dept. I think they charge a higher than normal rate of interest (not sure what it is) but it helps people with no deposit get into the housing market.

MrsDagboy

Nothing to do with maggy's question, but janeyray, thats why I commented in the student loan thread about good luck if they want to get a mortgage if they declare bankrupcy or someother way to avoid paying debts. If they think that having to pay a measly $15K at 3% interest is so bloody bad, just wait til they have to deal with one of the "finance companies" that you described . And if you default on one of their loans, they will track you to the ends of the earth & it's likely that you will have someone on your doorstep at 2am, dragging everything you own into the street & loading it in a lorry.

And my heart bleeds for them - NOT!

janeyray

I know what you mean! If it were that easy to leave dept behind then there would be more people doing it wouldn't there??

Now I'am just off to get a new Tv - DVD - Fridge etc on 'buy now pay never' because I'am back off to the UK!!!!! lol lol lol

markaren

Hi I live in Mandurah about 40 minutes from perth and run a painting business, should not have to much troble finding painting work, but it would mainly be subcontract work, is your partner self employed, if he is going to work selfemployed in wa he will have to be registered with the painters registration board, means sitting an all day exam which you have to pay for as well which I thought was a bit of a pain. If your going to be an empoyee then you dont need it but not many full time painting jobs going, and those that are dont pay a lot.

Sarah266

I've been out here since July. As far as i know re: mortgages, you can get one but you have to put down 20%. If you want an 95%-100% mortgage then you have to have been in work at least 6 months.
A friend of mine just bought a house in Perth for $210,000. Which I understand is pretty average, at that you'd be loking at a deposit of $40,000 = £16,000 ish. If your capital is only £8000 then you will need to do a lot of saving when you arrive and might have to rent for 2-3 years. That isn't so bad, a lot of Aussies do it, it's cheaper as you don't pay the rates, the landlord does - but it's probably hidden in the rent!
Don't be put off, a lot of people go with little capital, the ones that say it's not enough are the ones who expect to come out here and live the life of riley i.e big house, big car, at the beach all day. You'll find when you get here, that although it's a lot better than people on this website make out, you still have to work the hours and pay your way. You will do that anywhere in the world. The only difference is it looks more attractive when you convert the pounds to dollars, compared to english prices. But when you get here you will have to stop converting to english and thinking everything is a bargain and start living with the real currency you have. That means being prudent, just like you are in the u.k
Where abouts are you thinking of going?
Sarah

scottalison6

HI..If its any help my brother went to adelaide 7 years ago..Took 9k....Got a job (driving)..bought house and sold it made a bit..did that again..now he has a 250 k place with acreage...Done ok on 9k!!

ABCDiamond

Hi Sarah

Renting here is much cheaper these days, most landlords don't even get enough rent to pay the mortgage, let alone the rates etc They rely on Capital Gains for the future profits. Especially on the higher priced properties.
eg: a property costing $280,000 will rent for $240pw.
Interest on that cost at 7% is $377pw.
However a cheaper property, out west, (i'm talking Brisbane area here) may cost $80,000, but rent for $120pw.
But a $750,000 property may only get $500pw.