We are hoping to get our foot on the property ladder when we get to Oz but I am wondering whether I will be eligible for a mortgage on a temporary defacto spouse visa.

Does anyone help me with this?

Thanks

Yes, as long as you can find a lender willing to deal with you! May have to shop around, and you will probably need a large deposit - that was the stumbling block as far as we were concerned. Another of those catch 22 situations - now I have PR and could get a mortgage with a smaller deposit, we can't afford the rpayments as property has gone up so much!

Hi,

I am also here on a De-facto Spouse visa, we arrived in early September and applied for a mortgage yesterday so I should be able to let you know the outcome by the end of this week. Fingers crossed it all goes ok. The mortgage advisor didn't seem to think there should be a problem. I'll keep you updated.

Hi Wilso
I'm a PR and Matt's on the de facto spouse visa. We applied for a mortgage 6 months after getting here, and didn't really have any problems. They were more concerned that we had stable jobs (ie, wanted to to see 3 months worth of payslips, another bank wanted 6 months).
I assume you know about the First Home Buyers grant?
Jen

That is great news. We have been renting in London for about 4 years now and I really really want to get on the market in Australia.
I have heard about the First Home Buyers grant - is it relatively easy to get?
Also, what percentage of a deposit did you put down if you don't mind me asking? And did you get any advice - I have heard of a company called Choice - I think they are a mortgage broker.

Thanks for the replies I am very happy now!

I was recommended these guys by an advisor today.

Seems a good deal, only need to put down 5%, no applicaiton fee or ongoing monthly fee.

http://www.therock.com.au/HomeLoans.shtml

It may be useful to someone

We only put down 5% (we were first time buyers aswell)
The FHBG is relatively easy - the agent who sorts your loan out usually sorts the grant out for you aswell. In our experience, it went straight to our solicitors, they took their money, and gave us the rest. You won't be eligible for it on your own, but I assuming your spouse is a Aus citizen/permanent resident, which makes you elligible as a couple (also assuming spouse has never bought a house in Aus)
We went with a mortgage broker called Aussie Home Loans, after consulting a couple of banks. It was all so easy
Good luck!
Jen

Thanks for the info. Will have a look into Aussie home loans. Glad it seems relatively easy as I have absolutely no idea about mortgages and interest rates etc be nice to be able to hand it over to someone else to deal with!
OH is Aussie citizen so will be able to get the grant as well. Yay!

Hi there,

We went through a mortgage broker that was recommended by a friend. We met up with him in the evening (at our convenience) and he explained the whole procedure. We are putting down 15% deposit + the first home owners grant. Our mortgage guy is sorting out the home owners grant etc, we just have to fill in an application form and send copies of our birth certificates to him. I am totally confused by both the financial side of things and the whole buying process.

If you are in Syney I can recommend Speciality Mortgage Services. They have a good website too www.smservices.com.au

When are you getting here?

Good luck with the move

Is A$30,000 a reasonable deposit - we don't really have any capital behind us so will even raising that amount is going to be a struggle!

Thanks for the advice on the mortgage company SMS. We will be looking to buy around the Sydney area.

A quick update. It wasn't as easy as it seemed....we had to fork out a 20% deposit in the end. The mortgage insurers wouldn't accept that us with less than that because of the visa situation . In our case this was about $100.000 incl fees etc. I believe there is a way around this where you can either get a guarantor or take out a personal loan on the difference and the consolidate that and your home loan once the two years are up.
We asked a couple of different mortgage advisors and got the same reply.
All sorted now and we're just waiting to see if our offer on the house we want gets accepted. Good luck