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can you buy a house as soon as get to OZ on 457 visa?
Hi All,
Does anyone know if you can buy a house as soon as you are settled in OZ on the 457 visa?
I have read some posts where you can buy houses on the 457 as long as they are new etc. But just wondered if you are allowed to actually buy one that quickly after entering OZ on temp visa.
Anyone know the answer? Or have done it greatly appreciated.
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"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Quote from Ferris Bueller.
It's correct that it will have to be new and you will need to get permission from the FIRB (fed investment review board ) but think that's straightforward enough.
yep we bought land about 8 weeks after arriving just had to wait for FIRB approval. You have to find a house or land first and put an offer in and make sure it's 'Subject to FIRB' approval otherwise you could find yourself in a sticky situation if they turn your application down. If buying land you have to build on it and be living in the house within 12 months.
To be honest though I wouldn't rush into buying a house as stamp duty is pretty high here so I'd personally wait a while and rent for a bit to make sure you are buying in the right area for your family. When you first arrive its so exciting and you can get carried away with it all rather than looking at the big picture of what you want and where you want to live as you can pretty much get blown away with the size of the houses and areas without seeing them for what they really are. We bought our land after speaking to the people we work with to make sure the area was a nice area and a good place to invest our money.
One thing you don't want to be doing is rushing into a house purchase to find you've made a huge mistake and it doesn't work for travelling to work/schools/shops etc and then having to sell (real estate agent fees can be expensive) and paying stamp duty twice.
I have read and understood all of the above posts apart from the bit about the house having to be new, can you expand on this for me!
Are you saying that we'd have to buy brand new property? or is it something which has been built within so many years?
Hi don't know if you know this but if you are a permanent resident the government will give you $7000 towards buying your first home under the first home buyers initiative. We are on a 457 visa and will be applying for residency at the end of the year, so we are renting till then, every little helps! Plus it's a good idea to "try before you buy" as the area you intially go for might not be what you want it to be, we've already decided we want to buy in a different area. Just a thought! Cheers, Jo
I have read and understood all of the above posts apart from the bit about the house having to be new, can you expand on this for me!
Are you saying that we'd have to buy brand new property? or is it something which has been built within so many years?
Take a look at the Foreign Investment Review Board website all temporary residents have to have FIRB approval before they can purchase a property. It does contradict itself in places but basically they encourage you to buy a new house, think you can get approval for older residences but it may be a bit more difficult to obtain it. But I know you can't buy a property from a house owned by a non-resident (god knows why!). Also we can't sell to a non resident if we are still on our 457 - strange rule if you ask me!!!! Hoping to go permanent in the next year or so, so hopefully this won't be an issue then.
) but think that's straightforward enough.
