bobbyftm

Assistance in this matter would be very much appreciated
If one was to buy a house in South East Queensland for $500,000 what would be the extra costs associated with the purchase ? By this i mean stamp duty ,pest reports ,solicitors fees etc ? Basically anything that is associated with buying a house( not rates and extra furniture etc though )

DestinationSydney

Hi, we bought recently so still a bit fresh in the memory. Building Inspection was $500, Legal fees about £1000 there is no stamp duty for under $5000 and there was about $2k fees involved with the mortgage transfer etc. You have to take insurance out on the property before you move in too. Depending on how much deposit you have you may have to pay an insurance indemnity too so worth speaking to a mortgage broker first.

Geelong Gent

Take up insurance as soon as the offer is accepted - anything can happen and dont always assume the vendor is paying full building.

Pest and building check is well worth the money - if possible make your offer subject to.

Watch out for remaining bills ie rates/water charges/utilities (and/or connections for new services ie optus changed to telstra)

Oh hope your not getting into a strata if yes watch out for sinking funds and top ups.

bobbyftm

Thanks Michelle What about if it's a tad over $500,000 .Do you know what stamp duty will be ?

By strata do you mean body corp fee ?
Thanks G

ABCDiamond

To be eligible for the Stamp Duty exemption in Queensland, you must:

• never have held an interest in other residential land anywhere in the world

Each State has a threshold, under which a First Home Buyer will pay reduced stamp duty rates or none at all.

• QLD - $500,000 or less = No Duty : $550,000 or more = Full Duty

Some examples of Stamp Duty before and after First Home concession
$500,000 = $8,750 less $8,750 concesssion = $ NIL to pay
$505,000 = $8,925 less $7,875 concesssion = $1,050 to pay
$520,000 = $9,450 less $5,250 concession = $4,200 to pay


You should be prepared for a Rates adjustment fee, which could be around the $600-$700 mark, depending on when the current quarter rates are due.

Solicitors fees would be about the $1,000 mark +/-

Buildings insurance can vary ... I did a quote myself for my house and got:
$ 753 No Excess
$ 354 with $1,000 excess
Both quotes with the same company

bobbyftm

So E as we've owned a house in Uk before i take it we'd have to pay $ 8,750 on a $ 500,000 property . Would that be a correct assumption ?
Thanks for the info

sonlymewalter

Not sure what Michelle meant however if you buy a "semi" as they're known in UK or "duplex" as they're known over here - then you will have to factor the cost of strata management which is basically the cost to run the residence over and above the costs of running a house. A sinking fund refers to things like repairs and maintenance of the site, buildings, pool and any communal areas. In a nutshell you pay a fee on top of everything else for the upkeep of these things almost like an assessment of how much it costs to replace/repair over time. This can be astronomical, is hard to determine and can change over time so basically it's a "guestimate" of how much repairs & replacements will cost over time for communal areas

Hope this helps.

ABCDiamond

For QLD, that would be the correct interpretation.

You will find exact wording at: http://www.osr.qld.gov.au/duties/tra...or-homes.shtml

Note: It mentions "Home concession" and "First Home concession".
the Home concession is for residence rather than investment property, for which you do get the lower rates, ie: $8,750 on a $500k property.
An investment property, with neither concession, would attract $15,925 in stamp duty.

moneypenny20

Certainly when we bought, we were told to get insurance organised as soon as we agreed a price and our conveyancer wanted to see proof of this when she started the paperwork.

sonlymewalter

Someone I know was selling his house. He moved out of his old house and into his new one whilst the new buyers for his old house were sorting out finance.

He met his Real Estate agent at the old house one day to find someone had smashed the whole of the front door out. An estimated $2,000 of damage to the front door of the house he was selling

Even though the new buyers hadn't fully signed off [they were waiting for Finance to come through] - the new buyers were responsible not my mate who was selling

In summary the new buyers who had not yet moved in were responsible for the repair of a front door of a house they had not yet moved in to, and not yet completed on

The morale of the story. Don't assume since you've not moved in to a new house that you are not responsible for it. As soon as you sign to say you will buy a house you are responsible for the insurance on it - in Queensland that is.

Geelong Gent

Yes mate

By what I have heard its alot worse than similar in UK. Waring committees etc.

bobbyftm

Thanks peeps for the info so far

bobbyftm

Now then other than subject to finance,pest and building inspection ,local council approval for building work done on the house if required (sure read somewhere that if it's just a refurbishment it's not required and an exchange of say 40 days (without penalties if it has to be extended if need be ) are there any other necessities i need to include ?

Ta very mucho