Selling and Renting

choobs · 16-09-2005, 01:26 PM

Is it common for those who are awaiting visas to put their houses up for sale and rent here to enable them to use equity before actually going over? This is something we are thinking of doing so any advice would be helpful.

TIA.

Choobs

Sydney Boy · 23-09-2005, 05:36 AM

I guess selling your house will take away one less thing to worry about if you are confident your Visa's are almost ready.

We made a mistake and put our house on the market when we had moved out so it was empty. A big mistake. It took 7 months to sell.

We didnt know if we would be in Oz for 2 yrs or for longer ( now its 5 yrs) so we rented our place out in the UK and rented here to start . Then 2 yrs ago we sold the UK property and bought a place here. I guess a lot depends on the housing market in both countries and exchange rates. In heinz sight we should have bought straight away as prices have doubled in Sydney in 5 years ;-( but the exchnage rate worked in our favour so its all a gamble at the end of the day.

Today t the housing market in Sydney is stable or going up or down by a percent or 2 now so its not urgent you buy instantly when you arrive although Brisbane property is shooting up still. Sydney is the worst performing from what i read.

Unless you know for certain exactly where you want to live you should rent somewhere anyway for 6 months so you can find your feet and work out where you DONT want to live LOL.

I wouldn't recommend what a friend did and that was to purposly buy an investment property in the UK just before leaving for Australia. ( sort of like an insurance policy in case he changed his mind) Its caused him all sorts of stress, and now he cant afford to buy over here!

dazmas · 23-04-2006, 12:04 PM

Hi,

I was wondering if you could buy a property to live in after a few months of arriving in Sydney. Does anyone know?

forshac · 23-04-2006, 02:27 PM

Hi Choobs,

We have just placed our house on the market as we are hoping it will not take too long now..For us it will be easier to rent here if necessary short term, as we do not have children to consider. i.e schools etc..

For us, it takes another stress factor away, that's how we decided..

Sydney Boy · 25-04-2006, 04:20 AM

IF you are a resident you can buy anything. If you are on a work visa you can buy somewhere but you have to apply to some government committee to get permission. I think if you buy a new property there is a loop hole for non residents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazmas

Hi,

I was wondering if you could buy a property to live in after a few months of arriving in Sydney. Does anyone know?

ABCDiamond · 25-04-2006, 11:02 AM

Property Buying Restrictions:

Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident - No Restrictions

Temporary Resident, Retiree or Student - Can buy new property without restriction or an established property provided it is your residence and it is sold when your visa expires. Consent of the FIRB is normally required. (exceptions apply for some spouse / de facto partner.)

Foreign National or Foreign Corporation - Can buy new property. Can buy vacant land as long as building commences within 12 months of purchase. Can buy an established property only if an additional amount of no less than 50% of the original property cost is spent on improvements or additional construction. Can buy up to 50% of new projects or apartments, Consent of the FIRB is required.

FIRB = Foreign Investment Review Board - http://www.firb.gov.au/
Interesting Q&A fact sheet: - http://www.firb.gov.au/content/faq.asp