dave77

I have weighed up the pros and cons of renting vs. buying once we finally arrive in NZ.

However I spoke to an old boss of mine who emigrated to Oz about 5 years back, and he said it was not possible for him to get a mortgage via a bank for approx 6 months once he arrived in Oz. The reason was due to he couldn't get a bank account til he got a medicare card (i think!) and then he had to have his account for so long until they would give him a mortgage.

Is this the same in NZ? If so, does this mean the only option is to rent short term anyway?

What is the general consensus, any advice from anyone who have rented or bought straight away would be great!

Cheers

Ash1

Personally, I would definately rent until you are totally sure about where you want to live. There are too many horror stories (even on this site) about people being unhappy in and about New Zealand because of their circumstances.

lardyl

You can open a NZ bank account before you come. Just look at their websites for forms, etc.

Renting is becoming slightly more expensive vs. a mortgage as the cash rate for bank lending is now at 2.5% down from about 8% when we arrived 2 years ago. But landlords are subsidised by the state and so rentals are not too harsh.

We found it was best to take a holiday let to begin with so you can find your feet and work out where to live.

Wooly_Cow

You won't have to wait for a mortgage as bank accounts can be arranged virtually on the spot...however you will need a larger deposit (up to 20%) for the loan.

...but I wouldn't rush into buying. Houses here are very variable and much depends on location. Also givne the current market if your plans change and you have bought, selling a property could prove difficult and renting out from overseas would be at the risk of a currency that fluctuates wildly.

Batty

Yep - definitely take a breather for a few months. But so long as you have a job and 20% deposit there's no waiting period.

gozzy

Hi dave
definately rent to start with . There are some rules to buying over here and in may change from area to area. Where we our you can not buy a property over 4 hectares or on the beach front until you have residency. But the main reason to rent first is to check out the areas and real estate agents before you decide on an area. research is important and don,t believe the agents as they are only looking after themselves not you or their client. Never accept the value of a house here it is a buyers market and few houses are being sold. Good luck and don,t rush into anything
regards Gozzy

Jan n Neil

if u are thinking of buying the bank i went into whilst over there wouldnt lend more than 50 % of the value unless you had citizenship

neil

dave77

Thanks for the info! Looks like renting is the best option short term. I've heard that agents do try and rip off brits due to the benefits of the exchange rate and general lower house prices. Funnily enough if you look at NZ property websites as opposed to rightmove.co.uk they do work out a lot cheaper! Somebody is doing alright somewhere down the line and my guess is some greedy Brit! lol!
Good advice about making offers, from what I've heard others say on here, come in quite a bit lower... would u agree? In the uk, best ur looking at is about 10k off asking price!
Anybody clued up on what the buying rules are in rural CHCH? I've seen a lovely country property with lots of land that looks perfect... seems a bit harsh that rule!

dave77

thats a bit harsh, do you know if that is common amongst banks? I've heard they are more sensible with regard to lending money than UK banks

Jan n Neil

We might have got that wrong: it might be that they wouldn't lend us more than 50% until we had PR - which then seems much more generous! Can't check it out til we get back!!

But there was a "50%" rule: sorry can't remember it properly

whitesand

Do nothing 'til you come here. There are so many traps awaiting the newcomer. One of the obvious is to enquire from the UK about house prices. You will be unable to gauge what the market rate is from there. And, telling the agents that you 'have just arrived from the UK and are looking for somewhere to buy or rent' is just asking to be ripped off.

The agents have the idea that everyone coming from the UK is loaded. Partly due to the fact that many have indeed paid over the odds for places here because they seemed cheap when they compared prices with the UK, forgetting that the wages are nothing like the same here!

Would you really want to buy before spending at least six months or so having a good look around, finding the areas you like, the going rate for the properties you like, and any other details you can only know from living in or near the place you wish to buy in?

dave77

You're dead right mate, I guess you need to get a feel for a place, what the locals are like, schools, crime rates etc... it's so easy to get carried away looking at some of the houses over there compared to what u can buy in the uk for similar money!

dave77

lol!! that sounds like a fairer deal!

Jan n Neil

ignore her she,s wrong if you didnt have citizenship (pr didnt matter) they would only lend 50 % but we did only go into one bank i dont know if there all the same, Neil

Wiz'n'Ton

When we arrived we got a mortgage based on my salary straight off, and we were on working holiday visas. This was before the bubble burst however, and now it seems you need PR & 20% down regardless.

Depending on your liking for risk, you can buy from overseas and so long as you do your research then don't be put off by the idea. T saw a great deal for a development on Salisbury St here in Chch whilst we were still in the UK. If we had bought it then, by now we would be over $100k better off - still, that's why not everyone's a property tycoon I suppose!

On the very bright side however, rates have dropped from 9%+ to a 6 month fixed rate of 5.39%. That has made owning vs renting SO much more cost efficient that it's worth looking into sooner rather than later.