berserk

for a few hundred bucks saving I wouldnt risk DIY or not using a good solicitor.

DavidAKZ

no. Stamp duty about 5% of the property purchase. Since the GFC, Australian banks have moved from requiring a 5% deposit to 20% to protect themselves. Otherwise they will ask you to take out mortgage insurance.

john in oz

Hi There

I thought I would clarify things here for you.

If you are not a permanent resident then the banks normally lend up to 80% of the home value. One bank will lend up to 90% but you may be up for Loan Mortgage Insurance as an additional cost.

You will not also qualify for any of the government discounts and or grants.

You will need to have further funds for stamp duty and settlement costs. In you case check the queensland state revenue site for these costs and any grant entitlements at the time.

If you are a permanent resident then the banks will lend you normally up to 95 % of the value of the property. You can also finance in most cases the loan mortgage insurance that you will incur if you borrow more than 80% of the loan value.

In relation to QLD they are quite correct in that you do not get a discount on Stamp duty if you have owned a home anywhere else previously.

Obviously you should make full disclosure and i am shocked that anyone should suggest that you do not do so. Failure to do so leaves you open to all sorts comebacks on you for falsely obtaining benefits - not to mention the person who also advised you to do so!!

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John
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old.sparkles

Hi john in oz,

Whilst we welcome expert advice, please take on board the advice to read site rules and in particular, rule 9 - http://britishexpats.com/site-rules/

Beoz

First home buyers is a bit of a joke anyway. Try getting a new build within 15km of central Sydney for the $650,000 threshold.

Well this economy is heading down a deadly slide anyway. Chinese property market is starting to crash, Chinese banks battering down the hatches. Property will be so much more fun without them in the market. Should be an interesting couple of years for the Aussie economy. Time to think about jetting the rip cord. It was great while it lasted.

Swerv-o

Yeah, I'm starting to think this way too - mounting unemployment, and an insane recruitment regime are also not helping.


S

bcworld

But allegedly there's a new wave of Chinese buyers heading from Canada!

http://www.smh.com.au/business/china...224-33ca8.html

Beoz

Canada's bubble becomes Australia's - Nice. Just what the "mums and dad's" need.

Remember the mining tax, where Gillard decided that it would be great to grab a piece of the mining boom money. Indirectly she was going to hurt mining which in turn would hurt Australia. As it turned out, the Chinese didn't need as much of that stuff out of the ground as it previously had so it turned out to be a moot point anyway.

What these idiots should be doing is grabbing a piece of the foreign property investment money - or more than they already do. Hey if you are not resident, not paying tax to the Australian govt, your stamp duty is triple of those who do.

15% growth in a single year is not a good thing unless of course you are in it for a quick buck and for most, property is never a quick buck. What does hurt the most, is a property crash. Measures and means should be taken quickly to avoid that.