Con Dowler

Hi all, I've been browsing house prices in the Brisbane area and they seem too cheap!
Are there hidden costs I'm not aware of? For example, If my mortgage payment is
$1000/month, what additional charges will I have? Local or State property taxes? Town
fees? That kind of stuff. Just a roundabout number.

Thanks. Con

Jaj

Hi Con Someone from Brisbane may be able to help more directly, but I would
point out:

- Prices on balance may well be cheaper than the UK, but won't seem quite as cheap
when you are servicing a mortgage out of an A$ salary, rather than simply
converting sterling.

- Stamp duties on purchase may be higher than what you would pay in the UK.

- Like anywhere, there are some parts of Brisbane you probably would rather not buy
a house in.

- There will probably be local taxes to pay, but no different in concept to the
council tax in the UK.

Jeremy

    >On 10 Jul 2002 07:12:53 -0700, [email protected] (Con Dowler) wrote: Hi all, I've been
    >browsing house prices in the Brisbane area and they seem too cheap! Are there hidden
    >costs I'm not aware of? For example, If my mortgage payment is $1000/month, what
    >additional charges will I have? Local or State property taxes? Town fees? That kind
    >of stuff. Just a roundabout number.
    >
    >Thanks. Con

Robert Edwards

Hi Con, Brisbane is one of the cheaper Capitals in Australia for sure and as Jeremy
has said like anywhere there are certain places you may not wish to live especially
when you can purchase very nice homes in very nice areas for relatively cheaper than
comparable (if there is such a thing) in the UK. As a guide only you can expect to
pay about $1400 Aust in Local Council Rates per annum and of course Stamp duty on
purchase relates to purchase price but you would probably want to allow 4-5,000 and
legal fees of 800.......these are ball park figures so don't quote me to the last
dollar but if you want to tie them down further I shall do a little research for you.

Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com

"Con Dowler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all, I've been browsing house prices in the Brisbane area and they seem too
    > cheap! Are there hidden costs I'm not aware of? For example, If my mortgage payment
    > is $1000/month, what additional charges will I have? Local or State property taxes?
    > Town fees? That kind of stuff. Just a roundabout number.
    >
    > Thanks. Con

Con Dowler

"Robert Edwards" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>... snip
    > As a guide only you can expect to pay about $1400 Aust in Local Council Rates per
    > annum and of course Stamp duty on purchase relates to purchase price but you would
    > probably want to allow 4-5,000 and legal fees of 800

I'm used to New York City area prices, so that's why this seems cheap!
Excuse my ignorance, but what's a stamp duty? Like a sales tax?

    > are ball park figures so don't quote me to the last dollar but if you want to tie
    > them down further I shall do a little research for you.

I think I'm just going to have to head down under and check it out for myself!

Con

Robert Edwards

Yes Con, I should have explained more fully, sales tax/stamp duty in this
instance same thing...but imposed by the State.........no separate Sales Tax as
such is payable.

Rob Edwards www.australianaustralia.com "Con Dowler" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
    > "Robert Edwards" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > snip

Hills

Con Dowler wrote:

    > Hi all, I've been browsing house prices in the Brisbane area and they seem too
    > cheap! Are there hidden costs I'm not aware of? For example, If my mortgage payment
    > is $1000/month, what additional charges will I have? Local or State property taxes?
    > Town fees? That kind of stuff. Just a roundabout number.
    >
    > Thanks. Con

'Rates' are paid to local council for garbage, water, sewerage etc. They are based on
land value, not mortgage, but a guestimate could be around $300-400 per quarter.
That's about it for ongoing costs. (apart from the obvious- insurance, electricity,
gas, maintenance) LJ

Johnny Boy

Con,

What suburbs are you looking at, which you think are cheap?

Whilst Brisbane is much less expensive than the Southern capitals, for an average
size character home near the city or an average family home in Brisbane's bayside
suburbs, you won't get much for less than $350,000.

Inland suburbs that are 15km or more out of the CBD are dirt cheap. There is so much
land available. Forest Lake is a suburb they keep hammering in TV ads here - you have
to wonder why. Homes in that area have dropped in value from average $160,000 3 years
ago to $140,000 today. Similarly property values do not increase along the Brisbane -
Gold Coast corridor, in particular the Logan area.

If you want to protect your equity when buying property in Brisbane - stick
close to the CBD, or the bayside suburbs. These areas will always appreciate
because of demand.

HTH, John

"Con Dowler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all, I've been browsing house prices in the Brisbane area and they seem too
    > cheap! Are there hidden costs I'm not aware of? For example, If my mortgage payment
    > is $1000/month, what additional charges will I have? Local or State property taxes?
    > Town fees? That kind of stuff. Just a roundabout number.
    >
    > Thanks. Con

Con Dowler

"Johnny Boy" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Con,
    >
    > What suburbs are you looking at, which you think are cheap?
    >
    > Whilst Brisbane is much less expensive than the Southern capitals, for an average
    > size character home near the city or an average family home in Brisbane's bayside
    > suburbs, you won't get much for less than $350,000.

I've just been browsing websites, not sure of the actual suburbs.

    > Inland suburbs that are 15km or more out of the CBD are dirt cheap. There is so
    > much land available. Forest Lake is a suburb they keep hammering in TV ads here -
    > you have to wonder why. Homes in that area have dropped in value from average
    > $160,000 3 years ago to $140,000 today. Similarly property values do not increase
    > along the Brisbane - Gold Coast corridor, in particular the Logan area.

The 150k-200k houses I kept running across seemed like great deals. I suppose they
were on the inland side. About a quarter or a fifth of the price around NYC that
you'd pay for a house with a tiny garden in an endless dreary suburb.

    > If you want to protect your equity when buying property in Brisbane - stick
    > close to the CBD, or the bayside suburbs. These areas will always appreciate
    > because of demand.

pott

Jonny Boy,

Thanks for that bit of info, have been wondering about how the house prices rise and in which area's around Brisbane. Which area's round Brisbane do you recommend looking at - not too expensive? I take it you are already there?

Cheers.

Johnny Boy

"pott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Jonny Boy,
    >
    > Thanks for that bit of info, have been wondering about how the house prices rise
    > and in which area's around Brisbane. Which area's round Brisbane do you recommend
    > looking at - not too expensive? I take it you are already there?

We have been in Brisbane for just over 18 months now and are seriously in love with
the area in which we live. (The migration honeymoon is still in full swing - can't
see it ending either). We live in Wellington Point, one of Brisbane's Bayside suburbs
(actually comes under Redland Shire).

It's by the sea, (even though the beaches aren't that great - flat water, tidal flats
etc), but still very scenic with islands in the bay to visit. Boating , fishing etc.
Semi-rural with lots of wildlife - koalas, wallabies, galahs, cockatoos, the works!
Great lifestyle area - especially for families.

Pretty seaside towns and villages with bars and cafes in the Redland Shire -
Cleveland, Wellington Point. Classy suburbs - Raby Bay and Ormiston. Main commercial
centre - Capalaba. Just a really nice area - be sure to check it out when you get
here. Still bargains (less than $250,000) to be had if you look about, but be warned
bayside real estate is booming pricewise. About half an hour's commute by car to
Brisbane CBD - also well serviced by train and bus.

At the other end of the scale, places like Forest Lake, Inala, Darra, Logan,
Woodridge, Eagleby and Beenleigh and environs - are cheap (and unfortunately
getting cheaper).

Safest bets in buying property - stay close to the city or close to the water
(i.e. sea).

HTH, John

emma

John,

Thanks loads for the info. Have been waiting ages for stuff like this - where have you been all my life?

Do you know anything about the north side or would the same apply - stick to the coast? Is there a difference between the north and south?

Do you know anything about the schools around where you are, or how we find out about them or are they all o.k near there?

Did you know which area you where you were heading for when you first arrived or was it a case of just ending up there?

Sorry about the questions.
Cheers.

Johnny Boy

Hi Emma,

"emma" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > Do you know anything about the north side or would the same apply - stick to the
    > coast? Is there a difference between the north and south

The same rules apply on the north side, best to stick close to the city or the
seaside IMHO.

As far as differences between the north and south sides go, generally the north tends
to be the older, longer established suburbs, with the south only really coming on in
the last 30 years or so. Because of this the roading infrastructure on the south side
seems better, more planned. It seems to take forever to drive anywhere between
suburbs in the north.

    > Do you know anything about the schools around where you are, or how we find out
    > about them or are they all o.k near there?

The Redlands has a lot of really good schools, both state and private. Redlands
College (in Wellington Point), Ormiston College and Sheldon College are three private
co-ed schools in the shire that are particularly well regarded.

Also as Catholicism is quite big here in Oz, there are lots of Catholic schools in
the shire as well.

    > Did you know which area you where you were heading for when you first arrived or
    > was it a case of just ending up there?

Originally as we sat shivering away in the midst of a Wellington winter back in NZ,
we thought looking at a map of Brisbane suburbs would be enough to show us where we
wanted to live. We discounted the bayside because to us it seemed just a little too
far out from the CBD. We looked at more inland suburbs on the south side because
(from looking at real estate guides) the house looked new-ish, substantial,
inexpensive and all seemed to come with palm-fringed in-ground swimming pools. These
suburbs looked well-served with commuter rail and were close to the South-East
Freeway making for easy driving access into the city. What we didn't know, until we
spoke to some other kiwi friends that had already migrated to Brisbane, was that
these suburbs were cheap for good reason. The inland south such as Sunnybank,
Parkinson, Rochedale, Calamvale, Logan, Woodridge, Beenleigh etc, are largely made up
of low income housing developments where the property values are actually dropping!
This is also the case in areas such as Forest Lake, Inala, and Darra in the
south-west.

Our NZ friends had moved to Cleveland, Ormiston and Raby Bay and recommended we move
out to that area. Thank God we did. Sure, it's a good half hour drive to the city but
it's worth it. So we moved from Wellington, New Zealand, to Wellington Point,
Queensland.

    > Sorry about the questions. Cheers.

Not at all - any other queries - just ask!

Good luck, John
    >
    >
    >
    > --

Johnny Boy

If anyone is interested in the Redlands area of Brisbane, you may want to check out
these websites:

www.redland.net.au

www.redland.net.au/redlandstourism

www.redland.yourguide.com.au

and something on Redlands College and Ormiston College:

www.redlands.qld.edu.au

www.ormiston.qld.edu.au

Cheers, John

emma

Thanks loads for these sites. The schools look lovely but I have to remember I am not there yet. All this looking is making me just want to go now.
Is there anything you do recommend looking at, any research that would be good to do before we get there, just to wind me up even more!
Did you take all your stuff over with you or buy when you arrived?
How is the weather today?

Cheers.

kango_jack

We can strongly recommend the Wellington Point area. We stayed three weeks in May with Paul’s sister who emigrated two years ago.
Definatly the place to go if you like big houses in quiet col-de-sacs where the children can ride their bikes with out worrying. The schools are far better than our area, and ours has some of the best in Dorset, and there are numerous after school activities which our niece and nephew are involved.
As well as this there is the local bay, Wellington Point, which is a real family area with a big playground for the children, free barbecues for all to use and a great café for Sunday morning breakfasts!
The ‘high street’ at Wellington point is a maze of restaurants from all over the world, with BYO so no ridiculous alcohol prices to pay.
The railway takes about 40 mins on new air-conditioned trains, (which run on time), and free parking at the railway station.
We could go on and tell you more but it is probably boring telling you how great it was. Needless to say this is the area we are planning to move to as soon as the PR comes through.
Paul, Annie & Jack