Cheetah7

Mr PP and I are going to see a mortgage broker on Tuesday.

Now I wont go into our budget but it wont be very big but that is our problem.

We would like to get on the property ladder sooner rather than later but here is the problem.

I love Fremantle and would happily settle even just outside -Hamilton Hill, White Gum Valley, just areas outside so I am not too far away.

However the properties in our price range are 'apartments' and some of them are very nice, some of them remind me of those horrible flats in London that looked like something off the 'Jasmine Allen Estate' on 'The Bill'.

I have looked into moving about 5kms outside the CBD and some of them are very nice but my heart is in Freo.

With these apartments come strata fees, do any of you guys know much about them? Do we sacrafice a garden so that we can stay in/near Freo? I am not talking about hopping on the train at weekends to get there, I would like to live close to it.

Oh how I wish I was rich so I could buy our townhouse

I personally do not think we are in too much of a position to be really choosy and it is best to get some equity now rather than waiting a year. I know I am fussy, but I have never ever enjoyed living somewhere as I do Freo, it feels like home.

It is so confusing and I am now dreaming of realestate.com

Someone help

lisaroo

is there anything you can buy which needs a bit of a tidy up? thats what we did over on the goldcoast, we never thought we could afford to buy where we did, but with a good e/a and a bit negociation and we got it, we had a fair bit of work to do but you could do it at your own pace. plus it would be a good investment. i would defo go for location to be honest because the way the market is worldwide i think you could be there a while!! so better to be somewhere you love in a unit than have a big house and a garden you loath. lisaxx

Cheetah7

Im looking at Como now, but feel nothing for it

Looks like it will be an apartment with Strata fees in Freo for us. Mind you loads of people I work with pay strata fees.

lisaroo

ask them what they think about those, im not sure myself but it sounds like it maybe the norm, just find out first from the horses mouth so to speak. saying that im sure tere'll be a few more replys for you within the next few hours, if you are a nightowl

goatherder

strata fees are basically a service fee charged by the body corporate of the flats to maintain the common areas.

In the UK flats tend to be leasehold or share of freehold. Strata means strata title - basically the same as share of freehold. That means when you buy the apartment you also get a share of the land its sitting on plus the common bits of the apartment building (lifts, gardens, roof, exterior walls, car park, hallways, electricity connection etc...)

As an owner you'll be part of the body corporate (basically a company setup that owns the common bits and the land) That body corporate will require funds to maintain all of the common areas and thats what the strata fee is.

Thats how it worked in Qld anyway - you might want to check the relevent legislation in WA - it may well be different.

Beppe

I'll just add that your money will go a whole lot further if you can wait a year.

asprilla

Firstly, don't go and see the broker - they should be coming to see you !! That's the way it works here.

Don't commit yourself when the mortgage broker arrives.

After he/she leaves, compare his deals with the ones available on yourmortgage.com.au.

Mortgage brokers are paid an upfront commission, and then ongoing monthly commission, from the loan provider. So no matter what they tell you, they will always be biased to a certain extent. They certainly won't recommend any lenders that aren't on their lending panel.

More often than not, the brokers won't be able to match the best deals on yourmortgage.com (because the companies providing these best deals don't offer commissions to brokers and can therefore offer better deals!)

Moral of the story is - make sure you know what the best deals are, that you can get yourself. Then when you see the broker, ask him to beat those deals. If he can't....then ask yourself why you are bothering to use a broker.

Wandathecat

You can get $7000 from the government as a first time buyer grant if your on PR.

I would be inclinded to wait too, we are going to rent for 12 months to see what happens to the market.

Cx

MartinH

Thinking about afordability you should:

a) Think about the direction of prices - are they still coming down?

b) Mortgage rates are likely to fall over the next year so you may find you can stretch a little further.

http://www.ratecity.com.au/home-loans/

Has information on the best deals

Petals

When buying strata property especially in a block you need to be careful and find out if there are any works likely to be carried out that you will have to contribute to. A vendor may know of works but unless the works have been passed by the body corporate and letters issued they do not have to tell you about them. A lot of older blocks of units are not sound proofed so if you like your privacy and peace and quiet you could consider this.

I would try the major banks and other lenders before using a mortgage broker most people who have difficulty getting a loan use mortgage brokers but if you are eligible for a loan the banks will deal with you anyway.

I think if you have your heart set on a town house wait and perhaps keep looking for one that needs a bit of work as someone else mentioned, even a house with work, as long as its structurally sound and you can get an inspection carried out you could make it yours for a lick of paint until you are more financial.

Cheetah7

Thank you guys, this has been most helpful.

I guess I am scared of prices shooting up within 6 months and us being priced out.

The thought of moving at the moment makes me feel ill.

It sounds so silly but I am so attached to Freo, Ive never loved living in a place like I have there.

asprilla

Is Freo what the locals call freemantle? or is it somewhere else? sorry, just trying to improve my Oz geography!

Cheetah7

Yep thats right, its just shortened to Freo

asprilla

cool ...thanks !

GinaUK

I would strongly recommend that you re-think this, PP. Buy a property that isn't strata title.

Strata fees will cover building insurance, cleaning and very basic maintenance, electricity, water consumption of the "common" areas. They will go up every two or three years. And if anything "major" needs to be done you will have to pay for your share on top of your ongoing strata fees.

You and the other owners may not agree when/if something needs to be done ... This means you could end up paying for something you don't want to pay for. Or, conversely, the building could end up looking tatty (making it harder to sell your unit).

And a stata title property isn't as easily sold as a freehold one, because a lot of people won't want to buy a strata title property.

Then think of the noise of people in the apartments above and below you. Also make sure that the strata rules of your builidng permit you keeping a cat (not all permit this).

Mortgage plus strata fees will pretty much equal the mortgage on a freehold house.

For a mortgage have a look at MyRate as well (part of ING): www.myrate.com.au/

When talking to your broker, find out if he is tied to particular companies or independent. And ask him to explain what kind of commission he gets from recommedning a particular mortgage.

Before you sign on the dotted line for a mortgage, find out if you can make additional repayments (without incurring admin charges), what penalties there are for re-paying the mortgage early or for changing it if in a few years there are better deals with another mortgage provider. Also find out if there are monthly account charges.

Get some quotes for insurance (in case either of you loses their job through illness or redundancy).

Gina