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Question for Sydneysiders

Question for Sydneysiders

Old May 14th 2008, 9:58 am
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Hi,

Will we be better off?

I lived and worked in Sydney (for 6 months) back in 97 when i was still single and I really liked it. Now my sister has been offered a job in Sydney, so we are thinking about moving.......

I now married with 4 yrs old twins, living in Scotland in the countryside, about 1 hours drive from Edinburgh (where husband works). We have a good sized house with a reasonably large mortgage. But it looks like if we moved to sydney we would be moving to a same size house, might be paying more tax and as the mortgage rate is higher might be proportionately worse off?

To keep mort payments bearable we would be able to afford house of $650,000. For that I would want to be in a stylish detached house with good sized garden, in a good area with good schools, near the beach/parks, but also within 40 mins of sydney city centre. Is this possible?

I realize this is potentially an annoying question but I am genuine and dont have anyone else to ask.

Thanks
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Old May 14th 2008, 10:30 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, not possible..............
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Old May 14th 2008, 11:25 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by saraJ
Hi,

Will we be better off?

I lived and worked in Sydney (for 6 months) back in 97 when i was still single and I really liked it. Now my sister has been offered a job in Sydney, so we are thinking about moving.......

I now married with 4 yrs old twins, living in Scotland in the countryside, about 1 hours drive from Edinburgh (where husband works). We have a good sized house with a reasonably large mortgage. But it looks like if we moved to sydney we would be moving to a same size house, might be paying more tax and as the mortgage rate is higher might be proportionately worse off?

To keep mort payments bearable we would be able to afford house of $650,000. For that I would want to be in a stylish detached house with good sized garden, in a good area with good schools, near the beach/parks, but also within 40 mins of sydney city centre. Is this possible?

I realize this is potentially an annoying question but I am genuine and dont have anyone else to ask.

Thanks
Make it an hour from Sydney and forget about stylish.
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Old May 14th 2008, 11:35 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Definitely not possible.

Add a million to your figure and you'd be about right.
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Old May 14th 2008, 11:54 am
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I can't see how you would achieve that - you need to be looking at well over a $1 million
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Old May 14th 2008, 12:10 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

I agree with the others - not a hope, I'm afraid.

Have you tried looking at www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au? They are the 2 main house buying (and renting) portals.
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Old May 14th 2008, 12:49 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Hmmmm, I guess this is what I was afraid of.
I have looked at property online, but I lived in Manly and dont know much about many other areas. So internet property isnt much use if you dont know what the neighbourhood is like.

How do people manage - surely most people dont have 1.5 mil to spend on a house!!
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Old May 14th 2008, 12:54 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by saraJ

How do people manage - surely most people dont have 1.5 mil to spend on a house!!
rent/buy a unit/do a long commute. they adapt to the situaution. Your right very few people have anything approaching that amount
Originally Posted by saraJ
Hmmmm, I guess this is what I was afraid of.
I have looked at property online, but I lived in Manly and dont know much about many other areas. So internet property isnt much use if you dont know what the neighbourhood is like.
use the search function on here as it will have been asked. Or post a thread and see what peoples views are on a certain area. You will however find many threads about sydney suburbs
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Old May 14th 2008, 2:16 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by saraJ
How do people manage - surely most people dont have 1.5 mil to spend on a house!!
There aren't a lot of first home buyers living in beach suburbs - not in houses anyway. People start off in flats/apartments if they want to live near the beach or commute from miles away if they want a house.

Having said that, plenty of people do live in $1.5m+ houses. There'd have to be at least a couple of hundred thousand - if you count up all the houses in all the beach/harbour suburbs. Someone owns them.

$1.5m only gets you a pretty ordinary house around here - you need a lot more than that for something large and stylish .
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Old May 14th 2008, 10:33 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by NickyC
There aren't a lot of first home buyers living in beach suburbs - not in houses anyway. People start off in flats/apartments if they want to live near the beach or commute from miles away if they want a house.

Having said that, plenty of people do live in $1.5m+ houses. There'd have to be at least a couple of hundred thousand - if you count up all the houses in all the beach/harbour suburbs. Someone owns them.

$1.5m only gets you a pretty ordinary house around here - you need a lot more than that for something large and stylish .
I live in Cremorne and quite often there will be houses up for sale in Mosman (just next to Cremorne) for many millions. There was one a while back for $22million

If/when we buy, we want to stay in this area and have already decided that we'll probably buy a small 2-bed unit and go from there. At the moment we rent a 3-bed unit for $540/week which is quite cheap (dreading renewing the lease in Spring as think it'll go sky-high!).

There has been talk in the papers about the housing market crashing so maybe we'll pick up an ex-repossessed place (that's what we did in the UK )

With regards to "who can afford $1.5m" - you would be surprised. I have friends in this area where one of them is a neurosurgeon and the other is a lawyer... so both have high-powered and high-paid jobs. We (DH & I) are quite unusual for around here in that we've chosen for me to not work.
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Old May 14th 2008, 10:53 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by TillyG
We (DH & I) are quite unusual for around here in that we've chosen for me to not work.
I haven't had a serious (career-style) job for six years but now we've moved out of LaLa Land (Asia) I might well have to try to get something, if we're ever to have a chance of buying.

We've chosen for now to rent a tiny house in a location we want to be in. Feeling somewhat masochistic last night, I browsed the For Sale pages. Depressed now...
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Old May 14th 2008, 11:36 pm
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by Seasider
I haven't had a serious (career-style) job for six years but now we've moved out of LaLa Land (Asia) I might well have to try to get something, if we're ever to have a chance of buying.

We've chosen for now to rent a tiny house in a location we want to be in. Feeling somewhat masochistic last night, I browsed the For Sale pages. Depressed now...
LOL I do that every Thursday, when the Mosman Daily comes out. They have a huge Real Estate section and I will quite often spend the evening poring over it and getting more and more stressed... that's a tad sad isn't it? LOL.

I may get a job next year when DD starts school... or I may just go down the baby route again
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Old May 15th 2008, 12:30 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by saraJ
Hi,

Will we be better off?

I lived and worked in Sydney (for 6 months) back in 97 when i was still single and I really liked it. Now my sister has been offered a job in Sydney, so we are thinking about moving.......

I now married with 4 yrs old twins, living in Scotland in the countryside, about 1 hours drive from Edinburgh (where husband works). We have a good sized house with a reasonably large mortgage. But it looks like if we moved to sydney we would be moving to a same size house, might be paying more tax and as the mortgage rate is higher might be proportionately worse off?

To keep mort payments bearable we would be able to afford house of $650,000. For that I would want to be in a stylish detached house with good sized garden, in a good area with good schools, near the beach/parks, but also within 40 mins of sydney city centre. Is this possible?

I realize this is potentially an annoying question but I am genuine and dont have anyone else to ask.

Thanks
Hi Sara

Yes Sydney prices are high, and I'd agree with others that if you had more money, you'd find it easier. However, that's not the situation for you and so you need to consider other alternatives.
I'd suggest looking at the following suburbs for your budget, but keep in mind that most of these, though family friendly and close to good schools, parks and shopping, are not within an easy drive of the beach. Allow 30-50mins. I can only speak for the northside, which I know so well, but I'm sure others will contribute with areas on the south that might match.

Depending on when and how you travel into the CBD, times vary, as you'll get there faster if you live near a train line and catch an express train during peak times, than you would driving. Buses are also popular in Sydney and you'll find that, even in suburbs 40km away, dedicated bus lanes and toll roads have made the trip into the CBD much faster and smoother. For example, buses in peak times from Baulkham Hills take less than 40mins.

$650K isn't a lot but, take a look and see what you can find here:

Hills area- Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Northmead, Winston Hills (best value in this price bracket)

Hornsby area- Cherrybrook,Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Asquith, Mt Colah

Best of luck with it all- Sydney is a bit of a buyers market at the moment in some of these areas so it's looking good for home buyers and investors.
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Old May 15th 2008, 12:52 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

And as I always say ... there is life beyond the northern beaches...

Sutherland, Kirrawee, Gymea, Miranda, Cronulla

Nice areas and only 5 - 10 minutes from the beach, on a good railway line for CBD, 10 minutes to the Royal National Park
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Old May 15th 2008, 12:59 am
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Default Re: Question for Sydneysiders

Originally Posted by Jacque
Hi Sara

Yes Sydney prices are high, and I'd agree with others that if you had more money, you'd find it easier. However, that's not the situation for you and so you need to consider other alternatives.
I'd suggest looking at the following suburbs for your budget, but keep in mind that most of these, though family friendly and close to good schools, parks and shopping, are not within an easy drive of the beach. Allow 30-50mins. I can only speak for the northside, which I know so well, but I'm sure others will contribute with areas on the south that might match.

Depending on when and how you travel into the CBD, times vary, as you'll get there faster if you live near a train line and catch an express train during peak times, than you would driving. Buses are also popular in Sydney and you'll find that, even in suburbs 40km away, dedicated bus lanes and toll roads have made the trip into the CBD much faster and smoother. For example, buses in peak times from Baulkham Hills take less than 40mins.

$650K isn't a lot but, take a look and see what you can find here:

Hills area- Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Northmead, Winston Hills (best value in this price bracket)

Hornsby area- Cherrybrook,Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Asquith, Mt Colah

Best of luck with it all- Sydney is a bit of a buyers market at the moment in some of these areas so it's looking good for home buyers and investors.
Agree with all Jacque points and good adice on Area

If thinking of trying a little further but on train commute - what about Berowra

A little example a bit more than you are looking but others around in your price range
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Prop...did=2007127748

If you consider Terrey Hills and surrounds (Nearer the coast) you do not have to go to $1 Million to buy a largish home and you are nearer the beach.

Remember you will have at least $40K of fees on top of prices to buy in this price bracket with government fees etc.

PS - there are other options, I do not have a stylish home but big bold and beautiful to us, six bed/four bath pool/spa and 930sqm in the centre of St Ives and when last valued end of last year was around $900K. I know this is outside of what you are looking at but just used to demonstrate if you can drop the stylish you may get something in Sydney that ticks the other boxes.

I along with the others think it will be a big call on your requirements and you really need to think your budget on top of the mortgage. But plan carefully and it might not be all bad news.

Good luck
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