eileen35

hi there,
we are coming as tourists,then apply for work permits,which i know grants you a year. the question is does that mean we have to rent for a year? i imagine you will have to have pr granted before you can buy a house.
Renting for a year is going to be costly

Hang11

You don't need to be a resident to buy a house, but you probably do to get a mortgage.

Renting for a while isn't a bad idea anyway, make sure you like the area, if you buy and have to sell again, it'll cost you a lot more money in estate agent fees than renting.

ezzkazz

If you are not a PR and want a mortgage, you will have to put down a bigger deposit. I think minimum is around 20%. More equity and all that.

Lenmil

I would highly recommend renting first. This will give you a good idea of how the houses are in winter and summer. And you can get a good feel to the local area you are in.Then when you are sure buy a place.

ballsrburning

When I attended the EXPO accoriding to westpac they would give us a morgage form this side of the world using our salaries in the UK. I would never do this becuase it is way to risky.

You do not have to be a resident to get a morgage, and you can get 100% morgages in NZ or so i have been informed by the various banks at the expo.
I found ASB to be good, they would open accounts for us from this side of the world and convert the pound to dollars using british exchange rates, and also give us a morgage.

SAying this I intend to rent for a few months to get a feel of the area and where we want to live.

eileen35

cheers for all the replies
i think renting for a while could be best then.And good to know that you can apply for mortgage once ideal house and area is found.
never thought of that with the seasons,that could make some difference.
thanx every1