goat eyes

Hi all !!

Firstly , great news about the 0.25% drop in interest rates !! (Well for those with/getting mortgages!!)

In Queensland, since 1/Sept/08 First time buyers have no Stamp duty to pay up to 500k AUD.

Does this mean your first home in Australia?

ie; We have money from a sale in UK to buy a house here.
Do we qualify?
Does anyone have 'a friend' who did'nt declare it & got away with it?

Thanks in advance for replies!!

noggin

Yes....and Yes....as long as u have P.R.

goat eyes

thanks for the quick reply!!

sj oldfield

Its definately first time buying in Australia!

longreach

Thats not strictly true. In QLD, the actual wording is...

"For the first home concession, you must never have held an interest in other residential land in Queensland or elsewhere"

E3only

Elsewhere may be other states ??

calNgary

Hi dont forget the $7500 first home buyers qld, doesn't matter if you had a house in uk or if you need a home loan you still get it GARY

cheekivimto07

Having spoken to a solictor myself this week regarding the same thing, they said that if you did NOT declare ever having owned a house in the UK, they had no means of checking up anyway. So they soley go on the information provided from yourself.

cheekivimto07

oh and i forgot to mention, to get the exempt stamp duty, means if you must not have ever owned a property here in OZ or any other country including the UK.

goat eyes

So , just to clarify,
the Oz government rely on our info only & have no way of checking regarding Stamp Duty exemption & first home owners grant?

cheekivimto07

That is correct, i was told by a solicitor and a financial assessor too.. all you say is that you rented or lived with relies.

lapin_windstar

It's still making a false (fraudulent) statement - it's just a little trickier to check up on immigrants compared to Aussies.

cheekivimto07

I agree it is fraudulent and down to the individual as to whether they could live with themselves by lying... i personally couldn't lie but eveyone is different.

Swerv-o

Not strictly true. The First home owners benefits are administered at state level, so it is up to each state to set it's own rules and regulations.

Queensland is much stricter than NSW for instance, as they determine eligibility based upon having owned a home previously anywhere. In NSW the regulations clearly state that to be eligible a person must not have had an interest in a property in any state or territory of Australia.

I would clarify the situation first with the QLD treasury - It wouldn't take much investigation to uncover that you have owned property in the UK, and then you could find yourself liable for prosecution, and potential visa cancellation/declined citizenship later down the track...


S

manwinoname

On that note , does anyone know if Victoria has the same rule as NSW for first timers ?
Cheers
Steve