JenPen Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 I am very keen to buy our house over in Perth ASAP, I want stability and a place to call our own. Can anyone help with the following questions? How soon can you buy on a 189 Visa? What are the deposits etc? What is the deal with stamp duty? Is there are difference with payments on property and land packages vs prebuilt/older properties? Thank you!! If anyone is clued up on the processes I am happy to PM etc - I have just found so much conflicting or varying information from different companies. I just want to know the big standard basics JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beandownunder Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 good question JP x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveakaginge Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 I am very keen to buy our house over in Perth ASAP, I want stability and a place to call our own. Can anyone help with the following questions? How soon can you buy on a 189 Visa? What are the deposits etc? What is the deal with stamp duty? Is there are difference with payments on property and land packages vs prebuilt/older properties? Thank you!! If anyone is clued up on the processes I am happy to PM etc - I have just found so much conflicting or varying information from different companies. I just want to know the big standard basics JP Can't answer all your questions (try Mr Google), but we have been here four months, and we are well down the road to owning our own place. Offer accepted, Finance in place, settlement date agreed, and we are 457 ers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 If you've set up your Aus bank acc, it might be worth dropping them an email with your questions as they have a better idea of your personal circumstances and therefore how much stamp duty applies, any grants applicable etc. I did this with NAB and whilst it's not 100% accurate it gives you a bit of an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 I am very keen to buy our house over in Perth ASAP, I want stability and a place to call our own. Can anyone help with the following questions? How soon can you buy on a 189 Visa? What are the deposits etc? What is the deal with stamp duty? Is there are difference with payments on property and land packages vs prebuilt/older properties? Thank you!! If anyone is clued up on the processes I am happy to PM etc - I have just found so much conflicting or varying information from different companies. I just want to know the big standard basics JP You can do it as soon as you want. However, i would strongly recomend you rent first for 6 months in the area you think you are most likely to want to live in inorder to get a feel for the place. Deposits are normally 10%, though if you can put down 20% you save a fair whack of money on lenders insurance If you buy a new house / build then i know as first time buyers in Oz you are exempt. You also get upto $10k grant from the government. House and land packages are just another way of marketing a house. You can simply find your own block and select a builder. It works the same. Though some builders are pretty good at helping you find a block and suggesting the design that might most suit it. The differene in payments is that it is staged. So the mortgage is a single mortgage. Part is paid out to purchase the land and your repayments start then but only for that amount. Then the builder will draw down the rest in stages starting from when the slab is laid and the last one when they hand over. So your mortgage repayments slowly increase over the course of the build until complete when they are then at the full amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nicholls Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hi JP. I dont know the answer for the 189 Visa (have not heard of that one) but will check it out and get some answers for you. I am a Real Estate Agent for David Evans Rockingham, the normal deposit can be as little as $1,000 on signing of a contract to purchase an esatblisehd property, stamp duty is tax payable on the purchase of an established property, and a newly built property, but only on the house componenet not the land. If you go to http://www.stampdutycalculator.com.au/stampdutycalculator you can add the details of the purchase and it will give you the stamp duty payable, (note: leave the loan amout as zero) any idea where you would like to live, if you need more info feel free to get in touch. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nicholls Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 JP. It looks like the 189 gives you premamant residency status when you arrive, it dosent give you citezenship which will only take a couple of years and highly recommended. As a permanat resident you are able to purchase a property right away, however one of the post suggest you rent for 6 months in the area you want to live to check it out before buying, and I concur with that decision. Hope that helps Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 It takes 4 years now to become a citizen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 You can do it as soon as you want. However, i would strongly recomend you rent first for 6 months in the area you think you are most likely to want to live in inorder to get a feel for the place. Deposits are normally 10%, though if you can put down 20% you save a fair whack of money on lenders insurance If you buy a new house / build then i know as first time buyers in Oz you are exempt. You also get upto $10k grant from the government. House and land packages are just another way of marketing a house. You can simply find your own block and select a builder. It works the same. Though some builders are pretty good at helping you find a block and suggesting the design that might most suit it. The differene in payments is that it is staged. So the mortgage is a single mortgage. Part is paid out to purchase the land and your repayments start then but only for that amount. Then the builder will draw down the rest in stages starting from when the slab is laid and the last one when they hand over. So your mortgage repayments slowly increase over the course of the build until complete when they are then at the full amount. Yes VS I agree and thank you for the advice, I would like to buy ASAP but definitely will ensure we like the area first and will also give us an idea of good streets vs not so good ones etc if we like the area we are renting in - anything can sound good on paper Thanks for infö on deposits - definitely need to increase our savings each month I think just to be sure! So just to clarify - there is a block of land I wish to purchase in an area I like - I can buy this and employ any one of those builders around to plonk the right house on it? I like the way the mortgage increases gradually, but also good to be aware about this cost when renting so you can budget for long term financial outlooks. I really appreciate all your inputs and as usual you have been very helpful…. Just to pick up on the citizenship - we can "just" apply after 4yrs? Thanks Have a great day everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Yep. You just buy the land and chose a builder. Its easier if you do it all at the same time. So we had a very good idea of which design and build we wanted before we had found the land, but obviously it depends on the land as to if the house will fit - and its not just total meterage - the dimensions have to be right. But once we knew the block we wanted we put an offer on and approached the builder with our ideas. You take their off the shelf designs and then play with them to get it to how you want. For example, we knew we wanted our living areas at the back and the mater to have a big on suite. So we found a design with that which we liked and offering a good deal. Then we got them to make a load of amendments such as putting a fireplace and chimney in, putting extra windows in and turning the two front bedrooms into a single room that will be a second lounge. Moved a few wall and things as well. This doesnt cost much if anything - only if structural work has to be done - ours did because we wanted the entire back wall to be glass (it has a view) so that meant putting in special structural supports. The advantage of doing it all at the am time is you only have to apply for the mortgage once and you know you have the approval for the house you want before you have the land. No point in getting the land if the bank wont give you what you need for the house. Depending on the deal you get with the house from the builders you need to consider add ons not included. For example, they often dont come with any flooring - just concrete, tiling may be limited, air con often isnt included and all sorts of stuff. Then when things are included, you need to budget that some might not be great quality and will need upgrading by the builder. Also light switches and power points will def need upgrading as the standard only supplies one single point per room and one light switch. We have been lucky and found there was very little we have had to add on to the basic - only thing i can think of other than the electrics is a upgraded handle to the front door - door is double size and the regular one looked silly. With regards citizenship. Yes, once you have been here 4 years you can apply. You need a police check and must not have been out of the country more than 12 months in total and no more than 90 days in the 12 months prior to applying. Its a lot easier than visas - took me about 10 minutes to fill the form in, got the invite a week later to do the test (test is the easiest thing in the world) then went to my council couple of months later for the ceremony. A doddle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Fabulous!! Thank you so much! You have been very very helpful and have put my mind at ease massively regarding building our own home…it seemed very restricted to me but to have that flexibility is a huge step for me! I will definitely be asking for further advice, if you don't mind, when we are nearing the time to buy and build you're a star! That sounds great! I doubt we will be out the country that much at all to begin with so I am sure we could sort that easily - much easier than the visa definitely! I cannot wait to get it all sorted and be on our way it seems like such a mission to me at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Just remember that if you decide to build - at some point you will be paying both rent and mortgage, my friend found this a little stretching on the budget and they were both working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 But, do remember that i still strongly recomend you rent for 6 months minimum. And yes, do be aware your going to be paying rent and a mortgage at the same time. We are lucky as our rent if very low. There are one or two of the cheaper builders that are currently offering deals to pay your rent or a portion of it during the build. But, the quality of their houses is not great - you get what you pay for. Remember as well that the price the builder tells you is the base price. There will be other things. Likewise with the land. So you can not just say the land is $200k and the house is $200k so we just need $400k. It would probably end up a few tens of grand more by the time all the fees and things are included Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loulou Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Just remember that if you decide to build - at some point you will be paying both rent and mortgage, my friend found this a little stretching on the budget and they were both working. Thats what put us off Ali. We have now bought a house already constructed and fingers crossed will be moving in end of this month. We arrived last May . Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odies Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 I concur with VS ,that the add ons can really run away with you but do not let it put you off. The only other bit I may add is when buying and building you do not know what the street looks like when finished , what I mean by that is everybody has their own plot and different house you may be nextdoor to a carbunkle of one ,or one that hides all the sea views ,you may choose 1 storey and next door choose 2 and overlook you. My sons first house was fab but the street ended up all wrong and they could not wait to move out.I have built a 2 storey and have dropped lucky . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Agree with Odies. That was one of our concerns. Luckily the road we are building on now only has 4 blocks left and all are nice - only issue we had was the house that is almost finished next door is the same model / same builder as us! But the builder agreed to change the elevation (thats what they call the front appearance) so we wouldnt look the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Thanks guys! nice to hear from personal accounts and I really appreciate your guidance and information. I thought I did say I would rent first and also was aware of rent + mortgage but maybe I didn't haha! Anyway, yes of course I will rent first as I want the school my children to attend to be right inc the area so they don't grow up surrounded by hideous people or my commute to work is hideous etc. But thanks for the advice I was more looking at plots of land in established areas (yes very few and far between) rather than the new ones where the entire development is new - on one of those in UK and hate it! We might just buy an oldie and get MR JP to gut it and put our own stamp on it - whatever works best we will do - All I know is that I am desperate to own a home I am fed up of renting as we have done for years now and there is nothing like having your own house that you can do what you want to! Thanks again and I will certainly update you all on our plans - VS you have been incredibly helpful xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflower Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Hi, I love this thread, i found it so useful! We are planning to move to Perth in April on 190. We put our house in Turkey on the market, hopefully it will be sold before we go. We want to buy a house in Perth once we have settled. But I'm worried what happens if we lose our jobs? How can we pay the loan during that time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 There are lots of fairly well established suburbs with land available - i only know the Mandurah area, but can think of several there. Yes sunflower, that is a concern. But it is a concern in what ever country you buy! I had to think long and hard because my industry at the moment has very few jobs - i have friends who have been out of work nearly a year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted February 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Brilliant VS! I am hoping by Christmas next year we have decided where to buy and hopefully looking at putting offers in! I love the extras you did on your house I didn't know the builders were quite so flexible with their plans!! An open fire is a must then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 So where are you thinking of? Yes, the builders are pretty flexible. The ranges of what you choose are also big. Our builder has said we can choose tiles from two of the big companies and morst of the shops ranges are in our included price. You get a big foulder with details of things like different tap, light sockets, paving and everything you can think of. They have a showroom that has a lot of it in as well. Be aware of fire places though. At the moment the builder is putting the fireplace in but not the fire. That has to be bought seperatly and they are VERY expensive here - several thousand for a gas fire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 We are also starting to consider the building option. How did you guys go about finding your builder. We have seen a few plots advertised but they already seem to be under various developers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 We are also starting to consider the building option. How did you guys go about finding your builder. We have seen a few plots advertised but they already seem to be under various developers. There are a couple of approaches. The first is to treat the block and the build as totally seperate. So, look on realestate.com.au at the land avaiable. It is also worth just going around the newer suburbs and looking at empty blocks for sale. The Saturday West Australian and Sunday Times have new homes pull outs that list most of the land. Most of the new suburbs will have land sales offices The other is to decide what area you would like to live in and go an speak to builders to see if they can find a block for you - some have inside knowledge of blocks not yet on the market. Before you do this though, you need to select a builder. This is largely a case of visiting a number of the display villages - there are a lot of them about. Go through the displays and look at the plans - most of the display homes have the plan on the walls of all the models they do. Remember though that you can make modifacations to the plans and swap rooms about and things. You need to work out a budget as well and when visiting the builders ask what is included and what is not. We spent a long time doing this bit before we found the deal and plan the suited us. It is actually good fun though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thanks VS - Do you know if the builders in the display villages only build on those developments or can you get one from say Vale to build on another plot elsewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 The builders will build anywhere you want - though if building south of Mandurah some will charge a premium. You will find that most of the same builders will be on each of the display villages, but it is still worth seeing them at different ones as it will give ideas and you will see differnt houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.